There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
These boys are beasts and carry the blood of legends! 10 years old this year and looking incredible! I believe they were born in 2012.
Their lineage does not get enough credit in my opinion. Makulu & Moria should be mentioned amongst tge mkst successful male lions in recent history. Especially Mak.
I remember seeing their grandfather Makulu when he was 8 years old when i first started following lions more consistantly. Each year that passed after 2010 i was more & more amazed that he was still going! He had a vast territory with a few prides to himself, until his young son caused a big split in his territory. 17 years for a wild male who had many fights is incredible.
Things came full circle when the Hoedspruit boys took over and overthrew their own dad after their first fight in 2016. These boys are huge and look just like Moria!
The not-so-spotted cats also showed themselves this week, with members of four prides being seen over the past few days. Last week I mentioned that it was the Sark lionesses that had given birth to a new litter of cubs, but upon seeing the Ross and Hercules females this week, we realised that it was indeed the Ross female that had given birth. The Hercules lioness was also lactating, but her teats were clean and didn’t appear to have been suckled upon recently, so we are not sure if she still has cubs. The error of identification came in the fact that the Ross female gave birth in an area very close to Sark Breakaway territory. It will be interesting to see if she moves the cubs to the Zebenine Riverbed over the coming weeks, and just how much time the Vuyela males spend with them. That being said, we did also come across a young lioness resting in the Zebenine Riverbed near Nkhari Homestead one afternoon, and I am pretty sure she is from the Sark Pride, so they too seem to be moving around a little more. The River Pride spent only one day in the northern part of our concession, but the Mayambula Pride provided almost daily viewing. The great news is that one of the younger lionesses also gave birth in the last week or so, and her cubs could be heard calling in the Machaton riverbed south of the other cubs’ den site. The eight little ones started the week feasting on a wildebeest before making themselves a little difficult to find by spending time in some dense parts of the Machaton Riverbed. We managed a short sighting of them when they popped out of the riverbed whilst we were watching the two Skorro males one evening, and it is impressive to see how quickly they are growing! The Giraffe Pride had yet another week of absenteeism, although we could hear them roaring to the south of our concession on a number of occasions.
The rainy conditions made it a little difficult out there for a few days as off-road driving wasn’t possibly in the soggy conditions, but the guides still managed to see some decent game, with the Mayambula Pride in the eastern sections providing for more consistent viewing. I didn’t manage to see the cubs this week, but they were reported over the first few days of the week before going AWOL. The pride members around the new cub den site in the south-east remained active for most of the week, and we got to see one of the Skorro males mating with a young lioness from the pride, although she didn’t look too interested. The highlight of the week was no doubt having the Giraffe Pride back in the area around Plains Camp.
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Hearing roaring straight east of the camp one morning, Guy and Civilized set out to find them, and succeeded in locating on six lionesses and ten cubs. This was a great surprise as we only knew of the six older cubs, but the pride had their numbers bolstered by the addition of these new cubs who looked to be around four months old. They remained well hidden for most of the day before coming out after sunset as the bellows a nearby buffalo herd caught their attention. We left them before it got dark and followed up the next day and located the pride on a zebra kill; both the Hercules and Sumatra males had joined up and the pride made quick work of the poor equine as hordes of vultures gathered in the area. Although the hyenas arrived to try and get their share, the pride males ensured that they were not getting a single scrap! We are keeping our fingers crossed that as the cubs get bigger, the pride will start utilising our concession more regularly.
(04-02-2022, 10:11 AM)DARK MANE Wrote: Introducing newest member of monwana pride.
Are they cubs of mapoza male or already pride is overtaken by 6 black dam males??
