Lions of Sabi Sands

[NLAL11]

(09-09-2024, 11:06 PM)KM600 Wrote:

(09-09-2024, 09:38 PM)Mapokser Wrote: I guess then that the reason we're not seeing the Othawas very often is because they are spending time in their pride's OG territory at Ottawa Property.

Hopefully the other female will also mate with PCM and they'll have cubs soon and maybe that makes the PCM stick more to Singita.

But this is crazy to think about, NK Breakaways, Mangheni, Ximhungwe, Tsalala, Nkuhuma, and Othawa, all prides under or technically under the PCM. 6 prides for a 2 males coalition that have just turned 7yo.

Has this even been seen before? To put it into perspective, Mapogos who were 6 males only had 7 prides throughout their entire career ( if you include technically some NK and Sparta females ) and never more than 3-4 prides at the same time, but here the PCM have 6 prides at the same time, being only 2 males.

While it’s an impressive feat for the PCMs, I think the numbers are a bit overstated. Ximhungwes are the only pride that 100% have their backing, Othawas aren’t considered a PCM pride at all, they’re just mating with the only dominant males in their area, although I do agree they will most likely end up under the PCMs. Mhangeni are 100% abandoned atp, sure PCMs met up and fed with them but I think this was more of them bumping into the pride after tracking Tumbela or noticing a fresh kill. 

Nkuhumas also aren’t solely under PCM control either with BDM and Mohawk spending more time with the pride than the PCMs themselves until they eventually return North and chase them away. Tsalala Pride is surviving again without PCM help, I know it’s rumoured Makhunga visited the cubs but it’s not confirmed and we haven’t seen both brothers with the pride to say it’s under their control. NK breakaways was the exact situation as current Mhangenis in terms of being abandoned. 

So the offspring they have already produced and should continue to produce is definitely a great achievement but this more to me shows the lack of competition in Sabi Sands rn. Gijimas, PCMs and Ndzengas all control multiple prides then u still have Nkhulus on top of that too. Kambulas were meant to become the real powerhouse but they’ve only recently started acting as dominant males again. None of this is stable going forward for the prides either, as cubs grow and prides get bigger there’s not enough space for everyone. One or two new coalitions are needed to help create that stability in Sabi Sands, unfortunately that is certain death for many of the cubs that are either born already or will be in the future.

Add to this the actual number of lionesses. 2 Ximungwe, 2 Othawas (most likely), 3 Nkuhumas (potentially) and 1 Tsalala (kind of). As you said, the three Mhangheni lionesses are pretty much abandoned, and the two Nkuhuma breakaway subs definitely don't count. But I'll agree that the number of prides they've already sired cubs with (and probably will in the near future) is impressive, provided the cubs survive. Reply