Caption: Young lioness (Panthera leo) bares her fangs in trepidation as she prepares to swim across a river to join her mother and brother on the other side, Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia.

Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mk II; Lens: Canon EF 400mm L f/5.6 USM; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter speed: 1/400; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 400.

Did You Know: Lion cubs are weaned at seven to nine months, but are unable to fend for themselves before they’re 16 months old, although they start to eat meat at about three months.

Cubs stay with their mothers for about two years, at which stage they’re old enough to join the pride on hunting excursions. While young males are expelled from the pride when they’re 2½ to 3 years old, females usually remain with the pride for their whole lives.

Male lion siblings often stay together after being forced to leave the pride by the resident dominant males and will then live a nomadic life as young bachelors until old and strong enough to compete for a territory of their own, where they will have the benefit of working as a team in challenging a pride’s resident male or males.

For more about lions and their social structure, breeding, and hunting habits, see our new article, Lion Facts and Information.

Caption: Lion cub (Panthera leo), eager to play, paws and prods dozing lioness, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.

Camera: Canon EOS 400D (EOS Digital Rebel XTi); Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom; Focal Length: 210mm; Aperture: F5.6; Shutter Speed: 1/500; ISO: 400

Additional Info: The lioness above, in a show of maternal tolerance, was unfazed by the playful cub clambering over her and pawing her in the face. Although we assumed this was a mother and her cub, it’s possible that the cub wasn’t hers, as females within the same pride will often have cubs at more or less the same time.

This allows some females to go out to hunting while other mothers care for the babies. Cubs have the best chance of survival when a number of litters are born almost simutaneously as such cubs can be cared for communally.

When it’s time to give birth, a lioness leaves the pride and has her cubs in thick cover where she keeps them hidden until she introduces them to the rest of the pride when they’re about two months old. From this point it’s possible they can be suckled by any lactating females (called allo-suckling) as pride females suckle one another’s cubs with no bias towards their own. Thus one lioness may be seen suckling cubs of differents sizes and ages.

For more information about baby lions and their relationship with other members of the pride, see our new gallery of Baby Lion Pictures.

Caption: Portrait of female leopard (Panthera pardus), profile view, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi); Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM; Focal Length: 200mm; Shutter speed: 1/400; Aperture: f2.8; ISO: 400.

Additional Info: This image was taken quite late in the afternoon in mid-winter, so the light was fading fast. Fortunately I was using a “fast” lens – a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM zoom – that helped save the day for me. I had already cranked the ISO up to 400, which I try to keep as my limit for wildlife photography, although I will occasionally push this to 800 when I have no other options.

On my rather basic camera bodies — an EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi) and 450D (Digital Rebel XSi) — I’m happy to accept the small amount of visible noise at 400 ISO in return for the extra shutter speed.

The EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS is a wonderful lens for wildlife photography as the big f/2.8 maximum aperture allows shooting in low light at shutter speeds fast enough to counter camera shake and subject movement, while also throwing the background out of focus.

For the above picture, I was able to shoot at 1/400 by keeping the aperture wide open, which helped ensure a sharp image. Of course image stabilization helps, but one must also take into account the 1.6x crop factor of the EOS 400D, which meant I was using an “equivalent” focal length of 320mm.

The one downside of this lens that users regularly complain about is the size and weight, a result of all the glass necessary to provide a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range, while not compromising on the image quality expected of a Canon L series lens.

A very popular alternative is the smaller brother — the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM zoom. This is a lens that elicits only superlatives from its users, with some swearing that it’s sharper than the f/2.8. The main advantage however is its smaller size — length of 6.8″ (172mm) v 7.8″ (197mm), and significantly lighter weight — 1.67 lbs (760g) vs 3.24 lbs (1470g).

This makes it ideal as a travel lens when weight is critical but you still need superior optical quality plus weather sealing to keep out dust and moisture. The advanced image stabilizer provides up to four stops of camera shake correction, making it easier to hand-hold than its heavier sibling. For more, including user ratings and reviews, see Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM telephoto zoom.

Photo Details: Young male lion (Panthera leo) standing in gentle rain after feeding on a recent kill, Kruger National Park, South Africa. The image has been heavily cropped and played around with in PhotoShop, but I like the lion’s expression, the visible rain drops, and damp mane — all against a backdrop of typical winter colors in the African bushveld.

