Other male lion coalitions from Masai Mara

[Tshokwane]

Credits to Andy & Sarah Skinner.

A sad day......


When you revisit the same wildlife areas, multiple times year after year you just cannot help but get emotionally involved in the lives of many of the animals that you frequently see. This is especially true of the big cats of the Maasai Mara, and for us even more so of the lions. Especially the males. You follow their journey and get entwined in their lives. You see tenures of male lions rise and fall and this is just part of nature’s journey. One that we wholly accept and follow with avid interest. A raw soap opera born in the wild, where each day lays unpredictability.

One such lion that we have followed for many years is a male lion called ‘Lipstick’ We followed him from way back in early 2007, when we stumbled upon him and his 3 partners (likely brothers) under a tree one day in the southern part of the Mara Triangle. Aged no more than 2 years, having been ousted or in the process of being ousted from a nearby pride. We saw them again no more, until they reappeared a couple of years later, in 2008/9. Stronger and fitter and slowly gaining more experience. He and his partners now ready to start forging their own lineage through the Mara and so they did over the years that followed. 

They were named the 4KM coalition, due to an area in the Mara Triangle in which we would frequently find them. This is also when ‘Lipstick’ was given his name. To be honest not a moment we are proud of! but a rather funny tale of when we nicknamed him this in a blog (due to the mark on his chin, that looked like he was wearing lipstick!) and then the name seemed to ‘stick’ (excuse the pun) and from then on via the power of social media he became known locally as Lipstick. 

This was all at the time that a coalition of males also resided in the Mara Triangle (The Notch Coalition). From then on, we were caught up in following the dramas’ that would unfold to both coalitions. Month after month, year after year. The drama’s continued to unfold and every day bringing a new exciting chapter in their turbulent lives. However, not without sadness as soon the four members of the 4km coalition would soon become two. 

Fast forward now to years later and now we are seeing these old warriors slowly fall from grace, with the Notch coalition now reduced to just one (who has not been seen now for some time) Inevitably these warriors that once patrolled the plains in their prime now see age catching up on them. Facing the inevitable end that precipitates in the wild.

Why are we writing this? Well, today marks a sad day, a sad day because today we heard of the passing of Lipstick. His lifeless body found on the plains of the Maasai Mara this morning. A lion, that for a wild one lived a long life, reaching 13-13.5 years of age. Living a tough life as he and his remaining partner (Blackie) fought to control their domain in the Mara, despite the rise of new coalitions in the area. With success in siring many cubs and continuing a strong lineage of genes that will leave a lasting legacy in the Mara.

RIP Lipstick, you were a lion that has forged incredible memories in our hearts that go back well over ten years. A lion that has carved his own part of history in the Mara. A lion that we will truly miss. Your legacy lives on, run free now brave warrior. 

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