A lion has been caught grinning from ear to ear before mating with a lioness in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
The photos show the big cat in highly animated states of arousal; standing on its hind quarters, roaring and baring all its teeth as he prepares to mount the lioness.
Photographer, Vclav Ilha, 55, said: ‘As soon as the female is ready to mate, she would raise her tail and provoke him by rubbing him or crawling at his feet. The male follows her impatiently, for the female leaves behind a strong odour.’
This was just the beginning of a session that could last up to five days; lions will mate up to 200 times and despite the act lasting just a few seconds, they will continue to mate after 20 minutes.