Camera: Canon Digital Rebel (Canon EOS 300D); Lens: Canon EF 300mm f/4L USM; Aperture: f/4; Shutter Speed 1/500; ISO 400.

Additional Info: This image was one of the first I took with my Canon Rebel, bought in 2003, during a trip to Kruger Park to put my brand new digital SRL through its paces. I used a Canon 300mm f/4 lens that I subsequently sold (to my regret) because it didn’t have image stabilization (IS).

Although I’m a fan of Canon IS lenses and believe the technology certainly helps when hand-holding in situations where it’s simply not feasible to use a camera support, I’m coming to appreciate that long lenses deserve to be placed on tripods or other supports if one hopes to get the most out of them.

One of the books I enjoy browsing is The Art of Photographing Nature, by Martha Hill (former picture editor of Audubon magazine) and photographer Art Wolfe. Many of Art’s wildlife images featured in the book were taken with slow ISO slide film using long lenses, at shutter speeds in the 1/15 to 1/60 range, yet are pin sharp — because he always uses a tripod.

My replacement for the 300 f/4 was the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM tele zoom lens, that I’ve also subsequently sold. Although I got some good pictures with this lens, many were also disappointing — mainly because I expected too much from it.

With a lens of that focal length plus a digital camera that eliminates film costs, it’s simply too easy to attempt shots that one would never try if paying for film — then be disappointed with the results. Using a tripod or vehicle support also slows you down, forcing you to think a little more about composition. Yes, you will miss more shots this way, but the ones you do get should ultimately be more rewarding, while making you more appreciative of your telephoto lenses.

Photo Details: Male lion (Panthera leo) staring into the distance after he and another male had put a small herd of buffalo to flight, Kruger National park, South Africa. Interestingly, after the two lions headed off in pursuit, the buffalo herd, comprising eight or nine old bulls, regrouped and chased them off.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D (Canon Rebel XSi 12.2MP); Lens: Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS USM; Focal Length: 200mm; Shutter speed: 1/1000; Aperture: f/4; ISO: 200.

Additional Info: The above image was taken as the lion paused on the side of the road, close to our vehicle, allowing me to take a portrait-type picture. The aperture of f/4 at full zoom (focal length 200mm) is sufficiently wide to throw the background out of focus, allowing the main subject to stand out.

A few moments before, I took the picture below, also at full zoom and at f/4. Because the lion is further away, more of the subject is included in the frame, giving a three-quarter or head and torso view. Depth of field has also now increased, with more background detail visible. (While depth of field is usually increased by using a smaller aperture, it is also increased by any change that makes the image of the subject smaller, such as using a shorter focal length lens or moving further from the subject, as in this example).

Although the extra detail that results from more depth of field can be distracting, in this case it’s not too bad and serves to show the subject in its location — the African bush, and definitely not a European or American zoo.

The third picture (below) was taken while the lion was moving, at a focal length of 80mm, and shows the lion in full-figure, with even more background detail, again placing the subject in context. Although in this case it was a combination of circumstances — moving subject plus cars jostling for position on the road — that dictated composition, I like to shoot close-up, three-quarter, and full-figure shots of wildlife subjects whenever possible. You never know which one might be more useful to a magazine or book publisher.

While the light was quiet bright, allowing fast shutter speeds of 1/1000 at ISO 200, the image stabilization (found on all telephoto Canon L lenses) also helped to eliminate the camera shake that’s inevitable when you have people in a vehicle changing position as the the action unfolds.

Photo Details: Close up of adult male lion (Panthera leo) turning his head to lick his back leg, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.

Camera: Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi); Lens: Canon EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM; Focal Length: 300mm; Shutter speed: 1/800; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 400.

Additional Info: Strong side-lighting brings out a range of textures in this image, highlighting the mane, white “beard” and whiskers of the lion, while leaving the rest of the subject in shadow but with enough detail to see the facial features.

Side Note: For anyone using a Canon digital SLR — or thinking of upgrading from a compact to a Canon SLR — the range of lenses available is mind-boggling and liable to cause confusion and numbness of the brain.

In an effort to take the mystery out of complex descriptions and codes and help pinpoint the right lens for specific camera models and photographic applications, please have a browse through this article on Squidoo: Canon SLR Lenses. It’s rather long, but will equip anyone prepared to read it with good overview of Canon SLR lenses and how to decipher the identifying codes.