Seeing the king of the jungle, a male lion, in the wild is not an unusual occurrence. Being able to see multiple at once, however, is. And seeing them mate is an even rarer sighting. For one couple they were fortunate enough to be able to not only witness this mating in person but also able to film it for us all to be able to see and learn from.

The video shown below was taken in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The video starts with us seeing multiple male lions on the road walking together. The couple who captured this footage share their experience below.

“For regular safari travelers like us, who have been visiting Africa for close to 20 years now, with more than 300 nights in the bushes of 7 different countries, mating lions is not a rare sighting. we had observed a male/female couple just 24 hours earlier near Crocodile Bridge. However, a male/male combo was a first for us!”

As we see these male lions walking along the road, it’s not long before they take the time to rest. As most animals will do, they find the place with the most shade that is covered by trees. Suddenly, at 25 seconds, we see a second male lion come up to another male lion that is lying in the roadway. He then mounts the male lion and begins to mate with him. The couple filming shares their experience below.

“This behavior is not known as male lions mating, as this was not an expression of sexuality and no penetration occurs, but rather, this is an act of dominance.”

Why Do Male Lions Hump Other Male Lions?

Lions can run up to 35 miles per hour.

This is a rare sighting, for sure, which is why it can be confusing. As we saw from the video, no penetration took place. So, why would a male lion seemingly hump another male lion? Well, it is most likely a display of dominance.

Those who captured this footage describe that “Dominant male lions, and also other animals, such as elephants, will mount the other males to, in a way, show them who is boss.” As we know, male lions are kings of the jungle, and as such, their need to display their dominance is second to none.

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