The Mantimahle Males

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Tshokwane

Big Cats Enthusiast

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Joined: Apr 2015

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#113

08-25-2017, 07:48 PM

Credits to Lions Sands Game Reserve.

TENSIONS RUN HIGH FOR THE MANTIMAHLE MALES BY JP MARX:

As a Field Guide, I’m based at Lion Sands Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand. But whenever there is an opportunity, I do enjoy exploring our neighbouring concession in the Kruger National Park (KNP). Last week was one such opportunity, as I was guiding guests at Narina Lodge. They were very keen to see lions, so that was our goal for the afternoon. I’ve previously heard that the eastern part of the concession isn’t the best place to find lions, but privately thought that the area had to belong to some lions. Curiosity prevailed, and mine was the only vehicle making its way in that direction. I had my eyes peeled for any sign of our coveted predators.

Early on in the drive, we came across buffalo tracks. A whole herd had crossed the road. For me this was a good sign, because where there are buffalo, there are often lions not too far behind. About 100 metres further down the road, I picked up on one set of male lion tracks. They were fresh. My tracker Andries and I got out on foot to establish which direction he went. The spoor had an unusual look to them, and Andries confirmed that the tracks indicated the male was running. He was hunting. The story began to unfold as we identified the tracks of buffalos – also running – clearly pursued by the lion. The cat was chasing these animals up and down, between the Sabie and the Sand Rivers.

Another Field Guide, Raymond, joined us. It wasn’t long before Andries, Raymond and his tracker, Reckson, and I followed up on foot from the point at which we had seen the last set of tracks. We now also found a set of female tracks that were very fresh. The tracks moved into the bush, but did not reappear on the opposite road, so they had to be close by. It was a hot afternoon, so we assumed the lions were lying down. We walked into the bush, very carefully. I wasn’t sure which lions these were, and didn’t know how they might react to seeing people on foot. About 100 metres in, a male lion popped his head up. We kept very quiet and slowly started to back away. Then a second male popped up. And then a third. It was at this point, with GREAT excitement, that I realized which lions we had just found – none other than the Mantimahle males. Our hard work of tracking for almost three hours had paid off!

The Mantimahle males are a strong coalition of five brothers – the biggest coalition of males I have ever seen. They have an enormous territory and aren’t regularly seen at Lion Sands. In fact, this was only my second time seeing them, and on foot! I couldn’t wait to bring my guests to our find. To see a coalition of this size isn’t common, and is a very impressive sight.

We brought our vehicles in, and found the cats feeding on a buffalo kill. We also now noticed a few of the females from the Sand River pride, and the fourth male.

As the fourth male approached the other lions, he firmly displayed his dominance – perhaps over the food, and also the females. Either way, tensions were running very high. This dominant male was seen a few days later mating with one of the females. He is larger than the other brothers and will therefore have priority access to the females and when feeding. Over time the dynamics may change, but for now the other males will benefit from the protection of this powerful coalition.

This is an exciting time for lion dynamics at Lion Sands. We don’t have a dominant coalition in the area, but the presence of the Mantimahle males will certainly cause havoc with any lions that get in their way.