Lion tales

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History of Ximhungwe pride, by " Lion Coalitions - Maasai Mara & Sabi Sands" Facebook page :

♌️ Lioness Stories ♌️

The Ximhungwe/Castleton Pride has an intriguing story within Sabi Sands for a number of reasons. As one of the older prides within the region, it has endured some tough times throughout it’s long existence, which is now as precarious as ever. This post will cover the history of the pride, in particular focusing on some of the well known lionesses.

The Ximhungwe Pride was most likely the second pride taken over by the five strong coalition of the West Street Males after their arrival in Sabi Sands during the mid 1990’s. Their spell over the pride lasted many years and was extremely successful, producing the six Rollercoaster Males in 1996 and later on Makhulu in 1998. In that same year, two lionesses from the Ximhungwe Pride broke away from the core group and would go on to form the Tsalala/Marthly Pride. By 2000, the ageing West Street Males had focused their attention towards the Sparta/Eyrefield Pride as they entered their twilight years, and from 2000 to 2004 the famous Ximhungwe Pride faded out of the limelight with clear lack of updates or information of any kind during this time. In 2004, the Ximhungwe Pride consisted of six adult lionesses who were the likely offspring of the West Street Males. At this point they were taken over by a solitary male known as Dzunani who originated from the Sand River Pride. His reign over the pride began in promising fashion as many litters of cubs were born between 2004 & 2005, including two females who became known as Long Tail & Short Tail. However, as the pride increased in numbers this created challenges in terms of availability of food. The pride members were often seen in poor condition which led to their immune systems becoming compromised and the spread of Bovine TB. At the same time, a different type of threat emerged in the form of the Mapogos and the two deadly adversaries combined had a devastating effect on the Ximhungwe Pride.

In 2006, the pride was reduced to just one adult lioness known as Kokwana, the sub-adult lionesses Long Tail & Short Tail and another unnamed sub-adult lioness, along with one sub-adult male. In the middle of the year, Dzunani became yet another casualty after being vanquished by the Mapogos, although the six marauding males weren’t able to take control of the pride at this point. Instead, the Ximhungwe Pride merged with the neighbouring Ravenscourt Pride who were a related break away pride. After experiencing similar problems, this pride was also on a sharp decline having been reduced to just two members, a young sub-adult lioness and the Ravenscourt Male. With numbers now bolstered, it was time for a fresh start for the Ximhungwe Pride. However, disaster struck almost straight away when the unnamed sub-adult lioness was killed by hyenas. This incident meant the bad luck was continuing for the Ximhungwe Pride, but things began to settle down and a year passed by without any incident.

If 2007 allowed the Ximhungwe Pride to get back on track, 2008 would see a return to the turbulent days of the past. Due to the continued pressure from the Mapogos, the Tsalala/Marthly Pride were increasingly seen traversing within the same area and the close contact between the two prides resulted in a surprising turn of events, as a sub-adult lioness from the Tsalala/Marthly Pride ended up joining her distant relatives on a permanent basis. This young lioness was known as Queen and would become an important part of the fabric of the pride moving forwards. Despite this, trouble was never far away for the unlucky pride. Later on that year, both the young Ximhungwe Male and the Ravenscourt Male were spotted feeding on a dog which had been infected with rabies, which left the authorities with no choice but to put them down. This tragic event meant the pride was left without any males, which left them open to a takeover.

As 2009 arrived the pride consisted of Kokwana, who took on the role of grandmother in the pride, in addition to the four young adult lionesses Long Tail, Short Tail, Ravenscourt Lioness & Queen. The time had now finally arrived for the Mapogos to establish their dominance over the Ximhungwe Pride, but their three year spell in charge was not a successful one. None of the cubs from the 2009 or 2010 litters survived, and the fortunes of both the pride and the Mapogos failed to improve after this. Six more cubs arrived in late 2010/early 2011 but by this point the coalition was reduced to three following the loss of Kinky Tail, Rasta & Dreadlocks. The situation was made worse due to the death of Kokwana after she was caught in a poachers snare, and the demise of the most experienced lioness was a huge blow to the pride. By 2012, only three cubs now remained and the winds of change were on the horizon with the arrival of a new coalition to challenge the Mapogos. As the now ageing males struggled to maintain control over their territory, they were often spending extended periods of time away from the pride as they checked up on their other prides and patrolled the borders. So when Short Tail came into oestrus in early 2012, she took the only other available option and mated with the nomadic Selatis. This event gave the Selatis the confidence to launch their takeover bid, and after killing Mr T and seeing off Makhulu & Pretty Boy by mid 2012 they were the new rulers of the western sector. Around this time, Queen was often sighted looking after the sub-adults and played a crucial role in protecting them whilst the other lionesses were distracting the Selatis, although this effort would ultimately be in vain as none survived. 

