Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula update

After the wonderful lion cub viewing last week, I missed out on the cubs this week.  They were found one morning, but I was already with members of the River Pride, so decided to leave it for the afternoon – bad choice, as by the time the afternoon drive came, the mother had left the cubs unattended and we missed out on our chance to see them.  The Sark Breakaways were around for a few days this week, and we kick started the week with a great sighting as 14 members of the pride came walking down the road straight past the vehicle, giving my guests a sighting they wont forget in a hurry.  Later in the week the pride was found finishing off a zebra kill in the west. 

The River pride were around for several days this week, but they didn’t make it easy for us.  The reason became evident later in the week when two lionesses were followed down into one of the river beds, and the guide that was following them got a glimpse of a brand new lion cub – the youngest lioness had given birth!  As the cub was still tiny, he left the mother in peace, and we shall continue to give her space around the den for the next several weeks until she starts bringing the cubs out on her own accord.  From the audio, it apparently sounded like there were at least a couple more cubs hidden away.  We ended the week finding the pride with fat bellies and the remains of a zebra kill just a few hundred metres from camp – their presence was not being enjoyed by the elephants that were constantly trumpeting at them! 

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The Vuyela males were around here and there, but not as much as we have come to expect; and even when they were around, their reliably roaring shows didn’t bear fruit this week.  There were tracks for the Birmingham Breakaways and a Mayambula lioness in the south east a couple of times this week, but we had no joy in finding them since they were seen at a small pan last weekend.  Reply