NOTE: This story was written as a gift for a friend. I wanted to clear this just in case you guys are wondering why this story was written. Please enjoy.


Africa’s vast savanna grounds are filled with much diverse wildlife. From the tiniest insects, to the largest mammals there is countless number of species that call these habitats home. Of all the animals living in these grounds, only one is the main focus in this story.

Known as the “King of the Jungle”, lions are one of the continent’s most famous creatures. They live together, hunt together and are not afraid of anything- except maybe elephants. While it is true they live in larger “prides”, this tale tells about certain a female whose life started out as a stand still but ended in an amazing turn around. So, I proudly give to you the story of “The Lonely Lioness”…

The sun just started to set as the grasslands slowly turned dark. Walking through the tall grasses, a lioness was attempting to find a place to sleep. Her day started out like normally as she had plenty to eat through the hours. After a while of browsing, she was able to find a cozy spot on a large boulder. Because they are more muscular, females are able to climb on trees and can even climb on top of large rocks and boulders. Finding a perfect spot in a little hole on the boulder, she was able to drift to sleep easily. The night went by until it was dawn. The lioness slowly left the spot and stretched her body, arms and legs while yawning. The time came for her to move on and find food. She decided to take a trip near the waterhole were a lot of animals came down to drink.

The waterhole was silent for a moment until the sun slowly rose to the sky. Large herds of zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, elephants, and other animals gathered in, near and around the water as they attempt to get the supply of water they needed. There was enough prey for the lioness to choose, though it was difficult to decide what would be more suitable. She was a little hungry and would go after an antelope. After observing what types were in the area, she pinpointed a female Impala and started to do her hunting instincts. Despite the fact she was a loner, hunting was a skill she had no issue at. In fact, she is able to take down zebras without help. She is praised as a very skillful hunter.

Slowly and quietly, she prowled through the undergrowth as the terrain gave her perfect camouflage. When she was able to get close enough, she kept watchful contact on her prey- which was the female Impala. Waiting for a few seconds, she crouched down while still watching her prey and in a flash she leaped out and chased the Impala through the crowd of animals as they all started running in different directions. The whole area became chaos as elephants charged out of the way pushing the other animals out of their way. Zebras and wildebeest did what they could to keep their distance away from the lioness, even though she was after the antelope. The other Impalas and antelopes also made their way out from the water’s edge as they were trying to make it to the slopes. What became of the lioness and Impala was simple- after a quick run through some thick shrubs, she was able to catch her prey and enjoy her breakfast in peace.

Being alone may not be bad for some animals, but for a lion and lioness it’s a different matter. Through her life, she has noticed different prides- each with many females, single male and little cubs. Seeing this makes her quite sad as she wished to be part of the pride and have cubs of her own. Despite every attempt, the prides would be aggressive towards her and decline her negotiation. Sometimes she even ended up scarred, wounded or bruised. Her life was difficult only by this outcome. It was now the middle of the afternoon as she continued traveling through the tall brushes. She stopped by a little waterhole to take a break. The waterhole was very little as there were only puddles. It could be enough to satisfy the thirst of smaller things such as insects, gazelles and even birds. To the right side was a large quantity of water but was inhabitant by Nile crocodiles, creatures that were feared to every animal. She knew better than to go anywhere near them or that side of the waterhole. After resting for a little while more, she decided it was time to continue.

Walking through the bush for an hour, the lioness’s hunger started to increase. Sense her Impala feeding, she hasn’t eaten for hours. The best she could do was to walk through the brush as quickly as she could. It seemed like an intense turnaround for her, but there was nothing much she could do as being a loner meant she had to figure things out on her own. Moments after desperate searching, her luck soon turned when she discovered some hyenas that were making their way through the dense undergrowth. Packs of hyenas usually mean that a kill recently occurred. She quietly followed them with success of not being detected. After a while of “Following the leader”, the lioness discovered the pack which was feasting on a giraffe carcass. She was shocked that they were able to kill such a tall animal, but she soon realized that the carcass was merely just an old animal and probably died of age. She continued lying in the brush while keeping watchful eye on the hyenas. After nearly an hour, the pack was finally done feasting and ran into the bushes on the far left. This was finally the chance the lioness had been waiting for.

Carcasses aren’t exactly filling to a hungry lioness, but all what was left filled her quite enough. Eating all what she could, she made way through the thicket as it started turning dark. Lions are very good hunters at night. Despite this, the lioness wasn’t really in the mood to hunt. All what was on her mind was sleep. Her newest job was to find a good place to rest, though finding it was a lot harder than it seemed. She tried at lease a few resting areas but none of them suited her. One particular place was a little cave that ended up being the home of a mother leopard and her two cubs. Two hours later, she was able to find a nice spot on top of a little hill. Like the night before, she slept really well and the night went along peacefully. When dawn came, she slowly raised her head from the ground and gave a huge yawn. She then stretched and took a good look around the savanna, which from the top of the hill she stood looked really beautiful and amazing. As she was observing, she discovered something. Not far from the hill, a male lion was sniffing the grass.

This certainly sent loads of surprise to the lioness. Alone out on the brush, was a large, handsome male. What drove her curious was how could a male be alone? Deciding to find out, she slowly got down from the hill and made her way to him. After getting a little closer, she discovered that this male was indeed an adult- by his size and the pattern of his mane. What she wanted to know was if he was indeed alone or if he was kicked out by another pride. As all of this was in her mind, the male quickly turned and realized that she was there. For a brief moment, everything stood still and quite. Both the male and female just stared at each other, not making any sounds or sudden movements. A little while later, things started to go smoothly. They eventually got around to learning more about each other including grooming one another, sharing their scents and sending good romance to each other- though they haven’t mated yet. Through the day, their lives suddenly changed. It now obvious what the lioness had been missing - not only hunting on her own, but the fact she also hunted for her future mate. Also what became obvious was that she could socialize to another of her kind. It all turned the same for the male too.

As the day went on, they made their way to a proper resting spot. It seemed that they ventured through the savanna too far and have ended up in a shady area, occupied by lots of Acacias. Curled together like raccoons, they fell fast asleep. When the morning arrived, they continued sleeping until a familiar sound was heard from a mile away. The male raised his head quickly while carefully listening. The sounds occurred once again and it was obvious what was heard- another male was near. Gently, the male got up and quickly walked away from the Acacia forest. The female continued resting until an hour later when she awoke. She realized something was missing and made her way out of the shady area. She then made loud roars, hoping the male would respond. After doing this for a while more, she got the idea he wasn’t answering. Thinking that something awful might have happened, she followed his scent. She was a mile away which surprised her. She then heard what appeared to be tiny rocks moving around. Following the direction of the sounds, she peeked over a large boulder and was shocked.

Down from the hill, two male lions were attempting to fight. One of the males was easily recognized by the female. The other appeared to be an outsider as his mane was droopier. He also had little scars and wounds on his face and body. The brawl went on for approximately twenty minutes in which it ended with the outsider loosing. As he quickly ran away, the other male watched as he breathed heavily. The female quickly came out of hiding and came to him as she was rubbing her face on his. The male received little wounds, but nothing major. As the day went on, the couple became closer and closer and got into the moment of mating. Within the next few months, she gave birth to four cubs which resulted in a new pride. With the male by her side, it became obvious that her life and his life changed forever. What really changed things was that other lioness that were in the same patch as they were came around and wanted to be accepted as part of the family and pride. The male, who was very gentle and caring, allowed them to become part.

And thus concludes this charming, sweet tale of how a female and male lion started off as loners ended up being proper. Traditional “Happy Ending” to one of Africa’s most diverse animals.

THE END