One morning on the Masai Mara reserve, we encountered a lioness and her three cubs hauling a wildebeest carcass to cover. The kill was fresh, it was out in the open plain and the nearest cover of scrub was a mile distant.

So we watched as she hauled the carcass for some forty-five minutes until it was safe under cover from any other hungry scavengers. She had no help, not even from her cubs, who, just like children, tried everything they could to slow the process. They indulged in tug-o-war, and at one point even jumped on the dead antelope for a free ride.

This picture was taken at about her halfway point, while she paused for a minute to catch her breath.

Taken using a Nikon D300 with a 200-400 lens at 400mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 and ISO 200.