Lions of Sabi Sands

[Vengeous]

(09-03-2024, 10:08 PM)Mapokser Wrote: Regarding the PCM I wouldn't even say they are mediocre pride males as in the true sense of the word I believe it'd mean they are average, I think they are straight up below average in how well they do what the prides expect them to do for them, to not say "they are bad" and get into discussions of what humans perceive as bad or good.

Their strength is also overrated, I'll also agree with that and plead guilty in having overhyped them in the past, I've seen many hype them as these legendary warriors, some of the strongest duos ever seen and what not.

But when you look at it, with the exception of the weak Nhenha/NK coalition of 6 months who struggled to oust lone Tumbela and was barely territorial for a single month, the PCM have only defeated nomads, the only time they faced a strong prime territorial duo, the Ndhzengas, they lost ( it was a tough clash, of course, but Ndhzengas prevailed ).

Still, overrated or not, it's undeniable that they are strong, definitely above average, and much more than this NK/Talamati coalition which I think cannot handle even a single PCM.

NK/Talamati is probably still weaker than Skorro/NK and Tumbela/NK, coalitions that were already roaring and/or mating, trying to become territorial, and definitely much weaker than NK/Nhenha coalition.

NK/Nhenha who the PCM barely acknowledged as a threat and easily beat them, PCM who by then were weaker than they are now in the peak of their prime and experience, so there's no reason to believe NK/Talamati would stand any chances.

Back in the day with the Styx male the PCM were young nomads and a year younger than NK, so obviously NK/Styx had the advantage.

Agree with most of your points. Perhaps a nuance I'd add is that I do think there's very very little to separate the PCMs from the Ndhzengas or the Gijimas strength-wise. I actually think the PCM are victims of their own success and strength - we all considered them to be decent pride males up until April of this year (so for more than a year we thought of them as "good dads"). And that was when they ran into the Nkuhuma pride, who were all in oestrus because they'd lost cubs. And this encounter was a result of K4 mating with them and roaring, thereby attracting the PCMs north, with the Kambula males running away. And ever since then, they've had to patrol a territory far too vast for 2 males. But this only happened because the Kambulas, who are just over a year younger than them, did not put up decent resistance for whatever reason. It is a testament to the PCMs' strength but it has also set up the conditions for their downfall, since now their border has become porous and numerous nomadic males have traversed through the region. I sometimes wonder if they'd never gone north, whether the narrative about the PCMs would be as negative as it is now. If the Kambulas had held their ground, perhaps there'd still be 10 Mangheni cubs and we wouldn't be so worried about Tsalala's cubs. 

As for the showdown between the PCMs and the Ndhzengas, I'd like to humbly differ in opinion (slightly) - I do agree that for all intents and purposes, the Ndhzengas "won", but it certainly isn't altogether a clear nor resounding victory to me. The guide who witnessed and first produced videos of the encounter mentioned that the PCMs chased the Ndhzengas ("dominating the show") until the Ndhzengas eventually pushed them back, and it seems like the territorial lines were maintained. I'm not 100% convinced the PCMs would have retreated as swiftly if they hadn't run so deep into Ndhzenga territory - if they had continued to pursue the Ndhzenga all the way to the Londolozi/Mala Mala boundary, I think we'd all consider them utterly stupid, so I  think they did the "sensible" thing by retreating back to their territory. To have pushed the Ndhzengas as deep into their own territory as they did... their strength shouldn't be downplayed either, even if I do agree they are overrated. Equally, I do thing the strength of the Ndhzengas is underrated and I think this was a demonstration of their mostly equal strength. (I have attached the guide's description of the clash on Instagram DM with a member of the lion sightings community).

*This image is copyright of its original author

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