WATCH: Two male lions canoodle in power-play display

Visitors of the Kruger National Park were surprised to capture two male lions getting cuddly on a safari early in the morning.

Klaus, an engineer, and his daughter Kira, told Lowvelder the story of how this sighting played out.

“In the morning, the H6 road is usually much quieter than the famous S100, which runs parallel to the H6.”

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“In a cold winter’s morning, tar roads store the heat from the day before, so this usually attracts cats like lions … So this road is generally where we started our mornings.”

“During our previous four days in the park, we had not seen a whole lot, so, even if these lions had not shown that particular mounting behaviour, we would have been pretty happy with the encounter.

“What made this sighting even more special, was that there was only one vehicle next to us. As time passed, more vehicles started to show up, somewhat disturbing the lions. So, the three huge males left the tar road and trotted south into the thick bush.”

“For regular safari travelers like us, who have been visiting Africa for close to 20 years now, with more than 300 nights in the bushes of seven different countries, mating lions is not a rare sighting. In fact, we had observed a male / female couple just 24 hours earlier near Crocodile Bridge. However, a male / male combo was a first for us!

“This behaviour is actually not known as male lions mating, as this was not an expression of sexuality and no penetration occurs, but rather, this is an act of dominance. Dominant male lions, and also other animals, such as elephants, will mount the other males to, in a way, show them who is boss.”

Video courtesy of Kruger Sightings’ YouTube channel.

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