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The Birmingham Males

Michael Offline
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( This post was last modified: 04-27-2018, 05:21 PM by Michael )

(04-27-2018, 05:06 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: Credits to Alex Jordan - Londolozi.

The Birmingham male lions continue to fill the cool morning and evening air with deep bellowing roars as they lay claim to the eastern section of the land.

A highlight of this week has got to be the discovery of three lion cubs from the Ntsevu pride by ranger James Souchon, Rich Mthabine, Lucky Shabangu and me. The discovery was in very thick vegetation which didn’t allow any photographic opportunity yet fingers are crossed their strength grows and they continue a legacy of the Birmingham male lions.

Surrounded by flowering grass, one of the Birmingham male lions walks across a clearing these male have been scent marking and roaring on regularly.

*This image is copyright of its original author

A yawn stretches muscles and ligaments and often shows sign of a predator getting active. One of the Birmingham male lions did just that. After lying up a few meters away a serious of yawns took place before standing to his feet and start scent marking a new area of Londolozi yet to be ventured into by these powerful males.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Eyes locked ahead, a Birmingham male lion walks a path of least resistance on patrol of new territory.

*This image is copyright of its original author

When life is about passing on your genes it helps to keep up and mate with females. A Birmingham male lion follows one of the Ntsevu females as she marches ahead in search of the rest of the pride.

*This image is copyright of its original author
Now that they are on Londolozi updates are going to be few and far between, I think by now it's safe to say Nsuku is no longer the most dominant of the coalition he hasn't been mating at all as far as we know, Nhenha has mated mating with both the Tsalalas and the Kambula lionesses, Mfumo the Kambulas, Tynio and Nsuku haven't been seen mating much specially Nsuku, it seems he went from the most dominant of the coalition to one of the least.

But there is always a lot the guides aren't able to witness.
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(04-27-2018, 05:19 PM)Michael Wrote: I think by now it's safe to say Nsuku is no longer the most dominant of the coalition he hasn't been mating at all as far as we know, Nhenha has mated mating with both the Tsalalas and the Kambula lionesses, Mfumo the Kambulas, Tynio and Nsuku haven't been seen mating much specially Nsuku, it seems he went from the most dominant of the coalition to one of the least.

I disagree. Just because one of them gets more camera time( and it puzzles me that it's #2, because he's the uninteresting one of the coalition), doesn't mean the others don't get action time with the girls.

Now, I haven't seen any video where #4 or #2 actively displace the others of mating opportunities. One thing is "defending" the female they're already mating with by growling at his brothers. 

But that doesn't show they're higher up in the hierarchy, it's just a simple "zog off, go find your own lioness".

Now, as the Kambulas/Ntsevu lionesses start to get pregnant and give birth, then yeah I assume there will be more quarry over those ladies, and we0ll get a chance to see how the hierarchy works out between them.
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Michael Offline
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(04-27-2018, 06:52 PM)Tshokwane Wrote:
(04-27-2018, 05:19 PM)Michael Wrote: I think by now it's safe to say Nsuku is no longer the most dominant of the coalition he hasn't been mating at all as far as we know, Nhenha has mated mating with both the Tsalalas and the Kambula lionesses, Mfumo the Kambulas, Tynio and Nsuku haven't been seen mating much specially Nsuku, it seems he went from the most dominant of the coalition to one of the least.

I disagree. Just because one of them gets more camera time( and it puzzles me that it's #2, because he's the uninteresting one of the coalition), doesn't mean the others don't get action time with the girls.

Now, I haven't seen any video where #4 or #2 actively displace the others of mating opportunities. One thing is "defending" the female they're already mating with by growling at his brothers. 

But that doesn't show they're higher up in the hierarchy, it's just a simple "zog off, go find your own lioness".

Now, as the Kambulas/Ntsevu lionesses start to get pregnant and give birth, then yeah I assume there will be more quarry over those ladies, and we0ll get a chance to see how the hierarchy works out between them.
That's why I said guides aren't able to witness everything, it's too soon to know for sure but considering the information on our disposal it seems that way, Nsuku used to do most of the mating now there are zero sightings of him mating how likely would that be if he was actively mating.

Sure Mfumo and Nhenha mating might not necessarily mean dominance and doesn't give the entire picture, but it says a lot about Nsuku as he seems to not try to actively mate and dominate the others.

How much mating would the other three Majingilane do if Dark Mane was present not much and he probably would be the first one.
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(04-27-2018, 08:50 PM)Michael Wrote: How much mating would the other three Majingilane do if Dark Mane was present not much and he probably would be the first one.

Seeing as females tend to be in heat all at the same time, then Dark mane would be first with one. The others would just take the next one available.

But I don't think that means that only he got first claims to any lioness. From what I've seen, for them it's first find, first served, and usually the 2nd male doesn't dispute the first claim, unless  there's no other lioness around then yeah, he probably would have put the law dawn on his brother.

