San Diego - The Lions

Of the more than 200 pics I took at the wildlife park, about a third were of lions. They have a den where there is a big glass wall at one end and then a long bridge with just a deep ditch between you and the animals. The lions often sleep on a rock by the glass, meaning you're about an inch (or however thick that glass is) away from them. Very cool. The signs said there were supposed to be several cubs there, but all we saw were two adult males.

The rest of the lion pics are here.


The quality is so-so when you try to shoot through the thick glass.


"Hmmmm... that fat Norwegian guy looks nice and juicy..."


"I'm so hungry I could eat my tail..."


"Bored..."


"So bored, even the rock becomes interesting..."


"Better catch a nap... after all I am a cat."


The other one went to have a lie down in the grass and do some grooming...


Pondering life.


While we (and dozens of others) stood clicking away, the two began to emit calls - not full blown roars, but throaty growls still powerful enough to send shivers down my spine and make the hairs on my arms stand up. At the back of my tiny brain some primeval instinct must have kicked in, because that sound really reverberated throughout my whole body.


Man may be at the top of the food chain, but when I heard the lions roar and saw them there in the tall grass, it dawned on me that to these guys I was just another item on the menu...