A British photographer has captured the moment brave lion cubs had to leap across a swollen river in Kenya before drying off in the sun with their mother.
Wildlife guide and conservationist Paul Goldstein spotted the plucky youngsters lined up by the waters at the Olare Motorogi Conservancy this month.
Goldstein said: ‘The Ntiakntiak river in Olare Conservancy, bordering the Masai Mara is normally a trickle.
‘After almost biblical storms it becomes rather more than that. The previous evening if they had tried this they would have been swept away.’
The photographer found the mother and her young cubs at dawn ‘finishing the last rites of a warthog’.
Goldstein said: ‘She was a little out of her leonine manor and appeared to want to return to her home range.’
He added: ‘The mother drank then jumped over to the North bank. For the cubs however, this represented a terrifying leap of faith and they hesitated for several minutes with the mum looking on anxiously.
‘Eventually they succeeded and shook off before joining their mother for some love and grooming.
‘It was a magnificent morning, and they were sleeping by 07.30.’
Wildlife guide and conservationist Paul Goldstein spotted the plucky youngsters lined up by the waters this month at the Masai Mara National Reserve
One of the lion cubs looks determined to get to the other side to dry off
The mother is pictured bathing proudly in the sun with her cubs after they have completed their mission
One of the cubs is pictured with the mother as she inspects the water to make sure it is safe for a crossing
The cubs all line up on the rocks with a couple of them looking less than pleased to be making the journey
One of the cubs growls at the sight of the river
The growling cub leads the way as the lions prepare to make their way across the river
One of the cubs starts the crossing with a long jump to stay out of the water for as long as possible
A cub appears to be struggling a little to cross to the other side, but the end is in sight
A lion cub makes one last push to get to the rocks on the other side
The cub is half-submerged as it makes the arduous trip across the river
One of the cubs approaches the bank at the other side of the river at the Masai Mara National Reserve
One of the cubs finally makes it across to to the other side
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk