Carried to safety.

Just back from Laikipia, Northern Kenya with one of the major highlights being was witnessing and capturing this lioness carrying one of her two 4 week old cubs away from a herd of buffalo that caught scent of her densite, acting quickly she grabbed the noisier female first and then came back for her son.
A tense scene played out and it was touch and go if she could come back in time to save the male before an inquisitive bull buffalo started to move in closer, luck was on her side and she managed to move both in time and then subsequently relocated them even further away in a second move.
I love the early side lighting here as she walks along a hippo pathway glancing down my lens.

In all my 34 years of visiting Africa, this was only the third time I have had the special privilege to witness a lioness carrying her young, with the most recent only last Nov in more tragic circumstances here:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=259405

so we have most definitely come full circle here.

What a day!! Laikipia region- Kenya.

Nikon D5 Nikkor 80-400 AF-S 1/500s f/5.6 ISO720 @ 400mm. Bean bag resting on side pax door, around 20% crop, curves, levels, TK adj, in ACR & PS CC '15.

Cheers
Marc