Queen of the jungle

I love the African lion, however I have found over the years they are one of the hardest animals to photograph.

When I look back through all my lion pictures, most are shots of them sleeping with a full belly (from a hunt that I missed!); legs splayed in a way that they look almost placid enough to pat. Then they do the odd stretch, stand up and lie back down giving you false hope that something is actually going to happen.

For all the sleeping lion photos I have, there is that unique moment (not always captured by the camera) that reminds me of how special and powerful these creatures are.

Photographs by Kellie Shearwood