Lions of Sabi Sands

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(10-15-2020, 08:02 AM)Gijima Wrote: The Kambulas were historically not great at keeping cubs alive. Litter after litter were lost or abandoned from 2016-2018. Maybe initially it was due to inexperience, but there is also something a bit off about this pride (the Birminghams brought a lot of stability). Based on their aggression towards their male offspring so soon I’m hoping this current litter doesn’t turn into a Mhangeni 12 situation. Here is the official Mala Mala quote from 2018:

“ The lionesses managed to bring down a buffalo in the area on the 4th and a Gowrie male and the four cubs soon joined them. This led to another mind-boggling moment when one of the females proceeded to kill two of her sister’s cubs while they were at the buffalo carcass. This peculiar behavior has left everyone scratching their heads, as we seem to come up with more hypotheses than answers.” Feb 2018 report 

“ Multiple females from the Kambula pride have been seen mating with the Gowrie males throughout the month. This unfortunately indicates that all the cubs have died as none of them were seen for the entirety of the month.” March 2018

They basically abandoned/ killed their previous cubs even though the Birminghams had accepted them.

That is crazy behavior, but I recall watching a lion show, I believe it was Savage Kingdom, and a lioness was off denning, when her sisters stumbled onto the den. While the mother tried to put up a little fight, once the other lionesses made their intentions clear, she basically stood by as it happened. Was a really terrible sight, and the narrator explained things as if this was typical behavior. It may be, but I had certainly not heard of it before.

As for the Kambulas, it is odd, that they have had so much death within the pride, yet they are such a large pride. Reply