Mark Boyd's Image

Early in the morning, Mark watched as these lionesses groomed one of the pride’s five cubs in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.

They had set off to hunt the evening before, leaving the cubs hidden overnight in dense bushes. Returning from their unsuccessful mission, they’d called the cubs out onto the open grassland. Females raise each other’s cubs as their own, sharing parenting duties. Here the youngster was clearly enjoying the moment of affection and attention.