The Mighty Mapogos

[Leo Aslan]

Mapogo Lions - The Battles of Africa
Ranger report: Mapogo vs. Styx (August 2008)
...The coalition became infamous for their sheer power and strength in taking over and dominating an area of approximately 70,000 ha (170,000 acres). It is believed the Mapogos killed in excess of 100 lions and cubs in a little over a year. The statistics may be higher given their coverage of such large territories.
Mid 2007, one of the Roller Coaster males was killed by a Crocodile. Since then, his brother has maintained dominance over the Styx pride and is believed to be the Sire of their current cubs. There have been a number of reports of the Styx lionesses seen mating with males from the Mapogo Coalition but the old Roller Coaster male is usually in attendance with the Styx pride and accepts the cubs as his. The latest reports indicate the two oldest cubs were sired by the Roller Coaster male, the other seven it is unsure rather it was the Roller Coaster or the Mapogos or a combination of both that sired them. March reports indicate another lioness has very young cubs that were sired by the Mapogo/Eyrefield males.
There have also been several reports of the Styx pride fighting off Mapogo Males when they came near their cubs. Below are a couple of the recent fights between the Styx Pride and the Mapogo/Eyrefield Males as reported by Mala Mala.
August 2008
It seems the Mapogos found the Styx pride with their 11 cubs on Aug 10th. It was said the 5 male lions didn’t pay much attention to the lionesses until they noticed the cubs. They went for the cubs and the Styx girls went into action fighting the males but of course they were no match for 5 big males and had to depart. The Mapogos went in search of the cubs but it was believed they couldn’t find any. A couple of days later the latest Styx mother and her two new cubs were still safe in their den area. On the 15th of Aug. the rangers were relieved to see the rest of the pride along with the other 9 cubs so all survived the Mapogo attack.
The Styx pride have always been questioned about their Motherly qualities and are usually shown in a bad light when it comes to taking care of their little ones. In their defense… one must reconsider how good of Mothers they truly are. Taking on 5 big males to defend their cubs and grant the little ones time to escape to safety was indeed heroic.
On another Aug 2008 encounter between the Styx Pride and the Mapogos the Styx didn’t fare as well. The encounter was with 3 Mapogo males and the adult lionesses had an aggressive fight with them. One cub was caught and slung in the air but managed to survive and take refuge in the nearby rocks. The adult lionesses escaped unhurt except for one lioness that received fairly bad bite marks on her back but she recovered quickly.

Reply