This adorable photo depicts a mischievous lion cub chewing on his mother’s tail in order to wake her up.
The playful photos of the youngster, which were taken by wildlife photographer Yaron Schmid, show him baring his tiny teeth and chewing on her tail to her annoyance.
The images were taken one afternoon in July near Namiri Plains in Serengeti, Tanzania, while Yaron, who runs a safari company, was assessing potential destinations for future visitors.
Yaron, from New York, US, said: “This was one of the most entertaining moments I’ve ever had in all my travels.”
The lioness rested with the lions at her side on a huge rock, looking out over the savannah.
“One of the cubs would go to nurse every few minutes, which would wake her up and she’d get enraged.
“She wagged her tail, and one of the cubs was intrigued enough to play with it as if it were a toy. The game spread throughout the rest of the pack.”
The three cubs kept chasing their mother’s tail for more than 15 minutes, biting and attempting to pull it.
“However, the mother was mostly quiet, although you could see from her expression that she was irritated and so she kept flicking her tail back and forth, which piqued the cubs’ interest even more.
“The cub appears to be pushing forward and playing with his mother’s head and tail—did he succeed in rousing her? Yes, several times, of course, while the father was snoozing through the whole thing.
“I usually concentrated on the cub’s face, as it should be the focal point, but there were times when I anticipated that the lioness would wake up and become enraged, so I’d focus on her face.”
Yaron, who is 48 years old, said the cubs were around two to three months old and belonged to a pride with two males, six lionesses, and approximately seven cubs.
Yaron, a veterinarian and wildlife photographer who also runs a safari business YS Wildlife Photography and Safaris to assist others to explore Africa for about seven years, has been photographing for approximately seven years.
The dad-of-two said his interest in wildlife photography came after he fell in love with Africa during a safari in 2011 with his favorite places to take pictures being Kenya and Tanzania.
