On our just finished photo safari to Botswana, we were treated to the delightful sighting of a pair of 5-week-old lion cubs – seen up close for the first time – just learning to romp, and to interact with other lions. As you can see from this photo, one of the cubs was still a little long on curiosity and short on manners. Tiring of playing with sticks, he noticed the twitching tail of a much larger sub-adult male nearby, and decided to give it a go….

Not thrilled with having his tail chomped – even by the tiny bite of a cub – the larger male turned to teach the cub some manners. The cub’s mother, though, was having none of it. A quick move and a snarl from her and the young male sulked back to his napping spot. Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know, that is important!

After having his  tail nipped, the young male started to look like he was going to teach the cub some manners,
but after a warning growl from its mom, he simply nuzzled it on his way by: