I caught this enchanting picture of two lion cubs during my latest trip to the Maasai Mara in October 2023. We had been spending some time watching a pride of lions feasting on a buffalo carcass which had almost been stripped down to the bones. While the rest were busy finishing off their meal, I focused my attention on these two aspiring ‘champions’ sparring playfully with each other. They were so adorable and comical that I just couldn’t resist capturing their shenanigans. However, it was not lost on me that such play skills are essential to any lion’s development into an apex predator.