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Lions of Timbavati
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Safari Update
Another epic week has gone by in the Manyeleti Game Reserve! The Mbiri lion pride made a comeback and we found them close to the lodge in the core of their territory. To our surprise, they were followed by a young male from the Nharhu pride! He kept his distance for a day, but kept on persisting and trailed the Mbiri's until we found them yesterday napping together west of the lodge. The lone and injured Mbiri female left the area the day before her pride arrived, and mistimed their arrival by a few hours. The next day we learnt that the lone lioness was found in the Northern Sands. Will she survive? Only time will tell. The Giraffe males managed to join up with the Red road pride and their formidable Avoca male in the northern parts of the central areas. The Giraffe males were moving as nomads for quite some time and because of this, their condition deteriorated. Since they’ve joined up with familiar faces, their bellies were full the last time we saw them. Seven Individuals from the Birmingham lion pride also made their way back into the Manyeleti for a day and returned to the southern Timbavati shortly after their visit. In the south of the Reserve, the three younger Avoca males were found close to Dixie koppies. One of the males had a bad gash on his rear and could’ve been gored by a buffalo. Multiple cheetah, Cape hunting dogs and leopard such as Beacon male were seen throughout the week! 
Mbiri young Male lions
Credits to Sundestinations The Beastly Mbiri Male Lions Kill a Kudu Calf in the Klaserie The Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, home to Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp, has been rife with big cat activity. The leopards have risen to power and are taking centre stage in terms of cat sightings while on game drive. That’s not to say that we haven’t enjoyed generous viewings of our burly lions, it’s just a case of our leopards showing face. The lion pride dynamics have shifted at a rapid rate, and this is largely due to the natural passing of the long-int-the-tooth Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses. These two ladies made up a bulk of our lioness sightings, and with their passing it has opened up space and turf for new prides to occupy turf. To date, it appears that two of the younger Ross Pride lionesses are making headway on our traverse. Sightings of these two ladies have increased, together with sightings of the easily identifiable Mbiri male lions. The eager and virile beastly boys tend to hover on Klaserie and Timbavati traverse, and clearly have expert craftsmanship when it comes to taking down quarry. The Mbiris, their ladies and another mega-pride of lions have been our most recent lion sightings. The mega-pride we initially thought the be the Western Pride, but we’ve since confirmed that they’re the River Pride of lions. This pride hovers on the outskirts, so sightings are pretty sporadic. The Mbiri and Ross sightings we can classify as consistent. This Mbiri coalition are stirring up things in the Klaserie, and there have been numerous notable occasions of them copulating with the Ross females. The Ross girls haven’t quite made our traverse their domain just yet – they tend to occupy neighbouring reserves, but they do filter into the Klaserie quite often – especially when they hear the echoing contact calls of the Mbiris. Quote:Ranger Chade Gelderman says, “We got the Mbiri males yesterday. Isaac and I tracked them all afternoon and eventually heard them in the distance, making a kill. We radioed through the commotion to Mike and Elmar, who came to fetch us in the vehicle. We then discovered the coalition on a baby kudu kill. Those Ross females weren’t far off, but they were being independent and doing their own thing” Our team holds high hopes that the Mbiris will sire cubs with the Ross females, and that they won’t succumb to the cruel hand of the ruthless ways of the wild and the vociferous competitive predators that seek to thwart the development of newcomers. Whether it be through opportunistic elimination or infanticide, cubs unfortunately have a high mortality rate in the bushveld. The Ross Pride Breakaway females had many cubs spanning across the years but they bundles of fluff never saw maturity. We now have a potentially new lineage and so much possibility with these Ross lionesses. The times they are a changin’!  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From: Mopaya Safari lodge
Killer looks for our 6 lions in Mopaya! They're here this morning to wake us up in chorus from 4pm under tents. Photos by Oscar Laforet March 2018  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Andrea moggia march 3 2018 Mopoya S.L  *This image is copyright of its original author
From: Ngala Private Game Reserve
March 2018  *This image is copyright of its original author Photo by ranger @daryldellsafaris"A white lion has been born on Ngala Private Game Reserve. One of the young lionesses from the Birmingham pride has given birth to four cubs and one of them is a white lion. Wild white lions are exceptionally rare and unique to the surrounding areas. For what we have observed they are over two week old and looking strong, but this can change at any stage so we are remaining cautious and ethical. For now the young Birmingham lioness has moved her den and, as with all young predator cubs, we are exercising the greatest sensitivity and caution in respect of viewing them as the youngsters are still vulnerable. But we will keep everyone updated on the exciting developments as we observe them."
