Tag: African Lion

African Lion, Lion

African Lion with Broken Fangs, Serengeti National Park

In my last post I showed a photo of a male lion with a nasty wound just below his right eye.  I mentioned he had other problems, including his teeth.  Here’s a photo of him mating with one of the lionesses in his pride.  He opens his mouth here and his upper left fang seems to be missing.

African Lions copulating; Serengeti National Park,Tanzania. (Jim Coda)

African Lions Copulating; Serengeti National Park,Tanzania

Lions mating with male lion showing missing and broken teeth

Male Lion Has Missing and/or Broken Fangs, Serengeti National Park.

Here is an enlarged portion of the previous photo which shows his teeth better.  Not only is most if not all of his upper left fang missing, but his lower left fang is broken and looks decayed.  I just saw a TV show about an African sanctuary which takes in wild animals and gives them a second chance.  The program showed some lions and hyenas getting dental work done.  Broken and missing teeth are a common problem with lions (and maybe hyenas as well) and a factor in estimating their age.

This guy doesn’t live in a sanctuary where they give medical care to the animals.  He will have to live with his health problems.  I hope he lives a full life.

For a larger view of the first photo above, click on my portfolio.

African Lion, Lion

Male Lion with Facial Wound, Serengeti National Park

The face of this malelion shows many scars from fighting. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. It has a large open wound under his right eye and his upper lip exposes his teeth at all times. (Jim Coda)

Male Lion with Open Facial Wound

I saw several male lions in Serengeti National Park and, as I recall, they all had some wound and/or scars on their faces.  This guy was the worst though.  The wound under his right eye looks like it could be serious.  He has lost all his skin over the area and I’m  wondering if flies might lay eggs in the wound.  On the other hand, I’ve seen TV documentaries where lions had worse wounds and they recovered.  I hope this guy makes it.  I don’t know how old he is, but he has some other problems.  There is something wrong with his upper lip.  The two sides of his upper lip don’t come together and you can see several of his upper and lower teeth.  Plus, based on another photo, I don’t think he has his upper left fang and his lower left fang is broken and black in the center which may indicate an exposed nerve and/or infection.  Life  in the wild is tough – even if you’re a male lion.

On the other hand, we saw him mating with one of the females in his pride, so he’s still king of his area of the Serengeti.

To see a larger photo, click on my portfolio.