Lions of Sabi Sands

[BA0701]

(07-04-2024, 05:50 AM)Mapokser Wrote: @Tr1x24 what happened it's far from being out of the realm of imagination but it is indeed a bit surprising.

If you asked most people, they'd say PCM are the strongest, even guides would say that.

This first started with Londolozi guide speculating that PCM were chasing Ndhzenhas just because. And before that their article said only 1 of the 4 was an impressive lion and the other one currently alove "was smaller than the lionesses".

MalaMala then wrote an article saying their future is uncertain because they weren't big and "size matters".

Northern guide more recently said Kambulas had no chance against PCM because "PCM are way too huge and powerful", and added that people were talking nonsense while speculating Kambulas could beat them. Ndhzengas are even smaller and only 2.

Also more recently a western lodge made a post of the PCM with the saying "strongest coalition in SS?"

So it's not like this was some overall fan opinion bases on nothing, guides also shared a similar opinion.

So yeah you were right that the Ndhzengas were a proper match but this is not a laughing matter that was obvious to everybody... To give another example, of the opposite happening, back in early 2022 you said that if Nhenha and NK were to establish themselves they could do very well and when addressing PCM, you said they wouldn't be an issue because "they are only 4,5yo", and then what happened was that PCM easily walked over territorial Nhenha/NK.

So my point is that these things are sometimes hard to predict, it was far from obvious that the Ndhzenhas would beat the PCM if they met in a clash.

I, myself, said it in here, several times, starting a few months back. I said I would not put money on the PCMs, the Nwas, or the Gijimas, if any two of them clashed, as I believe they are quite equally matched. The only thing this incident proves is that the Nwas were able to produce a strong enough united front, to make the PCMs decide whatever was behind them wasn't enough to continue into their territory. Would things have gone this way if the Nwas were found by the PCMs in the western sector? I don't believe it would have, in fact I think we'd likely have seen the exact opposite conclusion. Same goes for the Gijimas.

Lions are not at all, stupid creatures, in fact I know of at least one video that exists that shows them capable of forethought, that is to say taking a specific action in order to elicit a desired response. Thus I believe they are capable of making calculated decisions, as was made here, a risk vs reward if you will. They don't know how many lionesses the Kambula/Nstevu prides have, but they are capable of understanding that there is a serious risk involved in finding out.

Just like the possibility that lions do not attack safari vehicles, do so because they see the truck as one giant creature. I don't buy that, there are too many videos of lions literally making eye contact with the people in the truck. If that was the case, then the lion who was driven to fall off the waterfall would not have been trying to create space between himself and his pursuers, he would simply have attacked. I believe there is a developed fear of man, but since the lions have never been attacked from one of the trucks, they feel they are safe. It is no different with any wild animal. I have seen it personally, go into areas where hunting has not been permitted in almost a century, and you can practically walk right up to them, as their fear is not a natural one, but a learned behavior. You see the same type of animal in a different setting, and you will not see them for long. Same principle applies here, regarding safari trucks, I believe. Reply