Kilimanjaro Safari lion?????

[zackiedawg]

Go there enough, and add a little luck, you'll eventually see them up. I go 30-40 days a year to Disney, and though I've seen them wandering around a few times, never got a photo opportunity worth the salt until this past March on a cool day:

 

[perla75]

Go there enough, and add a little luck, you'll eventually see them up. I go 30-40 days a year to Disney, and though I've seen them wandering around a few times, never got a photo opportunity worth the salt until this past March on a cool day:

Cool photos!! Is he roaring or yawning? and is it just me or does he look a bit on the skinny side for a lion? I guess he should consider the DDP next time!

 

[zackiedawg]

Thank you. He seemed to have the scent of something...he was sniffing high in the air, then panting a few times as if trying to 'taste' the scent. The female jumped up just behind him but my truck rounded the corner and the next pic I got was a blur of weeds and the side of someone's head!

He looked a little thin - but it could have also been a little stretched the way he's standing, plus the sniffing and breathing which could have resulted in me catching him during an exhale. They pretty much lay around 20 hours or more a day, then get well fed, so I imagine they are doing better than most lions who have to go after their dinner at 45MPH, and don't always get it!

 

[wilde_oscar]

how much of the day do your dogs and cats at home spend sleeping, I know mine get up in the morning, get out of bed, eat and then nap, only to get up in the afternoon and move slightly to the left for their afternoon nap, followed by dinner and a nap, and the pre bed time nap... in the wild, lions sleep all day. heave a hand full of espresso beans at them, and ya might see something... like disney security up close and personal.

 

[MonoManBlue]

"in the jungle.....the mighty jungle.....the lion sleeps tonight!"

 

[Evan&Kimberly]

The lion is looking a tad bit frail,anyone else thinks that,I am sure that he is well taken care of but he is a bit small,and I am not saying this to be harsh so please dont let the claws out

 

[jheigl]

The first time we rode the ride in 2007, he actually roared and the guide was shocked and excited. He said it is very very rare to hear the lions roar.

 

[wendyinaustin]

The first time we rode the ride in 2007, he actually roared and the guide was shocked and excited. He said it is very very rare to hear the lions roar.

I guess there's not much to roar about when you get all the food you need, a couple of lionesses for company, health and dental benefits, and a nice cool rock to lounge on in the Florida humidity! Life's pretty good for the WDW lions!

 

[Lady_Sarah]

The first time we rode the ride in 2007, he actually roared and the guide was shocked and excited. He said it is very very rare to hear the lions roar.

Same thing here! On our very first ride, we rode in the late afternoon/evening last December 2008. We were lucky enough to actually here the lion roaring/making noise. It was so special that the CM actually stopped our vehicle *which they say they hardly ever do* to let us watch for a few minutes. She said she had never heard it make those noises before.

I didn't realize how special it was then (being our first ever ride on it) but do now! Call it beginners luck.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think they are animatronic lions.

The lions are real - but some of the trees are audioanimatronic...

 

[jheigl]

Same thing here! On our very first ride, we rode in the late afternoon/evening last December 2008. We were lucky enough to actually here the lion roaring/making noise. It was so special that the CM actually stopped our vehicle *which they say they hardly ever do* to let us watch for a few minutes. She said she had never heard it make those noises before.

I didn't realize how special it was then (being our first ever ride on it) but do now! Call it beginners luck.

We were on one of the first ride throughs of the morning....making it all that much more odd that it would roar. Maybe we woke him up or he was having a bad dream of being chased by a safari vehicle

 

[CarolA]

I have been roared at by him at least twice.

I have seen both of them up and moving.

They are real LOL!

If you ever break down on the Safari you get to deal with the "rescue" truck. One of my safari vehicles got "stuck" (The girl thought the truck was stuck.... actually she had forgotten to take off the emergency break LOL!) Anyway, they sent out the rescue truck. The guys figured out what was wrong, but one of them rode with us to make sure everything was OK (and I think to reassure our driver who was a little upset LOL!) So the rescue truck went in front of us. THe "repair guy" told us as we got to the lion area that the male lion hated the rescue truck.... and he was right. The lion stalked that truck and made a LOT of noise trying to drive it away. The repair guy said the keepers thought that the lions were very used to the Safari trucks and viewed them as "normal" and not a threat, but his truck was not there often and so was a threat! It was VERY VERY cool!

 

[Mennamachine]

If you can manage to get on the safari while it is raining, you will see many more animals and they will be much more active. The only time I saw the lions moving about was during a rainstorm. Many of the other animals were out in much larger numbers as well. They all want to get a drink of the fresh rainwater!

It's hard to time it that way, we almost waited on our fastpass for the rain to clear, and I'm so glad we went at that time! It was the best safari I've been on.

 

[lborne]

Here they are reprogramming the lion to roar more often and fixing some of the actuators.

 

[devonsmommy]

The only time I've been to AK was June/July 2004 and it was POURING! We stayed on the safari for 3 straight times! There was no one in line so our guide just kept going! It was great because a lot of the animals were out and about.

 

[smep013]

We saw him up and walking around on our trip earlier this month - first time ever. I was so excited! The driver said it was only the 3rd time (on hundreds of safaris) that he saw the lion up and walking around. It was a highlight for sure! And he is so beautiful!!!

 

[PandyPaws]

As a former Safari driver, I've seen the lions up and about many, many times.
"Lions sleep 18-20 hours of the day". In the wild, the male will roar to stake it's territory and ward off any intruder males. As there are two couples that are swapped out every few days, I often saw a male pacing and roaring and 'marking' first thing in the morning on his first morning out after being off stage for a couple of days (re-claiming his territory ).

The best chance of hearing them roar is first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon. I've been lucky enough to drive for the Sunrise Safari Breakfast and hear the male and female roar in tandem on several occassions

 

[Tiffany]

The last 4 times i rode the ks the lion was alway up on the hill asleep.
Question is he real or fake? Has anyone ever seen him up and awake?

Our guide said he sleeps all day...but i gotta wonder?

They are both real, there is a male and a female. When we have done the Sunrise Safari the male was pacing back and forth it was nice to see. Lions are like house cats they sleep 18hrs a day.

 

[brockash]

Okay I don't mean to steal your thread, but since we're on the subject, are the alligators (or croc's not sure which they are) real? My sister and I have been debating this since our last visit. They didn't look real to me, because they didn't seem to move at all, but then I thought I saw something on t.v. saying they were real. Are all the animals on the safari ride real? If not, which one's are fake?

 

[brockash]

Okay, so I see someone already had said that all the animals are real, except the baby elephant. I'll have to look closer at those alligators next time