(04-27-2018, 08:50 PM)Michael Wrote: Sure Mfumo and Nhenha mating might not necessarily mean dominance and doesn't give the entire picture, but it says a lot about Nsuku as he seems to not try to actively mate and dominate the others.

I'll try to pay more attention the next weeks and see what's going on with it.
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Credits to Lucien Beaumont.

Brothers.

Click on it to play.



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Credits to Fin Lawlor.

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Credits to Richard de Gouveia - Sabi Sabi.

The two Birmingham males were found moving through the reserve with massive bellies this morning. Video to follow...

*This image is copyright of its original author

Credits to Chanyn-Lee Zeelie - Sabi Sabi.

We came across the Birmingham males this morning as they were on the move...



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Credits to Kate Jones - MalaMala.

The Mane Man •


Male lions use their manes not only to protect their neck and facial regions, but also to attract females. To a lioness, a thick mane signifies a strong, healthy lion who could sire her cubs, and protect them - as well as the rest of the pride - from danger. In addition, darker manes are much more attractive than lighter ones, according to research. The famous black-maned lions of the Kalahari are an example of this impressive trait. •

There is a downside to dark manes, though: they trap much more heat than lighter manes. Darker hairs are thicker than lighter hairs, and the dark colour absorbs more solar heat. So, as with most things in life, there’s an upside and a downside to having a black mane. •

This lion, with a beautiful mane, was seen at Mala Mala Game Reserve. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?
 
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Spalea Offline
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@Tshokwane :

About #1057(video), #1031, #1029: One of the Birmingham males seems to have a "dripstone" falling from the middle of the right eye and similar to the cheetah's one.
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(05-01-2018, 12:11 AM)Spalea Wrote: One of the Birmingham males seems to have a "dripstone" falling from the middle of the right eye

Yeah, that's male #4. 

He has that as a little present one his brothers gave him, possibly #3.
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Brazil T Rabbit Offline
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( This post was last modified: 05-01-2018, 03:09 PM by sanjay )

#1,058
I DON'T AGREE WITH THE ABOUT THE LIONS MANE BE CHOOSE BY THE LIONESSES OR THEY PREFER BIG LIONS MANE TO MATE. IN LIONS SPECIES THE FEMALE IS SMALLER AND WEAKER THAN THE MALES. THEY DON'T HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE SOMETHING IN NATURAL SELECTION. AFTER ALL I SEE AND READ I THINK THE LIONS MANE MAKE THE LION BIGGER AND INTIMIDATING  OVER THE RIVAL EYES. AS THE HEALTHIER AND STRONGER MALES HAVE BIG AND BLACK MANES. TO ME THE MANE FUNCTION IS A ISSUE BETWEEN THE MALES. THE FEMALES ARE ONLY PREYS OF WARS. THEY DON'T  DECIDE NOTHING ABOUT IT. ONLY ACCEPT THE WINNER.
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(05-01-2018, 04:53 AM)T Rabbit Wrote: THE FEMALES ARE ONLY PREYS OF WARS. THEY DON'T  DECIDE NOTHING ABOUT IT. ONLY ACCEPT THE WINNER. 

Oh come on. 

They're pretty much ungrateful bitches that make them crazy. Have you ever seen footage of them mating? They drag males around until hours later they're "ready" for it, that is unless 3 secinds later they change their mind and decide he's harassing them and get violent.

The only females that are "preys of war" as you put it, are those that are under agressive dominant males, like the Mapogos were. And even with them, it happened with both the Sparta and Styx prides, they did all they could to avoid them.

What the note says is correct, it serves both function. If you doubt it, then look at the lure dominant males have on lionesses.

Did it ever look like Makhulu or Dark mane or Notch, or Scar from the Maasai mara needed to get violent or "force" the lionesses?

Be honest with yourself.
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Brazil T Rabbit Offline
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Tshokwane makulu , hairy belly, dark mane, notch etc have to  kill other males to have acess to the female heat. There was no female choice . somebody lion asked if the lionesses would change the male? Why the tsalala females let the blonde young majingis take the place of the dark mane kinky tail? They dont prefer the dark ones? There is no choice to females in lions  species. The male  lions  decide everything
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@About #1063: Among the lions, we aren't at the cour of the King, gallantry doesn't exist ! The young male's purpose is to dethrone the dominant males of the pride they choose to conquer and to oust them. From that situation they have no choice but killing the cubs of the previous dominant males and mating with the females whether they were OK or not.

OK the lionness can react like virgins or madonnas but they are the permanent members of the pride while the males will only reign for a limited period (2-3 years in average). The stakes aren't the same, instinctively males are stressed by time.
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United States sik94 Offline
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(05-01-2018, 07:29 AM)Tshokwane Wrote: They're pretty much ungrateful bitches that make them crazy. Have you ever seen footage of them mating? They drag males around until hours later they're "ready" for it, that is unless 3 secinds later they change their mind and decide he's harassing them and get violent.

What? Lionesses do what they have to do to deal with the males. They are not "ungrateful bitches" for dragging males around and neither do they owe the males anything, they are simply being what they are. Nothing more nothing less.
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