Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Smoking Lion

It was a pretty cold morning in Masai Mara. Lions were roaring loudly all night, to the point that it seemed as if they were staying at the tent next to ours. We left camp before sunrise, and within five minutes, we were treated with a pride of lions on a small hill: two male lions, "Earless" and "Osahabu", and a few females. After taking a few close up shots of them, they started roaring again. Due to the cold air outside, the condensation that came out of their mouth was very clear and visible; it truly looked as if they were smoking.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2019
Date Uploaded: 07.2020
Photo Location: Kenya
Camera: NIKON D5
Copyright: © YARON SCHMID
Awards
Photo of the Day: 06.11.21