If you read my last post, you’ll know that a few weeks ago I visited The Wild Animal Sanctuary outside of Denver, Colorado.
A big part of what that facility does is to rehabilitate animals that have been mistreated, many of whom have been raised in isolation, away from members of their own kind. The goal of the Sanctuary is for their resident lions to roam in prides as they would naturally, but many of these creatures must first be acclimated to the presence of other lions.
Toward this goal, one of the two enclosures where the residents are visible to visitors at close range is the purpose built Lion House, a roofed and climate controlled facility where individual cats may be kept temporarily in close quarters with their neighbors, until they are ready to join one of the many prides on site.
And that brings us to our little drama.
Access to the Lion House is via the same high catwalk as the rest of the facility, where visitors are elevated to a distance above the lions which is safe for the humans and non-threatening for the lions.
Unfortunately, no one appeared to have explained these rules to this pigeon.
The interested lioness in this photo was very VERY invested in figuring a way to get that bird out from between the wire enclosure and outer wall of the structure.
Less interested in the avian intruder was this fine lady, who I think was just wanting a nice bit of a nap.
Seconds later the exuberance of the one lioness sent her bounding into the personal space of her roommate, and for a few seconds all manner of hell broke loose.
Somehow, as these powerful creatures spun and rolled and leapt into each other, I managed to keep shooting, not knowing if I was getting anything at all, given the low level of available light and the sudden speed of action.
And what I got definitely wasn’t something you’d see in National Geographic…,
But honestly, I think these shots tell the story better than perfectly lit, tack sharp exposures could ever have done. This is as much about what it looked like, as how it felt, when these two powerful forces of nature clashed.
No one was injured, by the way, except perhaps the pride of the pigeon hunter.
And maybe the pigeon.
I didn’t see him at all when we swung back by a couple hours later.
Stone of Destiny 
From what I’ve seen and somewhat experienced (self inflicted) life in captivity isn’t even for the birds. From what I see in what you have shared here is the prey drive of the cats was triggered and they acted out in frustration. I could be wrong but that’s what I sense about this. I hope in time more of these can go home and be able to be themselves again.