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(02-09-2024, 12:44 AM)afortich Wrote: White Birmingham boy Xakubasa with one of his brothers
For many selfish reasons I really hope these boys settle and take a pride where we can get regular updates and sightings. I’ve been following them since they were very young cubs.
02-09-2024, 03:22 AM( This post was last modified: 02-09-2024, 05:53 AM by afortich )
(02-09-2024, 03:03 AM)criollo2mil Wrote:
(02-09-2024, 12:44 AM)afortich Wrote: White Birmingham boy Xakubasa with one of his brothers
For many selfish reasons I really hope these boys settle and take a pride where we can get regular updates and sightings. I’ve been following them since they were very young cubs.
I agree with you bud. I've been also following them for many years with BYM.
BYM is one of my favorite lions alive together with these boys.
For yet another week, the lions dominated sightings, with the River Pride and all five Vuyela males making the areas just east of Tanda Tula their base for the week. The youngest lioness of the pride that we had believed had recently given birth to a litter of cubs sadly spent the week mating with the Vuyela males; “sadly” because she would only be mating if the cubs were no longer alive. As a first-time mother, perhaps some inexperience led to their demise, but there are so many factors that could have worked against her that it is impossible to say what happened. Hopefully though, this week’s mating will be successful, and she could have cubs again towards the middle of the year. Due to her readiness to mate, this drew the Vuyela males into the area and all five members were in the general area (although, as usual, they were not all together – we did however have a lovely sighting of three of them on the move). Their presence meant lots of roaring, and despite having been in the bush all these years, it is a sound that just never gets old! One downside of their constant presence was that this meant that the Mayambula Pride remained out the area, with only their tracks being seen crossing through the south-eastern corner. The Giraffe Pride were reported on a few occasions in the west, and Steven headed down to see the majority of the pride one morning, but after that the pride seemed to be in smaller fractions for most of the week. The Sark Breakaway pride somehow avoided detection this past week – possibly due to the fact that the River Pride were so active, and we didn’t check the south-west as much. This morning, however, we did see 14 members of the pride make a return, but more on that next week!
If I'm not mistaken, this injury isn't that recent, I remember seeing a photo of him with it and his eye was intact because it was exactly centimeters lower, I'll try to find the other post
(02-10-2024, 01:35 AM)Gavskrr Wrote: If I'm not mistaken, this injury isn't that recent, I remember seeing a photo of him with it and his eye was intact because it was exactly centimeters lower, I'll try to find the other post
For now, though, the summer continues to be one dominated by the lions. There were a couple of interesting developments this past week; it appears as though the older lioness of the River Pride has given birth to a new litter of cubs; her heavy lactation, evident suckle marks, and separation from the other lionesses are all good signs. She appears to have had the cubs in the Machaton riverbed to the east of Tanda Tula Safari Camp, but the cubs are likely only about two weeks old, and we will only get our first views of them towards the end of March. The other youngest lioness of the pride kept the new mother company on a few occasions, but she eventually moved into the northern Timbavati, where reports suggest that the pride with the three cubs had a good few days of hunting success some distance from their territorial core. One potential explanation was the return of the Birmingham Breakaway males to our concession. A single male was found in the company of two Mayambula lionesses in the south-east, and with one of those lionesses also sporting fresh suckle marks (and the other being pregnant), it appears as though these males have already sired the first cubs of the next generation of the Mayambula Pride. A couple of days later, we tracked down four of the Birmingham Breakaways, and they have definitely grown in size and stature since I last saw them! Dark manes adorn their widening heads, and for the first time, I saw the real threat they could pose to the Vuyela males. Although the Mayambula Pride’s tracks once more crossed through the area, there was no further sign of them this week. The Vuyela males continued to be very evident across the central and western parts of our area, with a couple of members joining up with the Sark Breakaways. We enjoyed fourteen of these lions one cool morning as they rested off after a good meal. Later in the day, some elephants chased them towards a natural pan where they drank and then collectively roared their dominance over this part of the Timbavati. They spent much of the week in the area, being seen with their four cubs on a wildebeest kill in the west before pushing right to the western parts of their boundary. There were only reports of fragments of the Giraffe Pride and no more sightings of the Sark Pride.
