Golden Lion

the original painting measured 36 x 46 cms.

and was painted in  acrylics on velour board

My initial sighting of this beautiful golden lion was on my first afternoon game drive from Shenton’s Kaingo Camp. He had taken over a kill made by two lionesses. Later on that afternoon we came across his two brothers. The Mwamba pride is headed by a coalition of three golden lions almost identical except for their individual scar markings they have collected in fights and hunts. Unfortunately this lion temporarily had a bad leg injury so he was easy to find most days as he  wasn’t moving around over a large territory.

There was one very funny incident when we spotted a group of people from a distant camp getting ready for their morning tea and disembarking from their vehicle right in front of the tree under which this lion liked to spend his day resting in the shade. Just when our guide thought he should do something to warn them, their guide spotted his mistake and their was a mad scramble as people, tables etc. were hurled back into the vehicle.

We had an early morning game drive the day we left camp and managed to farewell some of our favorite new wildlife acquaintances including this magnificent lion who, along with two lionesses were staking out a fast depleting waterhole. This is a painting of the unfortunately nicknamed ‘Limpy’, a true survivor, and my golden lion highlighted by the early morning light.