Since the first production of The Lion King, there are very few animals that evoke the spirit of Africa and it’s wildlife than a large male lion. Seeing the fabled king of Africa’s beasts is understandably at the top of the list when planning a safari, and it’s always worth knowing where the best places to see lions in Africa are.
Lions once roamed broadly across the plains of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, but today are limited to the parks and reserves of sub-Saharan Africa (plus a small population of Asiatic lion in the Gir National Park in India). As a social cat, lions move in groups, and a pride of lions is usually the easiest of Africa’s cat species to find on safari. Still, across Africa’s best parks and reserves, there are a few places that are undoubtedly the best places to see lions in Africa.
Seeing lions in the Masai Mara – Serengeti ecosystem, Kenya & Tanzania
The vast plains of the Serengeti and Masai Mara present a truly classic backdrop to a lion sighting on safari, and it evokes scenes from many of the best wildlife documentaries. One particular pride of lions, the Marsh Pride which lives in the Musiara marsh in the Masai Mara, has long been followed and made famous by the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries.
There are, of course, many other lion prides in the Masai Mara – Serengeti ecosystem, which one can almost guarantee seeing when visiting at any time of year. As with most other predators these lions depend upon Africa’s wildebeest migration as it circles the ecosystem each year. They take the most advantage of the migrations mass calving in the Southern Serengeti and the dangerous river crossings of the Grumeti River in the western Serengeti and the Mara River in the Masai Mara. Seeing a lioness ready to pounce on an unsuspecting wildebeest as it emerges from a perilous river crossing is a truly unforgettable encounter.
Seeing lions in the Greater Kruger, South Africa.
There are few more satisfying adventures than getting ‘up close and personal’ with big cats on safari, and the private game reserves of the Greater Kruger offer this experience in a way that few other places in Africa can.
Unlike many national parks and reserves across Africa, private concessions limit the number of vehicles on safari in each area and also at each animal sighting. This has not only contributed to generations of habituated lions which approach or can be approached to within meters, but it also offers a genuinely intimate safari experience.
More importantly, lions are nocturnal animals, and unlike the national parks, these private reserves offer a unique opportunity for ‘night drives’. The experience of following these cats after dark for a more in-depth insight into their lives and behaviour is a big tick on any safari bucket-list.
Seeing lions in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
The Greater Okavango Delta is a unique ecosystem of seasonal floodplains and ‘woodland islands’ that vary in size as the seasonal flooding ebbs and flows. Lions (and Hyena) are the dominant predators here, and this unusual landscape creates the foundation for some of the most spectacular lion viewing experiences that Africa has to offer. Not only are lion forced to negotiate waterways and swim between islands but prey species trapped on ‘islands’ during the high water periods can make for some impressive hunting displays.
And the Hyena? Well, this arch-enemy of lions everywhere is in abundance in the Greater Okavango Delta. Competition for food and territory between these two great predators gives rise to epic and unforgettable battles which is why they have been dubbed as Eternal Enemies.
