the Selati coalition

[Fredymrt]

Wildlife Report
For the month of January, 2014

Selati males vs sparta male lion
Turn up the tension Article by Ross Couper

"The Selati male lions continue to reign supreme in the north and the west of Singita, even though they've lost one of their coalition members. Two of the Selati males moved south for a few days and they had a successful kill of a buffalo cow that they fed on for two days. Lions are the most visible, most gregarious and nosiest of all the cats. The patriarchs, regal with their large manes of hair as fragmented as dry grass, dominate the territories and invisible lines are drawn between prides.

As dawn broke across the grass plains we could hear distant roaring. After a few minutes it was evident that the roaring was coming from more than one lion. As we continued our route towards the sound we realised that the roars were further and further south, as if the two animals were moving very quickly. We eventually got sight of a single male and in a zigzag motion he continued to mark his territory and emit short grunt roars. A second male appeared and they both swiftly changed direction again, this time heading further east. We were now bordering the area where the Mashingalane male lions roam. In the distance we could see a third lion. Was this the battle that we had all been waiting for between the great coalitions of the east and the west?

The Mashingalane males currently out-number the Selati males by one, and are a force to be reckoned with.

As we approached the single male we noticed that the Selati males had already attacked him, as there were bite wounds around his rump and close to his spine. It was also noted that he was younger and smaller despite his darkened mane of hair. The two Selati males approached the third male cautiously but valiant enough to have short bursts of charging the male lion into submission, and instinctively the single young male lion sat on his hindquarters and moved his body in a circular motion to protect his spine and rump area. Teeth were exposed in a fierce grimace towards the two male lions.Within the short time that we saw this interaction several fights broke out between the three males and often with the two Selati males taking advantage of the fact that they could attack from various sides, keeping the single male lion at a disadvantage and inflicting more bite marks around his rump. After a couple of hours the three lions settled down and lay in the shade a short distance from each other.

The exertion of the fight had exhausted the males. The two males then stood up and walked off from the third male and headed back west roaring again as they moved through the long grass. The third male was identified as the Sparta male that had been seen on a few occasions with the Tsalala male. They both were initially seen on a wildebeest carcass and were later chased by a large herd of buffalo. The Tsalala male lion was much larger than the Sparta male.
The Sparta and Tsalala male lions had ventured from the south obviously in search of territory and we saw them on several occasions after the wildebeest carcass incident. They had disappeared for approximately two weeks since then.
We returned later in the afternoon to the area where the Sparta male was lying in long grass, in the shade. Nearby was a small pool of water that had accumulated from the rain. He had been rolling in it and was lying on his back to avoid the flies from bothering his wounds.

*This image is copyright of its original author

The following afternoon we found the male again in long grass, still lying on his back, but he had moved a considerable distance therefore his injury was not life-threatening. We stopped for a sundowner before deciding to return to the sighting. As we stood listening to the silence of the bush, we suddenly heard a lion roar just to the west of where we were standing approximately 200 metres in the bush.

As the light faded we all stood motionless with our binoculars to try and find the male. Finally he put his head up in the long grass. As the light faded we packed up our sundowners and decided to head back to lodge and not put unnecessary strain on the Sparta male that was not too far away from the roaring lion. The following day the Sparta male was seen still in the same position, but by the afternoon he'd gone and that's the last we've seen of him. Reply