WildView™

August 10, 2016

The Pride

- as seen by -

Kristen Avery

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Recently, I picked up George Schaller’s book, A Naturalist and Other Beasts. It is a reflective read on his field work with each chapter featuring a different animal and landscape. He details his experience observing lions in the Serengeti back in 1973.

The pride is the central network of lions. They are one of the only big cat species considered to be social. Lionesses and their familial relationships are the glue that holds them all together. One of the key points that Schaller raises is that the nature of the pride is complex. Each member has a role to play. There is more than meets the eye about how they all operate as a unit to survive in their habitat.

Lions are integral to the African savannah landscape. Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added lions to the Endangered Species List, an important move to help in their conservation, which is all the more reason to recognize them on World Lion Day.

Nikon D2

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