Watch a Lioness Bravely Carry Her Cub Across a Dangerous River

There are so many dangers that present themselves to young animals in the wild. And while when we think of danger, our minds go to predators, there are so many other dangers out there. Dangers such as mother nature, food, and illnesses. We see this mother lioness brave mother nature’s Sand River to protect her young one.

Watch This Incredible Video Shown Below!

Lioness and Cub Sighting in South Africa

The next YouTube video posted at the top of this blog post takes us to the Mala Mala Game Reserve located in South Africa. This video was shared by the YouTube page of the MalaMala Game Reserve. This channel offers exciting footage of animals in their natural habitat in South Africa. We will see amazing animals such as the big five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and African buffalo.)

Lioness Carrying Cub Across Sand River

At the start of this YouTube video, we see the amazing beauty of the South African landscape. We are getting a more aerial view of this lioness down by the river with her young cub. And while to us, this Sand River doesn’t seem that daunting, to a young cub, it can be detrimental.

Not only does the cub have to worry about the depths of the water, but also the currents, and perhaps the most dangerous of all, what lurks beneath the waters. According to Safari Partner, “Nile crocodiles are the largest freshwater predators in Africa. With the strongest bite force in Africa, a Nile crocodile can easily kill a lion, zebra, wildebeest, or even a cape buffalo.”

This mother lioness isn’t willing to risk her cub’s life in any way. And so she determines that she will carry her cub across this dangerous river. We see the lioness grab her cub by his neck and carry him across the river. Once she is past the river, she continues to carry her cub through unknown land against the threat of predators that might be near her.

How Do Lions Pick Up Their Cubs?

In the video above, we see that the lioness grabbed her young cub by the neck. While this might seem odd that this mother would grab her young one like that, this is actually quite normal.

Shenton Safaris adds, “The mother will pick the cub up by the scruff of the neck and gently hold the cub in her mouth. The cub instinctively will relax every muscle and allow the mother to transport it to their new safe den.”

Because of this design in how lions can carry their cubs, they are able to transport them as we see in the video above, safely.