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.
"We started our guests’ last drive and decided to head into the southern part of our reserve and see if we could find some lions and finish their stay on a high. After hearing on the radio that one of the Gijima male lions was seen not too far from us, we headed over to see if we could find him.
Upon arrival we saw that the male had recently had his share of a meal was resting in the shade of a small bush. He was so full he could barely move and would just every now and then lift his head to look around."
10-12-2022, 07:23 PM( This post was last modified: 10-12-2022, 07:23 PM by criollo2mil )
Mini Gijimas on the Horizon
“While sitting with a large herd of buffalo, we got audio of soft contact calls from lions. We immediately followed in the direction of the calls, and we were rewarded with the two younger Southern Pride females and the younger Gijima male. The two females were still looking into the distance, the contact calls continued. Eventually the older female appeared. The greeting of the females was a special moment; all three rubbing noses.
We have a suspicion that the older Southern Pride female has given birth in the past week or so as she often leaves the pride - we suspect to feed her newly born cub/s and returns. The area in which we think the cubs to be, has been closed off to vehicles to give them space to grow with no vehicle pressure”
These 2 are good looking males and are off to a good start. Shame their 3rd brother is gone, they would have been a powerhouse and more of a chance to give some stability to the prides here.
“After some time of uncertainty for many of the lions at Sabi Sabi, things are seemingly starting to settle down. The Gijima males managed to kill a young buffalo and were found looking uncomfortably full before making their way to drink water close to Earth Lodge.
The Southern Pride brought down a large waterbuck not far from where we suspect the older lioness to have a den for her cubs. When seeing the Queen of the Southern Pride, it was clear that she had been suckling young. These young are the first produced by the Gijima males who have both been seen mating with the female. We are anxiously waiting for the privilege of viewing these cubs.
The Styx Pride too have been extremely successful over the past week and every time we find them, they look as though they have all had a good meal as they did again this morning, not far from Little Bush Camp. The pride is looking healthy again and it is possibly time to accept that the pride now consists of ten members. There is very little pressure from other lions in the centre to the West of our reserve and we are hoping they finally settle in this area which has a very high density of plains game.”
“Heading off in search of a big herd of buffalo we stumbled upon fresh male lion tracks which we followed. Realising they did not come out on the other side and onto a road, we decided to track on foot. Just as we wanted to get walking, we saw that a big herd of waterbuck and zebra were all staring into a thick part of the bush. We stopped and waited for a bit to see what would happen and then we saw the 2 big Gijima males walking out of the thicket.
In a hurry the waterbuck and zebra took off to get away from the lions and we watched as they calmly strolled towards a waterhole to go for a drink. The males then made their way to a shady spot in an open area and proceeded to lay down and ponder about where the big herd of buffalo could be. After a while they got up and started moving every now and then, stopping to smell around the fresh buffalo dung that was laying scattered all over.”
(11-01-2022, 06:25 PM)criollo2mil Wrote: “Heading off in search of a big herd of buffalo we stumbled upon fresh male lion tracks which we followed. Realising they did not come out on the other side and onto a road, we decided to track on foot. Just as we wanted to get walking, we saw that a big herd of waterbuck and zebra were all staring into a thick part of the bush. We stopped and waited for a bit to see what would happen and then we saw the 2 big Gijima males walking out of the thicket.
In a hurry the waterbuck and zebra took off to get away from the lions and we watched as they calmly strolled towards a waterhole to go for a drink. The males then made their way to a shady spot in an open area and proceeded to lay down and ponder about where the big herd of buffalo could be. After a while they got up and started moving every now and then, stopping to smell around the fresh buffalo dung that was laying scattered all over.”
The Gijima males are really gorgeous young males.
They’ve grown!
"As we headed back to the lodge after our evening safari, we heard lions vocalising in the distance. We followed up and found one of the Gijima males and the Southern Pride female mating. What a wonderful surprise! As we left them in peace, we hoped that they would stay in the area until the next morning. And they did not disappoint, not too far from where we left them the previous night, we found the two lovebirds."
(11-07-2022, 09:30 PM)东方琳琅STD Wrote: I remember that the mom of the southern Pride just give birth earlier and Gijima were fathers. Or she was not pregnant at all?
I think that was assumption by rangers, cubs where not seen.
