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The Mhangene Pride continues to amaze us with the amount that this pride moves through the Sabi Sand area. The movements are not consistent with a pride that is stable in a territorial area.
The Othawa Pride has also made an appearance this month. The single Matimba male lion continues to move with the pride and has shown a vast improvement to his condition as an older lion. This would be due to no longer having the competition with the other coalition member that accompanied the pride.
The Othawa male lion has continued to separate himself from the Mhangene Pride and move on his own. This could be due to brief interactions that have occurred with other male lions that are resident to the north and east of his current range.
October:
Many water sources have now dried up, including a large part of the Sand River. The sound of water flowing is minimal and the pools and dams of valuable water sources have become invaluable. We’ve watched predators such as lions taking full advantage of these places. The Ottawa pride in particular have used the shade of the reeds and bushwillows to lie in during the day, waiting for the inevitable arrival of water dependant antelope and buffalo to arrive. The one Matimba male has been seen with the pride on almost every occasion. A sighting on the northern bank saw one female member of the Ottawa pride stalk and kill an unsuspecting female nyala antelope.
The Mhangene pride have spent the majority of October in the south-eastern part of the Sabi Sand, opening up opportunities for other lion prides to exploit our reserve.