This is the moment a lioness honed her hunting skills in Botswana – biding her time to pounce before chasing after a flock of doves.
The birds, which had landed near a watering hole in the Chobe National Park in Botswana, proved easy prey for the energetic big cat.
Pictures show the animal slowly creeping up on the Cape Turtle Doves, before launching into a sprint and expertly snatching its dinner from the sky.
Photographer Steven Stockhall, who was leading a tour at the park, said the lioness then devoured its catch, leaving it with feathers all over its face.
On the prowl: Pictures capture the moment a lioness honed her hunting skills in Botswana – biding her time to pounce before chasing after a flock of doves
Taking flight: The birds, which had landed near a watering hole in the Chobe National Park in Botswana, proved easy prey for the experienced big cat
Dinner time: It didn’t take too long for the lioness to snatch her dinner out of the sky before tearing it apart with her teeth
Fierce: Photographer Steven Stockhall, who was leading a tour at the park, said the lioness then devoured its catch, leaving it with feathers all over its face
Speaking about the rare encounter, Mr Stockhall, 48, from Zimbabwe said: ‘We were camping close by to the seep and I got everyone up at 4.30am hoping that something would be around the tiny amount of surface water coming from the seep.
‘When we got there, a pride of lions had been drinking and were holding court over the water.
‘They had a bit of energy to burn, especially the youngsters, and they were chasing each other around and pouncing on each other. Thousands of Cape Turtle Doves were coming in to drink at dawn that day.
In a flap: Pictures show the animal slowly creeping up on the Cape Turtle Doves, before launching into a sprint and expertly snatching its dinner from the sky
Airborne: Mr Stockhall, 48, from Zimbabwe said his tour group woke at 4.30am in the hope that they would capture some interesting pictures
Easy prey: The lioness bided her time before sprinting out of her hiding place and running after the startled flock of grey doves
Stalking: Thousands of Cape Turtle Doves had landed at the watering hole in Botswana – despite the presence of a pride of lions
He said that only one young lioness took interest in the birds and and then started to hunt them.
‘She had been lying in a depression nearby, just her eyes and ears sticking out and you could tell she was calculating how to get it right,’ he added.
‘She would suddenly burst out of the depression, hoping that a Dove or two would be injured as they took off. Once she caught one, she would tear it apart, feathers all over her face and devour it.
‘A sighting like this is both rare and gold for us in this business. I was beside myself with excitement just watching the show let alone photographing.’
Success: Some of the young animals had energy to burn after drinking at the watering hole and chased after each other before turning on the birds
Waiting game: The lioness pokes its head up above its hiding place as it bides its time ahead of pouncing on the flock of birds
Photographer Steven Stockhall said he was ‘beside myself with excitement just watching the show let alone photographing’
The early morning photographs show young lions in the pride chasing after a large flock of doves at Chobe National Park in Botswana