Lions of Timbavati

[Tshokwane]

Credits to Chad Cocking - TandaTula Safari Camp.

A WEEK OF MYSTERY:

Once more, the week belonged to the lions, with all five of our viewed prides showing themselves on multiple occasions. The Zebenine Pride focused their activities centrally within the concession and were seen with full bellies a number of times, including a wonderful sighting of the pride feeding on a baby wildebeest. The Mayambula Pride were also around on an almost daily basis, but our timing had to be spot on before they moved down to the cubs hidden in the Machaton Riverbed.One of the guides did manage to see three small cubs very briefly before they returned to their den site on the river bank. Despite the fleetingness of the sighting, it is a good sign that the cubs are almost ready to be introduced to the wider world! The two Ross lionesses were seen to the west, and based on their bellies, I suspect that they may too be carrying cubs.I fear things won’t be easy for them, as again this week the large Giraffe Pride was found not too far away from their location. To make matters more complicated, the nine members of the River Pride also pitched up in the same area one day and from various reports it appears they had an altercation with the Giraffe Pride that evening. Needless to say, by the end of the week, they were back in more familiar territory to the north, where they spent a day resting.  As the week drew to a close, they even caught a zebra foal. 

The lion mystery of the week though belongs to the mighty Mbiri males. Although they were seen together with the Mayambula Pride at the start of the week, the end of the week saw us finding two separated, and rather battered boys! The smaller male had well and truly been in the wars, with massive bite marks on his forehead, whilst the bigger brother had many scratches on his hind quarters and back. Exactly what happened is anyone’s guess, but there is no doubt that it was from fighting another male lion. At first, I suspected that the brothers may simply have gotten stuck into one another, but such damage seems excessive, even for them. There is a chance that they wandered out of the concession and encountered some rival males that needed to be taught a lesson! The fact that they have returned to their territory and did not run off suggests to me that they may have been the victors. It’s a story I really want to believe, as the last thing the lions need now is the disruption of pride take overs so soon after having had cubs. Although the wounds look nasty, they do appear to be relatively superficial and we are confident that they will both make full recoveries.Should any more news develop about incoming males, we will be sure to share it with you! 

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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