LIONS

Lions have been much studied and photographed.  To get the best shots you have to follow a pride around and become conversant with their behavior.  Most safari-tours will naturally seek out prides on the early morning and late afternoon game drives.  In my own rental car, if I can find a pride I will take a good book and stay with it.  Lions mostly sleep during the day, but you never know what will happen.  Once a tortoise came walking by and the lion cubs didn't know what to make of it.  They mouthed it and rolled it around like a bowling ball.  Finally they tired of this play and it ambled off.  Another time a cub jumped on a male lion's back and dug in with its claws.  This was a dumb move because males are notorious for their intolerance of cubs and proclivity to eat them.  The cub was lucky this time.  Anyway, the more hours spent observing the more likely the chance of seeing something unusual.   Lions sleep a lot (up to 16 hours a day), so patience and reading materials help. 

Good Spots:

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.  Has resident pride that is easily found.

Masai Mara NP, Kenya.  Especially around Governor's Camp where there are several prides.

Serengeti, Tanzania.  Lion paradise. 

Southern African game parks are less good for lions, although a lucky encounter can be had, particularly around the waterholes of Etosha NP, Namibia.  The thornbush country is not as open as the savannah grasslands of E. Africa, so spotting and tracking lions is more difficult.