Joe Kahlo
Kids love teasing their fathers, but you would have to be very careful if he’s also a dangerous beast.
As their father snoozed in the sun, these mischievous lion cubs sought to test his tolerance by playing with his tail.
To try and warn the youngsters, the majestic predator let loose with a thunderous roar.
But the cheeky little devils didn’t seem to be deterred, though, and kept coming back for more fun with his tail.
He eventually gave up and went in search of solitude someplace else.
The hilarious moment was captured on camera at the Mara National Reserve, in Kenya by Ingo Gerlach, a 66-year-old German photographer
Talking about the scene, he says that “There were three females and about eight children. They were maybe six weeks old.”
“Sometime later we also saw the male lion. He was the only inactive one of the lion family. He dozed at the edge of a bush and had no desire at all to take care of the family.”
“At one point the cheeky lion cubs discovered the bushy tail of their dad. They played with it for a short time before the dad threatened his offspring with licked teeth.”
“This succeeded also for perhaps five seconds, then the lion babies wanted to play further with the end of the tail which was very bushy.”
The cubs persisted to play with their father’s fluffy tail for around half an hour despite their dad’s continuous roaring in irritation.
“The offspring were stubborn though and they continued to annoy their dad until he threatened the little ones.”
“The quarrel went on for half an hour before the lion moved to a nearby bush. I had a lot of fun capturing this funny scene with my camera.”
“With my numerous journeys into the Masai Mara, I had never been able to photograph such a thing.”
