Kenya male lions seen in intimate act; bonding, experts say

JOHANNESBURG – Recent photos taken in a Kenyan wildlife area show a rare sight: a male lion mounting another male lion in what resembles a sexual act but is possibly a way of showing dominance.

The spectacle has sometimes been interpreted as homosexual behavior, though lion experts call it a relatively uncommon form of bonding or social interaction.

Paul Goldstein, the photographer who captured the images in Kenya's Maasai Mara reserve in August, said many other species are known to engage in such behavior and that, for example, he had seen giraffes doing it.

He said he was astonished by a Kenyan media report in which Ezekiel Mutua, a Kenyan official, said the lion behavior was "not normal" and made remarks critical of homosexuality.