These pictures show the remarkable moment a massive male lion appeared to get a telling off after playtime when two baby cubs got carried away.
The photographs by game lodge manager Tom Coetzee captured the Black Dam pride at play in the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Mr Coetzee had been tracking the pride of three lionesses, four cubs, and a male to a favourite location near a riverbed where the females had set up a den. Pictured is the play fight that turned a little too rough for the mother lions liking.
Not so rough: The male lion gets a telling off from the mother of their cubs for playing too aggressively. Pictures were taken by a game keeper near their riverside pride in Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa
The cubs beginning their playtime (left). Baby cubs often play fight as a practice for their later years where they may be forced to fight for dominance. Cubs play with anything that interests them including ostrich eggs, turtles and their mothers tail
Mother plays with the cubs while the male lion looks on. Female lions remain playful in their later years, much more so than the male adult lions
Defending cubs against outside males is one of the primary reasons why female lions live in groups, as there is strength in numbers and only groups of females can defeat males and successfully protect their cubs
These pictures show the Black Dam pride in South Africa, the images captured by a local game lodge manager who takes care of the grounds. Prides may have several female and male lions, with the male lions all vying for dominance
Female lions remain more playful in adult life than male lions in order to teach cubs how to fight and defend themselves, as well as play fighting to show affection to their young
