Wildlife Photographer’s Compilation of Sleepy Lions Yawning Is a Whole Monday Mood
Fair Warning: Reading this is probably going to make you yawn! If you've got a case of the Mondays or just need a few minutes of Zen, this video that wildlife photographer Karolina Noree shared on Thursday, January 25th will leave you wishing for a nap...it did for me!
Karolina was recently out on safari, looking for the king of the savannah, the lion. Not only did she find several of them, but they were all basking in the late afternoon sun and taking it easy...yawning and looking relaxed. She shows us both male and female lions, and even a cub who looks directly into the camera. Make sure to watch until the end because we even get to hear a lion roar!
Feel like you need a nap now? The music that @Karolina used to accompany the video was just perfect! And I'll admit that I yawned more than once watching the video (and have again since I'm writing about all this yawning!) Commenter @Megan.Muse made me laugh with, "If not friend, WHY FRIEND SHAPED?!" Seeing all the cute lions makes me want to go find a lion to hug! @DomMac shared, "I have always loved the lion calls and noises, especially late at night and early morning in the quiet of the Southern African bush." I'm so glad that Karolina shared it with all of us!
Related: Up-Close Footage of a Lion Sneezing Is Giving People Goosebumps
Why Do Lions Yawn and Roar?
Lions don't necessarily yawn because they are tired, rather, they yawn to stay alert. They also yawn to send signals to each other, and to help sync up with others when hunting. They yawn frequently when they are getting each other's attention and to synchronize their group's movements; it keeps the pride on the same page. So it's more a form of communication for them instead of just being a signal for naptime.
Since we got to see a lion roar in the video, though he didn't look at all bothered or threatened, I thought I'd find out why they roar and what it means. Turns out a lion's roar can mean many different things. They roar to show off strength to rivals, but they also roar to attract mates. They roar to show their dominance, and to communicate with their pride. They'll roar to scare away predators and intruders, and to warn the pride of potential danger. If a lion gets separated from their pride, they'll often roar (it's like yelling) to find the lost lion or their group.
In this video, was the lion roaring to show dominance or was he warning his pride that there were humans nearby? We might not ever know for sure, but it was sure cool to see!
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