Kambula/Ntsevu Pride

[BA0701]

(08-13-2024, 09:22 PM)RookiePundit Wrote:

(08-12-2024, 07:43 PM)BA0701 Wrote:

(08-12-2024, 06:33 PM)RookiePundit Wrote: I don't think the wound itself is not as bad as it looks, I concur that the issue is, it might get easily infected. In addition 4 curious cubs might add to the discomfort. 

I am on the side of not intervening. This is natural, sucks for the impacted individuals, but even if this eventually leads to Ntsevu pride becoming weaker and possibly eventually die out, it would be natural outcome of lion dynamics then. Or we might get another bounce back against odds story like with last Othawas. Strictly speaking intervening and potentially changing the outcome of this injury might eventually lead to Ntsevus outcompeting a rival pride (or other unforeseeable events) and thus undirectly stacking odds against other individuals intraspecific and interspecific as well, not just for prey species but for other predators as well. Overall Sabi Sands lions population is not currently in crisis, at least numbers wise, with abundant of cubs and established coalitions to protect them (not always being good at it) with sense of stability. Ntsevu bunch for me is easy to root for, I hope both the lioness and subsequently the little guys make it, but if it come to the the worst scenario, that litter has a sibling, many half siblings and different sorts of cousins in both Kambula and Ntsevu prides so there is no valid reason to protect them specifically as there is no indication this is caused by humans.

I believe my wishing for the veterinary intervention is likely the result of the softy I seem to be turning into, as I age. I am not opposed to the position you have stated, in fact I understand it entirely, this was just a case of my openly sharing my wishes. A few years back, I had an opposite view, never wishing harm on any creatures, but, more taking a "that is nature taking it's course" position. Over the past several years, my stance appears to have softened considerably, outside of my control.

I get that. For me if you intervene you are getting responsible for the outcome and have to live with the consequences. Thinking about it like adding a fish into a fishtank, if it is uncompatible with others it might turn out to be a death sentence for someone in limited space but endless food provided, while in a reserve the space is not an obvious issue but the resources are limited, so niches and territories are for the most past filled and secured and there is a limited aount of them. Granted the ecosystem is not entirely natural and there is constant human influence anyway, some more direct like poaching, shooting animals dangerous for humans as well as undirect one (artificial dams, roads, vehicle presence, time when some fences were torn down creating join areas) which are often quite unavoidable but might influence the balance of the ecosystem in the long run a bit, not necessarily negatively or positively, likely both for different actors. 

Another issue is where to draw a line, what should be treated, what looks bad but is superficial, what is bad but might be hidden, what is ovious but is it treatable. There were for sure worse heartbreaking cases like the young male with nonfunctioning rear legs, who were dragging himself following his natal pride, sad scene, then what can be done and why it can be done. We luckily don't have to be present and deal with situation at the spot and can much more easily look away. Another issue with lions and wild animals in general is how resilient they are so it is hard to gauge what is already a lost cause and humane thing would be to end the suffering and what is something that the animals can get through and heal itself without (thus needless) intervention, typically most of the cuts and wounds that prove to be superficial (which seems to be the case with this one as well, the torn skin just make it seem infection could get in). In addition there is the independence factor, some might be left alone too young (and have nobody to find and rejoin) to cater for themselves but otherwiese ok, some might surprise us like Othawas, some might dissapear anyway like most of the Mhangeni 12 and some prove to not having a fighting chance like the ast Sparta pride cub (which as far as intervention goes for me in ideal world, so not current South Africa, would be case where intervening aka removing the individual from the ecosystem would have minimal impact on it - the little female was doomed and would not play any role in lion dynamics barring miracle and odd behaviour from other lions and her only impact would be how many small cirtter she would catch trying to feed herself and the nutritional value of her body - and might have a conservation value being saved as a new blood in a captive conservation breeding program; but I am not naive that such thing could happen in today world in the first place without something going wrong and guaranteed backlash). Also the more often you intervene the more you jeopardize the habituation of animals towards vehicles and if we go to somewhat absurd levels, it could even become a competitive edge for animals being bad at avoiding sleeping darts and getting regualr treatment in similar fashion like it is beneficiary for elephants to have smaller or no tusks due to poaching and in turn general wild population of the species now looks different with significantly shorter tusks on average.

So I would say the hard thing is where to stop once you start doing these. It still gets accidently done like in case of Blondie Avoca being treated for a suspect shot wound, which was of natural cause in the end, but ofc they cleaned the wound etc. if they already slept him, no problem with that, it probably didn't get him any advantage anyway apart from feeling more comfortable a bit sooner, his TB condition was his eventual demise (which technically is a human caused thing in the end, though).

Very well said, my friend, and I fully understand it all. Our declining years seem to spare us no indignities, and seems to soften our stance on many things such as this, at least that has been the case for myself. Perhaps it is just the result of learning more about these creatures over time, our beginning to see them as individuals, with a face and often times a name, that makes us more invested in their successes and failures. While I understand everything you said, as I used to feel the exact same way, something certainly seems to have changed in recent years, especially this past year more than any previous. Reply