Animals,  Botswana,  England,  Lens-Artists,  Rajasthan,  Senegal

Gallery: in praise of cats

Terry Pratchett

And even more than domestic cats I love to see the big cats. To me, lions, tigers and other wild cats are among the most beautiful animals in the world.

So for this week’s Lens Artist challenge led by Tina , in which she asks us to share photos of cats and dogs, I’ve compiled a few galleries. One is of domestic cats encountered close to home or on our travels. And a few feature wild cats, some seen in the wild and some in sanctuaries. But I hope Tina will forgive me if I skip over the dogs part of the challenge because, while I do have some photos, there seem to be more than enough cat ones here!

Domestic cats

We don’t own a cat and never have, as we don’t feel it’s fair when we travel so much. The poor thing would be in and out of catteries! But we love to interact with all the local cats (when they’ll let us!) and with any we meet on our travels.

You can click any image in all the galleries on this page to see a captioned slideshow of the whole gallery (you’ll need to click on the ‘i’, bottom right, if viewing on a phone)

Big cats in the wild

I’ve been fortunate to see lions quite a few times in the wild, most recently in Botswana. And I’ve seen tigers in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India. Also in Rajasthan we had a distant sighting of a leopard and cub near Narlai, although shooting on full zoom at dusk doesn’t give the greatest results!

Protecting big cats

I’m yet to get a close look at cheetahs or leopards in their natural surroundings but have seen them in reserves. I’m not a fan of large animals like these in zoos. However I do admire the work many sanctuaries do, including Kent’s Big Cats sanctuary where we once spent a memorable night with special access to the animals (feeding tigers, even petting a cheetah!) And more recently we saw Scottish wildcats at the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey. My feature photo is of a couple of these beautiful animals, so like our domestic tabbies and yet not …

Walking with lions

Some years ago in Senegal we had a very special experience. We stayed at Fathala Lodge which has its own wildlife reserve. This includes a small group of lions who were adopted as cubs. Now, lions are of course not native to Senegal, and I’ve read concerns online about their presence here. But these babies weren’t taken from the wild, far from it. They were born in captivity in South Africa, on a lion farm, and were destined to be sold for so-called ‘canned hunting’. They had been hand-reared and bottle-fed, so aren’t naturally fearful of people as they should be, and cannot be released into the wild.

These lions may not be living their most natural life at Fathala. But they are surely much better off here than being hunted and killed for ‘fun’. And because they are partly adapted to the presence of people (but still most definitely wild), the reserve offers the opportunity to walk with them. If you do this you must accept certain rules and sign a waiver, which was slightly unnerving. After the first few minutes however I never felt unsafe. And it was a privilege to be so close to these magnificent beasts.

But would I do it again? I’m not sure, as I’ve since had some reservations about the practice. Some commentators online have suggested that the lions are drugged to keep them docile. I don’t believe from what I saw that this is the case. But I do think they have learned to be nervous of the big sticks that their keepers and all visitors must carry, and I worry that they learned this nervousness the hard way. So on balance, although it was an amazing experience, my great memories, and my photos, hold some discomfort too.

So, would I do it again? Probably not, but I have to confess to being glad to have done so.

58 Comments

  • Leanne Cole

    You are lucky to be able to interact with lots of other peoples cats, since you can’t have your own. I always feel bad when I leave for a trip as one our cats always seems to miss me.
    I love the big cats, they are incredible Sarah. Not sure I would have been brave enough to do what you did in the last one.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Leanne 🙂 Yes, we enjoy seeing the neighbourhood cats although since our previous neighbours moved away we don’t get any visiting our garden these days. The big cats are indeed incredible, but it didn’t feel too brave doing the lion walk as we felt the reserve was taking safety precautions seriously and we knew there had never been any problems.

  • Leya

    Wonderful galleries, Sarah! Your big cats are gorgeous captures, and if I am to choose a favourite – it is the leopard in Rajasthan. Totally one with its surroundings.

  • Alison

    Wow such beautiful close ups Sarah. I’ve not been to any African safaris so have not seen any big cats up close. A very honest opinion about the lions though.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks so much Alison 😊 I love seeing animals in the wild and would happily do more safaris but Chris would take some convincing as he looks for something different in each trip we take!

  • Teresa

    Cats big or small or tame or fierce… you captures them well. But I especially love the big cats in their natural habitat.

  • Jane Lurie

    Lots of great cat portraits, Sarah! The ones that shine for me are your big cats – such great safari shots. It is amazing how their mannerisms are similar no matter the size. 🙂

  • Rose

    All pretty and majestic cats. I like both cats and dogs, I’m pickier about their personalities. Our neighbors have a wonderful, friendly, older dog we just love. There are other dogs in the neighborhood that are annoying. Other neighbors have a gorgeous, black, fluffy, outdoor kitty who visits us and keeps the community rodent free. Your photo of the calico kitty in Marrakesh looks like the kitty cat we had for 16 years. She’s been gone for a few years now, still miss her… 💔

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Rose 🙂 Our former neighbours once had FOUR cats. Two were super friendly and visited us often. One was a bit more cautious but still dropped in from time to time. And one was a seemingly permanently angry ginger tom who would sit on our back fence and glower at us! We don’t miss him but we do miss the other three.

  • equinoxio21

    Lovely. Couldn’t agree more. I am positive I was a cat in a previous life. Still have the green eyes. 😉
    Your experience in Sénégal was gerat. Made me think of Joy Adamson’s ‘Born free’…
    👍🏻

  • Sofia Alves

    Fantastic galleries as always, Sarah, and hard to pick which one I love more. Your last section was thought provoking. I’ve never been to any place deemed exotic but I’d be a lot more aware of these things now that I’ve read your experience.

