Here kitty...

BigAl

My first lion(ess) taken with a digital camera.

We suspected something was coming when a very fidgety warthog kept staring back at the bush. She arrived at the waterhole and halfheartedly chased the warthog (she looks in wonderful condition). In the bg of the first pic, you can see how awful the bush looks after the fires.
















Taken with Bigma at 500mm. I thought of doing some cropping, but decided to leave them uncropped.

ShepsMom

You're having too much fun, fires, lions, where are you?
Beautiful iioness, great shot!!

riddim_maker

You must be in wildlife heaven. Are the animals pretty accessible there in south Africa? Or do you have to drive for miles to some protected park like we do here in the US? Either way, nice capture

Ric Grupe

Actually, I like the first shot the best. The dark background created by the soot makes a nice backdrop for her.

Hauer

Hi Al - That's a BIG Puddy Cat! Very nice set of photos!

Are you happy with your Bigma? I sure am!

Cheers / groete - Herman

s230

Nice shots. I liked the 2nd photo most. Just don't become part of the lion's dinner.

Harryb

Fine shots of a cat we don't get to see in its natural setting.

dogwood

Nice lion photos. As a former wildland firefighter and fire ecology researcher though-- I just need to point out that fires are necessary and actually spark (pun intended) lots of new growth.

Remember those 1988 fires that "destroyed" Yellowstone? Yeah, well, there's half-dozen or so lodgepoles for each one killed by the fires and they're now taller than most people. I'm sure greener, taller grass will replace the burned grass in South Africa-- new trees and shrubs too. Nature is pretty much adapted to fire!

BigAl

ShepsMom wrote:

You're having too much fun, fires, lions, where are you?
Beautiful iioness, great shot!!

Thanks! I'm in South Africa!

BigAl

riddim_maker wrote:

You must be in wildlife heaven. Are the animals pretty accessible there in south Africa? Or do you have to drive for miles to some protected park like we do here in the US? Either way, nice capture

Thanks Russ. You only get the larger, more dangerous animals, in reserves. On the corner of South Africa where SA, Botswana and Zimbabwe meet, it's still pretty wild and you still get lions and elephants there (some pics from Gus's African Safari were taken on the Botswana side in that area). The reserve where I took these shots is less than 200km from where I live.

dbaker1221

good captures Al !!

jwear

very nice

BigAl

Ric Grupe wrote:

Actually, I like the first shot the best. The dark background created by the soot makes a nice backdrop for her.

Thanks Ric. It is a nice contrast, albeit with sad overtones...

BigAl

Herman Auer wrote:

Hi Al - That's a BIG Puddy Cat! Very nice set of photos!

Are you happy with your Bigma? I sure am!

Cheers / groete - Herman

Dankie Herman! I wouldn't change the Bigma for anything, not even a free 500 F4 IS!

ps: the pics were taken in Pilanesberg Reserve

BigAl

s230 wrote:

Nice shots. I liked the 2nd photo most. Just don't become part of the lion's dinner.

Thanks! Don't worry, I have not intention of willingly becoming part of a lion's dinner!

BigAl

Harryb wrote:

Fine shots of a cat we don't get to see in its natural setting.

Thanks Mr B! Natural setting is relative The poor dear is still not allowed to move outside her 65000ha

kdog

Really facinating shots there, Big Al. Keep 'em coming!

-joel

BigAl

dogwood wrote:

Nice lion photos. As a former wildland firefighter and fire ecology researcher though-- I just need to point out that fires are necessary and actually spark (pun intended) lots of new growth.

Remember those 1988 fires that "destroyed" Yellowstone? Yeah, well, there's half-dozen or so lodgepoles for each one killed by the fires and they're now taller than most people. I'm sure greener, taller grass will replace the burned grass in South Africa-- new trees and shrubs too. Nature is pretty much adapted to fire!

Thanks. Unfortunately, this is the third year in a row that they've managed to wipe most of the grazing with runaway fires. In 2005, a herd of elephants got burnt to death, last year during a control burn the fire got away from them destroying a large chunk of the grazing. This year it got away again, but this time around 75% of the grazing has been destroyed. With the drought in southern Africa, feed is at a premium, so they talking of culling some of the grazers, including rhino. So there is a serious downside to too much burning...

In case you missed my fire pics:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=57200

BigAl

dbaker1221 wrote:

good captures Al !!

Thanks Dave! The Bigma is a wonderful beast don't you agree?

BigAl

jwear wrote:

very nice

Thanks Jeff! Appreciated

raptorcaptor

Nice Al!

BigAl

raptorcaptor wrote:

Nice Al!

Thanks Glenn!