Lions of Timbavati

[Tonpa]

A Week of Spring’s Subtle Arrival by Chad Cocking
https://tandatula.com/blog/posts/a-week-of-springs-subtle-arrival/?fbclid=IwAR1X6usUJ5i7ChoZhH-Yl_3sul0S8xhgLQGJyxH9voxvw1Xe9L-8xA0-d0U

The lions continued to provide us with good viewing, and after finding the limping Nharhu male with the Mayambula Pride last week, it should probably not come as a surprise that the week started out with us finding the pride in the presence of a different male this time around; one of the Skorro males had reunited with the pride and spent a couple of days mating with the lionesses.  His roaring led us to a pair one evening, and the next morning the pair had joined the rest of the lionesses on a small zebra kill, which didn’t last long with seven lions.   

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Whilst resting off their breakfast, a breeding herd of elephants arrived to chase them off, but the pride soon regrouped and the Skorro male continued to mate with the lionesses.  The limping Nharhu male found his voice again and could be heard roaring in the south-west where the River Pride seems to have set up base of late.  The pride were seen a couple of times this week, and although the cubs were looking like they could do with a meal, the pride was in fair shape considering their circumstance.  The week ended with the pride being found fat-bellied and resting a few kilometres west of Safari Camp.   

We also got to see a portion of the Giraffe Pride in the west this week, but the most interesting development was the return of the long-lost last standing lioness of the Ross Pride, but this time she wasn’t alone!  She has somehow managed to find and form a union with another long-lost lioness, the young Hercules female.  The two have been reported together in the north for the past few weeks but this time made a return to the western parts of the central Timbavati – time will tell how long they hang around, and where they decide to set up base.  Their return to our concession was followed a couple of days later by the two Sark breakaway lions also making a return to the western portions of Tanda Tula resulting in five different prides of lions being seen this week. 


Really interesting to hear that two unrelated lioness have joined up! Reply