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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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Credits to Hugo breed all 3 the Majingilane have been spending time with the Mhangeni pride
Smudge Majingilane  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits: Londolozi
Recently Billy Connolly had me in fits of laughter. I wish I could say that that was in person as he hilariously narrated a game drive that we were on together, but it was, unfortunately, only a video. Nevertheless, the sketch in question had me laughing uncontrollably as he set about explaining how, in his old age, he had begun shouting at TV characters on particular shows that he enjoyed. One of those characters was a Wildebeest in a nature documentary who was being stalked by a few lionesses. He acted out how he thought these lionesses would communicate in order to plot an attack on the hapless, unaware wildebeest. He imagined them using hand signals and facial expressions as they crept closer to the grazing wildebeest. I certainly have not done the sketch any justice by explaining it but if you have ever seen lions and wildebeest on safari then the combination of his Scottish accent and his large mop of hair imitating a hunting lioness will have you in stitches. After the laughter had subsided, it did actually get me thinking a little bit more about lions and what they actually say to one another. In particular, I thought back to a recent sighting I had of the Scar-nosed Majingilane. Much has been written about him and the other males in this coalition over the years but at around thirteen years of age (approximation) he is regarded as an old male lion. On this particular evening, we were winding our way back to the lodge at the end of our game drive when we came across him lying in an open clearing. We excitedly drove a little bit closer, switched off the Land Rover and sat in silence for a few a minutes, taking in the sight of this battle-scarred animal lying only metres from our vehicle.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Scar-Nosed Majingilane Male. Photograph by James Tyrrell His head was close to the ground as the roar started, and as it got louder he raised his muzzle until he was staring directly into the night sky. The sound of his roar was felt not only by our ears but by every bone in our body. As it slowly subsided I could feel everyone shift slightly in the car as they moved for the first time after having dared not move during it for fear of interrupting such a jaw-dropping experience. He flopped his head back down, and we all looked at each other with big smiles on our faces after witnessing and experiencing the roar of a male lion.  *This image is copyright of its original author The impressive roar can be heard from several kilometres away.  *This image is copyright of its original author One of the other Majingilane Males lets out a roar early one morning. Photograph by James Tyrrell Here was a male lion in the twilight years of his life, who had been dominant in the area for over half a decade. His face bore an impressive array of scars from years of fighting, not only for survival but also for dominance. Here was a male lion who had fathered who knows how many cubs and whose genes will remain in the Sabi Sands for many years to come. Here was a true icon of his species. I felt guilty for giving such a standard textbook answer and so we started chatting more about what that roar could mean. There are three Majingilane Males left in the coalition and a few days prior we had seen the trio together. It was one of the few occasions that I had seen them as a full group. We had actually been following two of them as they responded to the calls of what we discovered was the third brother. It was incredible to witness the affection that these three old brothers had towards one another as they enthusiastically rubbed their heads together and groomed.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Scar-nosed Majingilane leads his brother across the Sand River It could have meant something completely different. Maybe, as the textbooks suggest, it was just a dominant male lion advertising his territory and alerting would-be rivals to stay away from it, or was he trying to call a lioness from the Mhangeni Pride with whom he had been mating with a few days earlier? Could it just be that it’s habit, and every evening when he’s on his own he roars for no reason in particular other than instinct? It’s unlikely that it would be for no reason at all, but then it begs the questions as to whether lions do have different roars for different occasions or was he just using the same roar that he has used his entire life which can be interpreted in a number of different ways depending what circumstance he finds himself in.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Majingilane Coalition when there were still four of them. Photograph by James Tyrrell *This image is copyright of its original author The Majingilane coalition patrolling their territory, a few years back, across the river from Varty Camp. Photograph by James TyrrellI am left wondering though, what would Billy Connolly have made of this particular sighting? 
Credits to Adam Bannister.
A long overdue meeting with an old friend. This monumental lion played a huge role in shaping who I am now, the work I do and my approach to life. The Scar Nose Majingilane is without a doubt one of the most notorious of the lions in the Sabi Sands - for many years he and his famous coalition have fought tooth and claw to control huge tracts of land in the area. He is a legend and it was an honour to spend the morning in his presence.  *This image is copyright of its original author
From: Londolozi
The Week In Pictures #312 Photos Credits to Fin Lawlor December 8, 2017 Dark mane  *This image is copyright of its original author A Majingilane male focuses on a herd of buffalo in the distance. When lions hunt larger prey such a buffalo, it’s not uncommon for the males to be involved in the hunt. Photo by Varty Camp manager Thais Bassit. f/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 1600 *This image is copyright of its original author Another image of the Mhangeni pride hunting a herd of Buffalo. We watched as the pride desperately tried to isolate a single buffalo. At one stage of the hunt they managed to bring down an individual, but the herd turned and came back to chase the pride off their wounded comrade. Photograph by Thais Bassit. f/8.0, 1/1000 sec, ISO 1600
Video Credits alex james jordan
A treat of a morning spent with a pride of 19 lions in the rain feeding on the remains of a zebra, when a young bull ele decided to arrive #londolozi
Credits to Adam Bannister.
Without a doubt one of my favourite lion pictures I have ever taken - I just love the action and the mood. This was taken in the far south of Londolozi two days ago in the pouring rain. The huge Munghen Pride, together with 3 Majingilane males had killed a zebra in the thickets...as the meat started to run out, so the fighting became more fierce...  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Magnificent Golden Mane
 *This image is copyright of its original author Photo by Alessandra cuccato.Location - Idube Golden mane with one of his Mangheni sons/nephews  *This image is copyright of its original author Photo by khxdxb88.Location - Londolozi 
Credits to Alistair Smith.
The king on territorial patrol. Male lions spend the early hours of the morning, and often even throughout the night, patrolling the boundaries of their territories, often roaring and scent marking as part of the process Their aim? To ensure the safety of their prides of females and cubs within those territories, and to avoid the incursion of other dominant males into their areas! We captured this male doing just that on a cool morning, in some cases even running whilst roaring. Always incredible behavior to witness.
Credits to Parthsarathi Jha.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Mhangene pride and the Majingilanes on a fresh buffalo kill.
Video by Nigel Ridge
Photo by Alessandra cuccato
Idube Game Reserve. Dec 2017.  *This image is copyright of its original author 3-Tooth Majingilane male. He dragged one of the kills out of the drainage line, that was awesome as we got view of the lions otherwise hidden! Everyone came for a bite of course. DM was roaring in the background in the meantime.
From: Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve .
Images by Stuart Buy Dec 2017 Followed up on lions roaring this morning and found the Othawas with one Majingilane  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
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