Jenny Carless
Tree-climbing lions—and not in Manyara!

I took this photo in Kenya’s Masai Mara about two years ago. It was late October; the migration had moved back south to the Serengeti and the short rains were expected soon—in other words, one of the least crowded times of the year. Just the way I like it.
It was almost noon. I’d just flown from Nanyuki, and my guide, David, had met me at the Mara North airstrip. We set off on the short drive to Kicheche Mara Camp (which I highly recommend, by the way).
Not five minutes out from the strip, we drove into a wooded area along a curving, bumpy dirt track, and David came to a quick stop. To the right, in among the shadows and fallen logs, we saw several lionesses and their cubs—the lionesses resting, the youngsters romping.
