Lion Directory

[baironmairon]

The 2 Duba boys Male lions 1992? 2008
Made famous by the iconic National Geographic documentary “Relentess Enemies and The Last lions” by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, Duba Plains Camp is one of the most remote camps in a 30,000 hectare concession in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Duba is a small, intimate camp renowned for its unrivalled access to the titanic struggle for survival between lion and buffalo. The dominant lions of the area, the “Duba Boys” inhabited Duba since 1996 when Duba Plains opened. For over 11 years which could very well likely be a record, the Duba Boys dominated the plains of Duba, presiding over four strong lion prides that fed almost exclusively on buffalo. Guides and scientists had expected the Duba Boys' reign to end beginning 2001-2002 but the brothers just kept on repelling any new males invading their territory and also kicking out their younger sons out of their domain. But as with nature it would only be a matter of time until a changing of the guard at Duba….

On December 28, 2007, one of the brothers finally died after succumbing to an injury that was caused by an attack from the dominant male of the neighboring territory. The Duba Boy was found by the guides one morning with a badly injured eye. Most of the guides agreed that it was likely that if he did not feed during the night that he would breathe his last. This turned out to be true. Duba guide James 007 was on game drive on the morning of the December 29, 2007 when he saw some vultures soaring along Letlalo Road. As usual he investigated and was devastated to find the late Duba Boy. It is fitting that he was killed by the buffalos he had hunted for most of his adult life. The area looked like a battle field. The bush was trashed, the grass was trampled and the dead Duba Boy had a gash from the chest down to the belly from the horns of his relentless enemies. After the death of the first Duba Boy, the remaining lion in the formidable duo struggled and he could not stay with the main buffalo hunters, the Tsaro Pride, and he was not able to hunt effectively due to his deteriorating condition. The second Duba Boy also disappeared for a period of ten days and he finally met his fate one night while trying to hunt buffalo. He got badly wounded in his chest and could hardly move from the spot where the incident occurred. After three days he managed to get to a waterhole, but as he knelt down for a drink on July 28, 2008, he took his last breath of life - exactly seven months after his brother passed and not too far from where his brother’s bones lay.... The Duba Boys made history for themselves in two ways: they were one of the few male lion coalitions known to have held the territory for that long (approximately 11 years) and they lived to reach an exceptionally old age of approximately 17 years.

To put this in perspective, males in coalitions have a normally brief reproductive reign over a female pride. Pride tenure on average lasts no more than two years, four at the most. May the Duba Boys rest in peace - they will certainly be remembered by all of us (guides and guests) who have been privileged to see these legendary lions reign over the battlefields of Duba. Reply

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