  • sheetalbravon

    You saw a tiger in Ranthambhor and I’m so envious. I’ve yet to see one in the wild, not that I haven’t tried my best. Also I didn’t know about canned hunting and that’s a rabbit hole I wish I hadn’t fallen into.
    Fantastic photos and a great write up, Sarah.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks so much Sheetal 😊 You might not want to hear this but we actually saw TWO tigers in Ranthambore, on two separate drives. The one by the grass was the first and stayed at some distance (that’s taken with my zoom at full stretch). The other walked right past our jeep but the experience was marred by a guide who insisted on standing up and blocking our view while he took photos himself 😠 That shot above is the only one I got!

  • Suzanne

    Yes, I am more of a cat lover as their “I don’t put up with bullsh*t” type attitude whereas dogs are too loyal for their own good. Both have their places and we have had a few cats and one very endearing dog when we lived rurally which suited all the animals as they had the space to roam. Those big cats are so beautiful if a little scary to be near.

  • Rebecca

    I grew up with dogs, so dogs have a soft spot in my heart. However, I’ve come around to loving cats in recent years, as my partner loves cats. It’s incredible just how many different types of cats there are in the world, from the small and adorable house cat to the large and ferocious tiger. Thank you for sharing, Sarah!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Rebecca 🙂 Yes, lots of different types of cats but maybe they aren’t as different as they at first seem – a small and adorable house cat can behave rather like a tiger at times!

  • Susanne Swanson

    They are all beautiful! I too have a hard time seeing the big cats in a zoo. The lions at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, seem okay, in a large natural space, African Savannah. Unfortunately, I’ve seen other cats in zoos in more cage-like structures, and they are always pacing. 🙁 I the wish animals could have their share of earth where they could safely roam, but it seems that sanctuaries are the best solution.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Susanne 🙂 There is definitely quite a wide difference between the best zoos and the worst, and if the animals are bred in captivity rather than captured from the wild (as used to be the case) and if they are well housed and have plenty of space, I am OK with zoos – especially the ones that take their responsibilities seriously, participating in research and breeding programmes like London Zoo does. But I prefer a dedicated sanctuary like our Big Cat one or better still a reserve with lots of space to roam.

  • Egídio

    Wow! You got such beautiful closeups and gorgeous facial expressions. This is truly a gorgeous gallery. I’m amazed you trusted that big cat on a tree.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks so much Egidio 😊 I’m a little surprised I trusted her too, but I think it was more a case that I trusted the keepers who accompanied us – and she’s not as close as the camera makes her look!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Marie, I hope you get to see a tiger too 😀 I’d love to see another one, as despite the sightings our experience in Ranthambore wasn’t ideal, with some chaotic guiding. We tried in Nepal but weren’t successful there.

  • Linda K

    Definitely a cat person here! Have grown up with cats and can’t wait to have another one one day. I agree that part of their charm is their independent attitude. A shame about the lions that you mentioned at the end, better than being hunted but not as free as we’d like to see them.

  • Tina Schell

    First , as always your post is terrific. No one will miss the dogs LOL. Your domesticated cat images are wonderful and of course the big cats are stunning. All of your images are captured beautifully. I especially loved the little lion cub. I found your final section especially interesting. I had a similar experience with elephants in Thailand. The elephants were amazing and we were able to be quite close to them, in fact we rode one of them. But on later examination I learned that in both cases their training includes some terrible treatment and I definitely would not have participated in either event if I’d known ahead of time.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks for that thoughtful response Tina 🙂 We rode elephants years ago in Kerala but I wouldn’t do so now. While I feel a bit unsure about the lion experience, I know for sure that carrying people regularly is bad for an elephant’s back (have you noticed that mahouts always ride further forwards?), and as you say, riding elephants are often maltreated.

  • Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter

    Totally with you on preferring cats over dogs. I find them much more interesting.As someone (not sure who) quipped, dogs have owners, cats have staff. We have had two, at different times, with completely contrasting personalities but the same overwhelming ego. I used to say if they were people we’d hate them! The last one died about 15 years ago and though I’m often tempted, we have not succumbed to another one. I loved all your photos.

  • Heyjude

    Great cats, big and small. I was always a dog person until I moved in with someone who had cats and since then I have owned cats (or should I say they have owned me up until 2004 when my last one died. As we travelled a bit at that time we never got another cat, though I do keep thinking I might do now. They are such characters. I do get annoyed when random ones use my garden as a toilet. And my daughter thinks we should have a dog as it would encourage us to walk every day!!

    I also would not walk with lions, no matter how ‘tamed’ they were. Though I have been on a ‘feed the leopard and cheetah’ ride on a farm in Namibia. I was nervous when those cats came close!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Yes, cats do seem to own their humans rather than vice versa! I should have remembered that we did that cheetah ride in Namibia (at Okonjima – same place?) and included some photos from there too!

  • margaret21

    I’m more of a ‘cat lady’ than a dog person too, for the same reasons, so I enjoyed this parade of felines. But more especially your images of Big Cats.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks so much Anne 😊 Only a little bit brave as we felt well looked after and knew that in four years of offering the activity there had never been a single ‘mishap’!

  • Monkey's Tale

    I’m a cat person too, although my allergies to them don’t agree. Amazing to have that experience with the lions, but not something most of us would do now. Maggie

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