Photo Credits: Mikesutherland |
The Cat is out the Bag | | With our recent Safari being such a whirlwind, I look back and remember this moment so clearly!  *This image is copyright of its original author "Our safariarchitects guests were privileged enough to view this baby white lion cub at Ngala last week. The only known white lion cub in the wild at this moment!!! It is important to note that this sighting was viewed with extreme sensitivity and the last know info is that the den has been moved." Thanks to @lylemccabe for some brilliant guiding that lead to this momentous sighting!
Photo Credits Chad Cocking
March 2018. Mbiri boys  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Ezulwini Game Lodges.
Balule’s Machaton Male Lions to be Feared With their hallmark swagger, burly presence and menacing incisors designed to shred meat with blade like precision; the Machaton male lions have certainly emerged the victors in terms of creating the much talked about “landscape of fear” here in the Balule. The Machaton boys make up the bulk of the male lion sightings at Ezulwini Game Lodges, and have been dubbed our resident Kings of the bushveld. They are here to stay, and have successfully ousted and dethroned previous Kings using their ruthless ways. Never fearing confrontation, actively indulging in aggressive warfare and ensuring other lions retreat into the lost pockets of the undiscovered bushveld; the Machatons have taken no prisoners in their pursuit of territorial dominance.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Christof Schoeman - Tintswalo.
A young avoca male showing no interest in the big bull giraffe in the backdrop. In his defence, the giraffe was enormous and he and his brother(not in the frame) had their eyes completely locked on three unknown lionesses that were close by! No wonder   *This image is copyright of its original author
From: Toro yaka bush lodge
Posted on March 20, 2018 Machaton males  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author "Wow wow wow! What a special morning. After a bit of work we managed to track these two big males down after coming across the scene of their crime. Another leopard had lost it’s kill. All they had left behind was the horns and a piece of the jawbone. Having said that it doesn’t change the immense presence that these two males have. Here they are sunning themselves in the early morning light.!"  (03-04-2018, 09:38 AM)Fredymrt Wrote: From: Mopaya Safari lodge Are these boys the mohalebetsi male sons? because they look very similar
From: The Sun Destinations Blog
Chacma Lions Defeated After a Failed Attempt at Taking Down a Wildebeest  *This image is copyright of its original author The intrepid khaki team spearheading the game drives at Chacma Bush Camp in the Maseke Game Reserve have certainly enjoyed their fair share of lion sightings of the past few weeks. There have definitely been leopard sightings breaking up the prolific lion sightings, but it’s a known fact that lions like to dominate turf and are innately designed to create a landscape of fear where they roam. Their powerful presence makes the other more solitary felines retreat, and with coalitions and prides it’s best that the lone cats avoid confrontation. So, at the moment, the lions have decided to show our game rangers that they’re the dominant cats at the moment. On Chacma’s traverse in the Maseke Game Reserve has 2 main prides/coalitions that have been spotted over recent months. It’s quite clear who the Maseke males are – they’re a group of 6 burly male lions easily identifiable due to their size, impressive manes and the fact that they always seen together. Then there is a pride of 3 youngsters and one older female. The naming convention has begun, and we believe this pride is now called the Lamai Pride. A pride which is commonly spotted close to camp, and were recently spotted devouring a baby buffalo kill. The crew were a bit reluctant to be photographed, but our resident photographer Em managed to at least capture their journey from the natural meal table to the closest watering hole. Quote:Michelle, one of Chacma’s rangers and camp managers, spotted the older lioness and her sub-adults attempting to take down a young wildebeest calf. Unfortunately, the pride left feeling rather defeated and the young wildebeest left with its life in tact. Michelle managed to photograph the whirlwind of dust and aggressive ambush tactic of the lioness attempting to smash a wildebeest.The team at Chacma have been quite content with the numerous lion sightings that the Maseke have produced, but were rewarded with yet another lion sighting literally a stone’s throw away from the grounds. This time it was two lone lionesses chilling on the banks of the waterhole. Two lone lionesses and the virile Maseke males in the area – we can only hope what the next lion sighting will entail ! With so many neighbouring reserves, these two lionesses could have crosses boundaries from anywhere. Or are they locals that we just haven’t spotted or ID’d as of yet? Stay tuned for our next instalment of the Chacma lion saga.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *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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