For me, lions are much more than an iconic safari sighting. After many years of travelling and photographing wildlife in Africa, I still feel something special whenever a lion appears. It may be a male walking silently through the early morning grass, a lioness watching her cubs or an entire pride resting together after a night of activity.

Even when they seem completely relaxed, lions have a presence that changes the atmosphere around them.

World Lion Day is therefore both a celebration and a reminder. It gives us an opportunity to admire these extraordinary animals, but also to understand the growing pressures they face and the importance of protecting the landscapes in which they live.

Their decline has been driven by several interconnected threats:

Protecting lions does not mean protecting only one charismatic species. Lions are apex predators and an essential part of a functioning African ecosystem. Their presence influences prey populations, the behaviour of other predators and the wider balance of the savannah.

When lions disappear, the effects can extend through the entire ecosystem.

A pride normally includes related lionesses, their cubs and one or more adult males. Lionesses frequently cooperate when raising cubs, defending territory and hunting. These family relationships create some of the most intimate and interesting moments I have witnessed during photographic safaris.

A quiet scene between a lioness and her cubs can sometimes be more moving than a hunt.

Young lions play, test boundaries and learn from the adults around them. Lionesses greet one another, rest in close contact and communicate through posture, scent and vocalisation. Adult males patrol and defend territories, although their position can change rapidly when rival males arrive.

Observing a pride over time reveals a complex society built around cooperation, competition and survival.

A lion’s roar can travel several kilometres, depending on the terrain and atmospheric conditions. Lions roar to advertise their presence, defend territory and communicate with other members of the pride.

Hearing that sound from a tented camp is a very different experience from hearing it in a documentary. The darkness makes it impossible to judge the exact distance. The roar seems to travel through the ground, reminding you that you are sleeping inside a living ecosystem.

It is one of those moments that cannot be fully captured in a photograph but remains part of the safari experience forever.

Lions may be seen resting on kopjes, moving through the plains or watching the herds from the cover of grass and woodland. The open terrain can produce clean backgrounds and powerful environmental photographs showing the animal within the vast landscape.

Patience remains essential. The best image is not always the closest portrait; it may be a lion moving through the grass with the crater landscape behind it.

Its dry riverbeds, baobab trees, rocky hills and warm seasonal light create a very different visual atmosphere from the Serengeti. Ruaha is particularly known for substantial lion populations and dramatic predator interactions.

The park’s sense of space and comparatively low number of vehicles can make it possible to observe a pride quietly and work carefully with light, behaviour and composition.

The first thing I observe is behaviour.

A lion sleeping in harsh midday light may produce a record photograph, but the situation can become much more interesting when the animal wakes, interacts with another pride member or begins to move. Small signals—a raised head, focused ears, a change in posture—can indicate that something is about to happen.

I also pay close attention to the background. Moving the vehicle only a few metres, when permitted and without disturbing the animal, can remove distracting branches or place the lion against a cleaner area of grass.

Early morning and late afternoon usually offer the most attractive light. Warm, low light can reveal the texture of a male lion’s mane or create a rim of light around a lioness. In low light, however, it is important to maintain a shutter speed fast enough to avoid motion blur.

For a resting lion, a moderate shutter speed may be sufficient. When lions are walking, playing or interacting, I increase the shutter speed and allow the ISO to rise when necessary. A sharp image with some digital noise is generally preferable to a perfectly clean but blurred photograph.

Most importantly, I give the scene time.

Wildlife photography improves when we stop chasing every sighting and begin observing what is happening in front of us.

Vehicles should never surround or block an animal, separate a lioness from her cubs or pressure lions into changing direction. Excessive noise and sudden movements can disturb both resting and active animals.

Ethical wildlife photography means accepting that nature does not perform on command. Sometimes the lion remains hidden. Sometimes the light is difficult. Sometimes another vehicle occupies the best position.

The objective should not be to obtain an image at any cost, but to photograph natural behaviour without influencing it.

This approach normally leads not only to more responsible encounters, but also to more authentic photographs.

See also my photo portfolio dedicated to African Cats

But admiration alone will not secure their future.

Lion conservation depends on protecting large connected habitats, reducing conflict between people and predators, supporting communities living near wildlife areas and maintaining healthy prey populations.

Responsible tourism can contribute by giving wildlife and protected landscapes an economic value, provided that tourism remains respectful, locally beneficial and carefully managed.

For photographers, lions offer extraordinary images. For African ecosystems, they represent something much more important: balance, continuity and wildness.

On August 10, let us celebrate the African lion—not only as the king of the savannah, but as a species whose future is inseparable from the future of Africa’s wilderness.