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History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
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History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
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http://blog.londolozi.com/2017/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-the-majingilane/
Sorry here is the link 
The Beginning of the End for the Majingilane: By James Tyrrell.
It was always going to be the Hip Scar male. The outsider. The one with the limp. The one whose calls often went unanswered by the rest of his coalition. I remember a morning in which we found him roaring not far from our western boundary. He was slowly moving westwards, stopping regularly to listen. We had heard over the radio that the Scar-nosed and Dark-maned males were a couple of kilometres away, further west, marching relentlessly back into what had become their newly established territory after the foursome had vacated Londolozi, but nary a call did we or the Hip-scar male hear from the two of them. They continued on in silence, seemingly intent on ignoring the distant vocalizations of their brother trailing far behind them. The Hip-scar male often walked alone. Here he crosses the sandy Manyelethi riverbed, following the trail of the Tsalala pride.  *This image is copyright of its original author It had often been like this over the preceding months. As the four Majingilane had slowly released their stranglehold on the central Sabi Sands, moving into the western sector and overthrowing the younger Selati males, the Hip scar male had often found himself isolated, and if three members of the coalition were found together, he was invariably not one of them. L to R: The Missing canine, Dark-maned and Scar-nosed Majingilane. After almost seven years of dominating the Sabi Sands reserve, it has inevitably been these three of the four who are found together more often than not, particularly over the last few seasons as they move into the twilight of their years.  *This image is copyright of its original author Why this was we have no way of knowing for sure. I know lion dynamics can be complicated at best, and the what and why are often obscured behind layers of conflicting factors, but the fact remains that the Hip-scar male was more of a loner than the rest. Maybe his chronically injured ankle rendered him less effective on patrol; perhaps this weakness was sensed by the other three and they chose to keep him in a state of semi-ostracism. Who can say for sure? Whatever the case, the Hip-Scar male, when I saw him last, was all alone and to be quite frank, teetering on the brink. He lay with ribs showing, a severe gash stretching from his hip into his groin, with his face pressed into thick grass, not lifting his head when our vehicle arrived. His breathing was shallow, and his gaunt hips were sure indicators of his weakened state.  *This image is copyright of its original author This was over 72 hours ago, and although he has recovered from being in very poor condition before this, his advancing age would make each successive recovery harder and longer, and sadly I don’t see a way back for him this time. I have not heard an update yet, but as I write this – and I hope that I am wrong – the Hip-Scar Majingilane may well have already become the first of this mighty coalition to die. The Hip-scar male lies at the back of the coalition in this picture. The fact that his gaze is in a different direction to the other three males is eerily symbolic of his status as the loner of the group.  *This image is copyright of its original author I wasn’t in the sighting, but a couple of weeks ago he was found very close to a buffalo kill that the Matimba males were feeding on, with the Mhangeni pride nearby, and he was already looking the worse for wear. No-one saw it take place, but fresh wounds on his spine and flanks seem to indicate a clash during the night, most likely with the two Matimba males. So much of lion behaviour takes place under cover of darkness when there is no one around to witness it, so we cannot make any firm statements, but it is certainly possible that it was the Matimba males that have pushed him towards his final demise. I will wait for an update on his condition, but given that the rest of the Majingilane were nowhere near him and the Mhangeni pride was also not in the vicinity, it is extremely unlikely he will be able to get a meal that will help him to recover this time. The unpredictable nature of things in the bush ensured that there was no way we could have guessed that seven years after their arrival, the Majingilane would still be here. We did hazard a guess, however, that when the end came the Hip Scar male would be the first to go. As is often the case with lion predictions, I hope I am mistaken, and that even as I pen these words he is feeding on a buffalo and slowly regaining his strength. My heart though, tells me that his luck – and time – have run out.
From lions of Sabi sand
Update from Rob at Idube.....Last night four Majingilanes were reported to be with the Mangheni pride
I hope they will hang on for more time and raise Mhangeni cubs (12) and Othawa cubs (3) to independence
I remember during the initial days, GM used to left out and was last in mating rights...
HipScar used to be the second most dominant during their initial days.. Amazing to see DM still the most dominant.. despite being aging and older than Scar Nose and GM   *This image is copyright of its original author Hipscar about a year ago - he seems to be a come back kid for sure.
Credits to Callum Gowar - Londolozi.
The Manjigilane males on our airstrip responding to the calls of other lions in the east and north... He also says: We had three there last night and apparently hip scar is around Singita/Othawa. Click on it to play.
"I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings" Hipscar Majingilane
Credits: Rob the Ranger #FilmingNow  *This image is copyright of its original author
These are Rob's comments about Hip Scar's condition:
He has many scratches but nothing too deep He's Not at his best by a long way, but cuts seem to be healing nicely though
Credits to Nkorho Bush Lodge.
9 February 2017 Morning Drive. -Saw three of the Majingilane males, they were sleeping out in the open, until some Impala and Zebra joined them, they looked but did not seem interested.  (02-09-2017, 07:01 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: Credits to Nkorho Bush Lodge. where did they see them? there is some confusion about those Nkorho reports, sometimes they report from other areas outside their estate. |
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