Originally published 2018-06-12. Events, ages and announcements below refer to June 2018.
This 2018 archive feature presents photographs of the lion known as Skybed Scar through Larry Anthony Pannell’s account of an encounter near the end of the animal’s life. Reports at the time also described his place in a pride; that background is a reported story, not something the photographs alone establish.
Photographer Larry Anthony Pannell watched him for hours before he died. He knew that he was "witnessing something very special – the real nature both life and death." Once an apex predator, the old lion was being chased by an elephant and seemed weak and starving.
Larry, from California, said:
"Life can be very cruel and to be honest during my career I have seen people lose everything in landslides, earthquakes, and fires. I have photographed automobile accidents with grave injuries.
I do not think any photograph or photo sequence affected me as much as witnessing the death of the lion.
I sat with him only feet away, locking eyes and staring at one another as I watched for an hour as the life left his body."
Larry described how he watched the poor lion take the last drink from a watering hole before staggering away, just "skin and bones." The animal walked as if drunk, trying to catch his breath every few steps before he finally collapsed to the ground. The photographer stayed with the lion while the animal was taking his last breath.
"I just wanted him to know that he would not die alone," he said. "Then, with the last twitch of an ear and his last breath, he was gone. The King was dead".
Reference: Metro.co.uk
The account belongs beside the photographs
The sequence is presented through Larry Anthony Pannell's description of what he witnessed. His words convey grief and proximity, but a photograph alone cannot confirm the animal's full medical history or every event preceding the encounter. Keeping the observation attributed makes the account more precise without removing its emotional weight.
An individual life beyond the king metaphor
Calling a lion a king emphasizes strength, while these images show vulnerability. Holding both ideas together can make wildlife photography more than a collection of powerful poses. The story should not imply that readers ought to approach a struggling wild animal themselves; the photographer's reported experience is a particular encounter, not a model for how to intervene.
What a sequence of images can and cannot show
A sequence can communicate vulnerability through posture and movement without revealing every cause behind it. Pannell’s words give the encounter its personal perspective, including what he believed he was witnessing. Keeping that attribution clear respects both the emotional force of his account and the limits of the camera. The images need not become a complete medical or social history of the lion to be affecting.
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