Lion tales

[Potato]

https://www.facebook.com/boskind101

Mjejane lion history

Once upon a time Mjejane had a lion pride that was riddled with TB. I never got to see them as they were all either dead or euthanized by the Kruger vets.

My first lion sighting was early 2013, it was the oldest Mpondo with another unknown male. After a while, we only saw the one Mpondo. The Mpondo was later joined by the 2 flying lions of Mjejane in that same year. As time went by 2 other males joined the 3, making them a coalition of 5 male lions. In 2015 the Mpondos left and settled down around Mpondo dam in Kruger.

Thereafter, the Lukimbi break-away pride moved into Mjejane. They were ruled by the 3 old Lukimbi males. They raised cubs and kept us entertained for years. We watched the cubs grow big and strong, the pride was approximately 20 strong at one stage.
In 2017 only 2 Lukimbi males were seen before they disappeared. After their disappearance, the 2 Croc Bridge males moved in. The young sons of the Lukimbi males were ousted from the reserve, never to be seen again. The Croc bridge males only reigned for a short while, they sired cubs and the females seemed content with their new kings.

In 2018 we started seeing 3 young males, first they were seen vocalizing on the other side of the river. However it was only a matter time when they decided to enter Mjejane. We assume they killed one of the Croc bridge males. They were viscous warriors and even frightened the females, one female was even killed by them. But after a while the females warmed up to them. The 3 males have been named the Mjejane males, they grew strong and powerful, expanding their territory far into Kruger. They sired 14 cubs with the Lukimbi pride, I wish we knew how many of these cubs have survived.
In 2020 the Lukimbi pride started moving back into Kruger. This is when we started seeing the Lone Lioness, no one knows where she is from or why she is alone.

2020 was also the year the 6 Vurhami males moved into Mjejane. We all rooted for them, but unfortunately 5 were killed. 3 of the 5 were confirmed to have been killed by the Mjejane males, the last one being Mbilu. Mbilu and Mo were named after they attracted a lot of attention on social media as being the last survivors of a large coalition. Unfortunately Mbilu got injured badly in a fight with the Mjejanes on a previous occasion and couldn't out run them the second time.

Mo is still alive, he mated with a few of the Lukimbi females before he was ousted by the 2 Hippo pools males, which are believed to be his half brothers. The Hippo pools males have now taken over the reserve and the females.

Only time will tell what happens next with the lion dynamics on Mjejane. It has been a privilege to spend so many years watching these cats try and survive in the African bush

*This image is copyright of its original author

Pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=677695269988811&set=pcb.677696533322018 Reply