Warrior

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Story Behind the Photograph: Warrior

Contrary to popular belief, the life of a male lion is not that easy. Even though male lions are most often seen lying down, or commandeering the spoils of their lionesses’ hard work, when their call to action comes, it is usually extremely hostile.

To become a King in the lion world is no easy task; it requires tenacity, great strength and courage, as well as good strategy, and just sheer luck. The luck is being born with a few strong male siblings with whom to forge close brotherly bonds. These bonds and coalitions are especially important when defending their territories and prides, as the more firepower you have to take on challengers, the better your chances of staying alive and siring more offspring.

This magnificent Kalahari black-maned male lion was in the prime of his life, one of two males who held sway over territory in the Letihau region of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. This particular area is as remote a location as any that can still be found in Africa. For hundreds of kilometres it is just you and whatever you cross paths with.

I encountered the Warrior on one of his routine territorial patrols. At strategic points he would scent-mark bushes, trees and other important features that would be recognised by any challenger as a boundary not to be crossed.

I remember lying flat on the ground as he approached. I dared not trip the shutter until he was very close, as I knew from previous experience how that simple sound could result in an altering of course. And I needed him to come as close as possible. When he was just 20 metres away I took my first image. He cocked his head for a second and then kept coming. A few more paces and I fired again.

This time he stopped, picked up the direction of the sound and the source from which it came, which was me. My heart was thumping in my chest, throbbing in my ears, as I kept my hands steady on the camera. I lay there with this regal male lion staring at me with curious golden orbs, weighing his next move toward the intruder in his kingdom. After several seconds of watching, he started approaching. When only a few metres away, he veered slightly, head down, apparently indifferent to my presence.

I was neither a threat nor a challenge: merely a curiosity in his line of duty as a warrior.

About Untamed Photographer

Untamed Photographer is an online art gallery that brings together wildlife photography and stories from a range of international environmental artists, both emerging and established.

Structured as an online marketplace, Untamed Photographer offers a selection of handpicked, limited-edition works of art, alongside the photographers’ compelling stories of what occurred in the wild to get the shot. The exclusive limited-edition pieces are printed in Miami and come with an artist-signed certificate of authenticity from their respective worldwide locations.

The Nature Trust of the Americas (NTOTA) was founded with the mission to give back. While building awareness for NTOTA’s causes, the founders met talented nature photographers who are passionate not only about photography, but also about saving the planet. Their life’s work and stories are inspiring, and their art, passion and stories deserve to be shared on a platform that benefits the environmental causes they are dedicated to.

Just as the photographers preserve the beauty of the planet in their art, Untamed Photographer is dedicated to preserving the planet for the future. All profits from photographs go to Untamed Photographer's two pillars: the artists and causes that protect the environment, ecosystems, and wildlife.

About the Photographer: Chris Fallows

Chris Fallows is a world renowned wildlife photographer and authority on Great white sharks.

South African-born, his work represents authenticity, intimacy and emotion. Chris has loved wildlife since his first breath; his passion for wildlife and the natural world is reflected in his photographs and the unique manner in which he treats each species and brings it to the foreground.

The engaging manner in which he photographs his wild subjects bears testimony to the decades he has spent in some of the world’s most remote regions, uniquely working in all areas: ocean, land and air. He seeks to bring the audience to the subjects at eye level, and in that way create the feeling of being with the subject rather than dominating it.

His composition style is clean and unobstructed with landscapes that empower the subjects, rather than overwhelming them.

Fallows wishes to touch the audience of his work in a way that emotionally connects them to the subject matter, with awe and respect to perhaps guilt and sadness. Most of all, he would like to unearth in his viewers a primal desire to get in touch with the natural world that is our shared origin. Through that most basic urge, he feels we can create a collaborative path toward sharing the planet rather than conquering it.

Fallows’ work has appeared in more than 60 international documentaries with the BBC, NationalGeographic and Discovery Channel.