Lions of Sabi Sands

[Tonpa]

Wildlife Blog – August/September 2021

So much has been happening since our last update, especially in the lion world. One of the highlights has been the constant presence of the Mhangene pride who, as a result of losing the Ottawa male, has moved much further west in an attempt to avoid a new coalition of males finding and killing the remaining two cubs. These cubs are now 8 months and 16 months old and are in fantastic condition. Fortunately, the two of them have each other to play with, without having to hassle the adults!

One of the reasons these cubs are doing so well is that this pride is a fantastic hunting unit. Over the past few months, they have taken down a number of buffalo bulls, and in one case killed two bulls within a week, without moving at all!

Buffalo is not their only prey, though, as they are opportunistic and will take on anything that might be unlucky enough to cross their path. We do not often see zebra kills in the West, but they managed to bring one down recently on Savanna’s property. 

Being a pride of six large females, this did not last them long, and they had finished the kill by the next morning. After a long drink, they spent the next day being very lethargic in a clearing, doing what lions do best! This did give us an opportunity to get some great images, though!

They have also shown how adaptable they are in not just going for large prey. We witnessed a number of warthog hunts when the opportunity presented itself and they were successful on quite a few occasions.

Lion will also not turn down the opportunity to steal a kill from another predator, even if it is a leopard kill high in a tree. Tisela learnt this the hard way when she had an impala kill high in a jackalberry tree and they discovered it. She could fortunately get higher up the tree away from the chaos, but the kill was fair game and our guests were treated to an incredible sight of the pride going up the tree to get the carcass!

The viewing of this incredible pride has been phenomenal, and we hope that it continues for some time!
Lion will also not turn down the opportunity to steal a kill from another predator, even if it is a leopard kill high in a tree. Tisela learnt this the hard way when she had an impala kill high in a jackalberry tree and they discovered it. She could fortunately get higher up the tree away from the chaos, but the kill was fair game and our guests were treated to an incredible sight of the pride going up the tree to get the carcass!

At the same time as having the Mhangene pride almost permanently residing on our property, the Ottawa pride has also been remaining quite local in and around the Sand River. The six cubs have grown rapidly over the past two months and the pride has done well to keep all of them alive and healthy.

They have also been proving themselves very successful hunters of late, providing a constant source of protein as they slowly wean the cubs. A large kudu bull gave the cubs something to keep themselves busy and content with for a few days.

The Ottawa pride also showed their skills as hunters by bringing down a large buffalo bull in the Sand River, without the assistance of the Tumbela males! This is especially impressive, as two of the lionesses are now over 13 years old! Although there was more meat available, it proved to be pretty tricky to get to, and the young cubs had to sit on the carcass while waiting for the adults to make a bit of space to feed from.

The Tumbela males eventually did arrive and enjoyed their share of the free meal. This provided a much-needed boost for the third male, who over the past few months has slowly been losing condition. Sadly, it seems that it was not enough and, as we haven’t seen him for some time since the end of September, we presume he has succumbed to his illness. This is a sad end to the individual, but we must remember that this is the way nature ensures the survival of the fittest, hence strengthening the species as a whole. The remaining Tumbela males are in great condition, and hopefully they can cement their dominance in the west for the years to come.

The four young ‘break-away’ sub-adults from the Ottawa pride have had some interesting wanderings since leaving their mothers, according to some reports. They have been seen as far away as in the heart of the Kruger National Park, but we were ecstatic to see the return of two of them recently. The young female and one male, both just under three years old, spent a few days in our concession. They both looked surprisingly well – in particular, the young female – and we are hoping there is a chance that she may join up with the rest of the Ottawa pride in the future. The whereabouts of the other two brothers, as well as the fate of this young male, is uncertain, but if they make it through and can stick together, we are sure that they will make a formidable coalition.

We had an interesting interaction with the young break-aways, when they came across a buffalo bull who had died of unknown causes. Being thankful for this gift from nature, they gorged themselves on the decaying buffalo, but were surprised by the arrival of one of the Nwalungu males (previously the Styx and Nkuhuma brothers). His brother (the Styx male) was sadly killed recently, although we are unsure by whom, and he was in need of a good meal. Although there was some growling and aggression between the three lions, they accepted each other and took turns feeding from the carcass. They eventually went their separate ways, but it may be an interesting option for these two single males to form a coalition. Time will tell what happens with these young nomads.

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