For now, though, the summer continues to be one dominated by the lions. There were a couple of interesting developments this past week; it appears as though the older lioness of the River Pride has given birth to a new litter of cubs; her heavy lactation, evident suckle marks, and separation from the other lionesses are all good signs. She appears to have had the cubs in the Machaton riverbed to the east of Tanda Tula Safari Camp, but the cubs are likely only about two weeks old, and we will only get our first views of them towards the end of March. The other youngest lioness of the pride kept the new mother company on a few occasions, but she eventually moved into the northern Timbavati, where reports suggest that the pride with the three cubs had a good few days of hunting success some distance from their territorial core. One potential explanation was the return of the Birmingham Breakaway males to our concession. A single male was found in the company of two Mayambula lionesses in the south-east, and with one of those lionesses also sporting fresh suckle marks (and the other being pregnant), it appears as though these males have already sired the first cubs of the next generation of the Mayambula Pride. A couple of days later, we tracked down four of the Birmingham Breakaways, and they have definitely grown in size and stature since I last saw them! Dark manes adorn their widening heads, and for the first time, I saw the real threat they could pose to the Vuyela males. Although the Mayambula Pride’s tracks once more crossed through the area, there was no further sign of them this week. The Vuyela males continued to be very evident across the central and western parts of our area, with a couple of members joining up with the Sark Breakaways. We enjoyed fourteen of these lions one cool morning as they rested off after a good meal. Later in the day, some elephants chased them towards a natural pan where they drank and then collectively roared their dominance over this part of the Timbavati. They spent much of the week in the area, being seen with their four cubs on a wildebeest kill in the west before pushing right to the western parts of their boundary. There were only reports of fragments of the Giraffe Pride and no more sightings of the Sark Pride.
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*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
are all 6 Birmingham Breakaway males together ? other2 alive ?
For now, though, the summer continues to be one dominated by the lions. There were a couple of interesting developments this past week; it appears as though the older lioness of the River Pride has given birth to a new litter of cubs; her heavy lactation, evident suckle marks, and separation from the other lionesses are all good signs. She appears to have had the cubs in the Machaton riverbed to the east of Tanda Tula Safari Camp, but the cubs are likely only about two weeks old, and we will only get our first views of them towards the end of March. The other youngest lioness of the pride kept the new mother company on a few occasions, but she eventually moved into the northern Timbavati, where reports suggest that the pride with the three cubs had a good few days of hunting success some distance from their territorial core. One potential explanation was the return of the Birmingham Breakaway males to our concession. A single male was found in the company of two Mayambula lionesses in the south-east, and with one of those lionesses also sporting fresh suckle marks (and the other being pregnant), it appears as though these males have already sired the first cubs of the next generation of the Mayambula Pride. A couple of days later, we tracked down four of the Birmingham Breakaways, and they have definitely grown in size and stature since I last saw them! Dark manes adorn their widening heads, and for the first time, I saw the real threat they could pose to the Vuyela males. Although the Mayambula Pride’s tracks once more crossed through the area, there was no further sign of them this week. The Vuyela males continued to be very evident across the central and western parts of our area, with a couple of members joining up with the Sark Breakaways. We enjoyed fourteen of these lions one cool morning as they rested off after a good meal. Later in the day, some elephants chased them towards a natural pan where they drank and then collectively roared their dominance over this part of the Timbavati. They spent much of the week in the area, being seen with their four cubs on a wildebeest kill in the west before pushing right to the western parts of their boundary. There were only reports of fragments of the Giraffe Pride and no more sightings of the Sark Pride.
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
so if im reading this correctly...the Birmingham Breakaways are taking over the Mayambula Pride and already sired cubs with them?