This meant that for six years, no cubs had been successfully raised to maturity in a sorry state of affairs for one of the much loved prides of Sabi Sands. Everybody was hoping for a better outcome with the Selatis in charge, and sure enough in late 2012 and early 2013 all three of Long Tail, Short Tail & Ravenscourt Lioness gave birth to new litters of cubs with seven in total. Despite the prospect of new cubs in the pride, the Selatis did not seem to be fully committed to them and would often favour spending time with the Othawa Pride instead which meant the lionesses had to shoulder the burden of responsibility themselves. This became even more difficult when Queen started to lose condition and passed away around early 2013, most likely due to disease. For the rest of 2013 and going into 2014, things continued to follow the same pattern with the increasingly rare interactions between the Selatis and Ximhungwe Pride usually tense and strained in nature.

In the middle stages of the year, change was in the air once more for the Ximhungwe Pride when the Majingilanes entered the scene. After spending their first four years of dominance in the eastern sector of Sabi Sands, they had now turned their attention to the west which was bad news for the Selatis. After one of the brothers was killed by the new males, the remaining two cut their losses and fled towards Manyeleti. At this point, the lionesses of the Ximhungwe Pride had done an admirable job in raising their cubs and six out of the seven had made it to sub-adulthood. However, within a short space of time clashes with hyenas resulted in the loss of one of the young females, as well as the Ravenscourt Lioness. After another sub-adult female was also lost, the pride was now made up of Long Tail, Short Tail and four sub-adults with one male and three females. As they were not the offspring of the Majingilanes the four youngsters had to tread carefully and avoid the attention of the males, who also had the welcome distraction of the Othawa Pride to divert their interest elsewhere.

Initially, this was a blessing in disguise for them, but the presence of the Othawa Pride inevitably became more of a hinderance than a help and the close proximity resulted in fights between the two prides. These repeated clashes were nothing short of catastrophic for the Ximhungwe Pride as both Long Tail & Short Tail were killed within the space of a month in mid 2015. At this point, the future of the pride was hanging by a thread as the only hope for the future rested on the shoulders of four sub-adults who would struggle to survive on their own. Despite the immense challenge they now faced, the resilient youngsters regrouped and faced up to the task remarkably, operating as nomads in their natal territory. In the next few months they were able to bring down enough prey to keep them all going and were staying in good condition, until one of the females fell victim to hyenas in late 2015. After this, the remaining three became extremely secretive and updates were hard to come by. As sightings continued to become more few and far between from mid 2016 onwards, concern began to grow over the fate of the Ximhungwe Pride.

In early 2017, reports emerged of three lions in the Dixie Loop area of Manyeleti which turned out to be the Ximhungwe Pride. They had all matured into healthy young adults, although the male seemed to be struggling with a limp on his hind leg. They were sighted again in mid 2017 in Ulusaba but this time there was no sign of the male. Reports suggest he had split off from his sisters to go it alone but his eventual fate remains a mystery. The two lionesses continued to roam in Manyeleti and northern Sabi Sands and as the time progressed optimism was growing they would eventually fall pregnant and begin the process of rebuilding the Ximhungwe Pride. These hopes turned into reality when one of the lionesses gave birth in early 2020, although this good news was overshadowed by concern for the health of her sister, who dramatically began to lose condition due to disease. After becoming separated, the emaciated lioness continued to deteriorate and later passed away. Following the tragic death of her sister, the remaining lioness was now the sole hope for the continuation of the Ximhungwe Pride.

Although only one female cub survived, the lone Ximhungwe Lioness and her daughter are beating the odds and thriving to this day. They regularly move between Manyeleti & Sabi Sands, keeping a low profile and avoiding the attention of territorial prides or males. The lioness has excelled in her hunting duties, no doubt perfected during the tough period as a nomadic sub-adult with her siblings. In some ways, it really is a remarkable twist of fate how the stories of the Ximhungwe Pride & Tsalala/Marthly Pride have ended up to be so similar given the history between them going all the way back to the 1990’s. Both are relying on the strength and courage of a single lioness to keep their rich history alive and ensure a future for their lineage. Just like her mothers and aunts before, the Ximhungwe Lioness has shown she can cope with adversity and pull through in seemingly impossible circumstances. In order for her daughter to reach independence, she will have to dig deeper than ever before. Reply