Lion Cub’s Debut, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 1987 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Lion Cub’s Debut, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 1987

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Lion Cub’s Debut, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 1987

For more than 20 minutes we watched with fascination as this lioness introduced her tiny cubs, one at a time, to the world outside of their den. This cub displays a mind of its own, a moment in time defining the universal relationship between a mother and her young. It was just one shot out of many, but it was the moment that worked best.

Olympus OM-2 ,Olympus 300mm
Scanned from Fujichrome transparency. full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		01-Jun-2004 01:11
Thanks for the kind words, Theresa -- I have three kids. I've been there, and done that, too. And yes, I deliberately captured this moment because of how closely it paralleled human experience. Parenthood is a universal process, indeed.

Guest		31-May-2004 00:06
What a terrific image! You have to admire the plucky little cub but you know in the long run who is going to win. Reminds me of experiences raising my two sons!

Phil Douglis		22-Oct-2003 20:05
Vanessa, once again, you zero in on the point of the picture. The cub is chewing mom out. Not vice versa. And that is the greatest incongruity in this image. Thanks for pointing that out.

Vanessa Y		22-Oct-2003 18:00
Small as it may be, that little cub has no problem giving big mama a piece of it's mind. I love all that's going on in this image. The relationship between mother and child can be seen all around us...even in the animal kingdom.

Bailey Zimmerman		20-Oct-2003 06:20
Ah...your wrong......the baboon would give you an argument!!!!

Phil Douglis		20-Oct-2003 02:34
BZ, you are extremely observant. There are indeed bloodstains on this lioness, but I didn't want to go off on that tangent in my caption. Here's the story: earlier, she had walked right in front of our Land Rover carrying the carcass of a baboon in her jaws. I even have a shot of it. She disappeared into these palms, and when she emerged a bit later, she was licking her chops and had all her cubs in tow. What you are looking at is the residue of dinner. Sorry, no life and death struggle this time around. Phil

Bailey Zimmerman		19-Oct-2003 21:32
Phil....am I the only one seeing blood stains on Momma? That is the real story...life & death struggle! Whew another amazing shot!!

Phil Douglis		19-Oct-2003 06:52
Thanks, Carol, for making an excellent point. This picture is not only about a moment frozen in time. It is also about scale -- the contrast between the large lioness and the tiny cub, the strong and the weak, the provider and the providee. Another incongruity -- the tiny cub is giving the large lioness an earful! Phil

Carol E Sandgren		19-Oct-2003 01:48
I guess I'm a sucker for adorable mother/baby pictures. Interesting that the scale tells the whole story...just having the baby in the picture wouldn't be nearly as endearing.

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