There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
From the Mala Mala Report (March 2023). First official information regarding the deaths of two Kambula Lionesses included:
Please note the numbers they use below for the Pride count have not been adjusted. I suspect they’re waiting for finite accountability. They also use incorrect sexing on the youngest Birmingham offsprings. They’re actually 2 females.
The viewing of this pride has been stellar over the past month. We recorded 57 sightings of members of this pride! 31 of which included members from the youngest cohort of cubs. The lionesses from this pride have been moving the cubs around but seem to be keeping them in four predominant spots; the Airstrip, Vulture Waterhole, beneath West Street Bridge and in the lower reaches of the Kapen River (and into the Tamboti Thickets).
Sadly, while it has been a month of excitement, it has also brought its own sorrows. Two lionesses were found dead at the beginning of the month. One on the 3rd, the remains of which were eaten by hyenas, and another on the 5th, whose body had numerous puncture wounds, possibly from an angry antelope or perhaps even an elephant.
Despite the loss of two lionesses, the pride appear stronger and more unified now than they have been for months. Even lionesses from Kambula Group A have reintegrated with the core of the pride. On the 24th, an older female and one of the Gowrie males offspring were together with a Ndzhenga male south of the Airstrip; the three lions were cautious but rested comfortably in one another's presence. Perhaps the only potential turmoil comes in the form of the Black Dam males, who mated with a lioness from this pride from the 21st to the 24th. The two males and mating female began mating at Mlowathi Dam and only concluded the copulation on the 24th, by which time they had moved south and were at the Airstrip.