These adorable pictures show a lion cub playfully biting on its mother’s tail at a wildlife reserve in Kenya.
The seven-week-old animal, one of three cubs seen in the photos, chases its mother’s swishing tail and stands on its hind legs in a bid to reach high enough.
The tail remains out of reach at first but eventually the cub grasp its mother’s tail with its paws before trapping it in its mouth, while the parent growls but faces in the opposite direction.
Wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein captured the cute pictures at the Olare Conservancy in western Kenya last month.
He said: ‘Right now this pride is very healthy with three of the females with very young cubs. The oldest are about seven weeks and include this particular miscreant, who appears much more mischievous than any of its siblings.
‘All young cats (and indeed dogs) seem never to tire of this tail-grabbing sport. The mother is tolerant for a while, indulging her young charge but eventually loses patience.
‘Sometimes the mother growled, sometimes she cuffed the tawny tot terrorising her, but it was done gently and the cub lived to tell the tale.’
Bite me: The lion cub traps its mother’s tail in its mouth in an adorable picture taken at the Olare Conservancy in Kenya
Standing tall: The mother lion stands over three cubs, in what was described as a ‘very’ healthy pride at the Kenyan reserve
Eyes on the prize: The lion cub follows its mother’s tail with its eyes while the larger animal has its back turned
Out of reach: The lion cub looks up towards the tail but the swishing body part is just too high for the small animal to reach
Closer: The tail swings right above the lion cub’s mouth, as the smaller cat refuses to give up on biting its target
It’s mine: The little lion cub stands upright and reaches out with its left paw to touch the tail of its mother in Kenya
I’ve got it: The lion cub takes a firm hold of the tail, grabbing it with both paws while the mother continues to face away
Success: The lion cub yanks its mother’s tail downwards after it finally succeeds in trapping the body part in its mouth
