lions and cubs oh my

Back to my Vegas adventures (yes, I've been busy and it's takes a few posts to share about my Vegas fun)...

One of my favorite sightings was a visit to the Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand. There are lions lounging around in this habitat and they don't get agitated with people poking their noses through the class because the entire habitat is completely soundproof. Isn't that cool?

It was amazing to see how big the lions really were, especially up close...and especially when you're walking right under them like in these next few shots.
Above is the male lion, and below is the female lioness.
And then there were the cute lion cubs!!! So adorable. And what do you know, you can take a picture with a lion cub.
And that is exactly what I did - forked over the $25 to be able to spend a couple of minutes petting the rear end of a lion cub while the trainers were trying to keeps its attention away from my yummy muscles.
I did inquire as to why I couldn't cradle the lion cub in my arm. The trainer said that if I was there two months ago, when the lion cubs were about half their current size, I could have cradled a lion cub in my arms because there would be no threat of danger to me. But at this moment in time, the cubs were older and were beginning to know how to swipe at you if you pissed it off.

I have to say that a lion cub's fur is not soft as a cat, it's actually more coarse and similar to that of a dog. Isn't the kitty so pretty?