Savute Lion

[Ken Watkins]

This is presumably one of the remnants from the large Elephant killing pride, which has sadly passed into history.

Taken on a rather dull afternoon in Savute , Chobe National Park, Botswana, 4th May 2010

EOS 1D MkIV

500mm F4 IS hand held

F7.1, ISO 400, 1/500

[Morkel Erasmus]

I love the subtle light and rich colour here Ken, the tongue really pops the image.
is there another OOF lion lying behind him? slightly distracting but not a deal-breaker for me. sad to hear that the infamous pride is no more - any reasons?

I would selectively sharpen the face some more. I trust your trip was satisfactory?

[Steve Canuel]

I like the soft light and colors in this.

[Harshad Barve]

Ken
This is mighty fine image , one of your best for sure
TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Comp works well, and overcast conditions always works with animals. Lovely soft light,and of course the protruding tongue is a nice touch. I would maybe give this a tad more contrast.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Lovely image Ken!

The Mark IV is shining in your hands!

I like the head on view and the tongue flick. Sad to hear that the unique elephant hunting group has passed away into history. It is often a group that acquires a skill through circumstance, happenstance and the combination of skills of their individual members. With loss of few members, this skill is lost.

There were reports of a cheetah trio hunting down giraffes. I am sure, when one of them dies, this unique hunting trait would also be lost.

Cheers,
Sabysachi

[Ken Watkins]

Morkel,
Well spotted, I had hoped everybody would look at the tongue:)

Morkel I have no idea why the Lion pride has faded away, I always tend to think it follows the death of the eldest female, this occurred with the Selind Pride, but this is pure speculation.

Sabyasachi,
I have never heard of Cheetah hunting Giraffe, presumably it must have been youngsters.
Everybody goes to Savute expecting to see Lion kill Elephant presumably as a result of the Planet Earth footage, this was taken at least 4 years ago, in a similar manner people tried to see the Lions hunting Hippo on Selinda, but nobody ever got to see a kill. We heard one and would not have wanted to see it! I am very happy with the MkIV it seems to me to produce far better and more "interesting" colour.

[Ajit Huilgol]

I quite like the image as it is, Ken. It has a painterly effect to it.

[Austin Thomas]

Very nice Ken,

Great composition and the tongue make this one.

Cheers

Austin