The Mighty Mapogos

[Leo Aslan]

Lions of Africa - Reggae Boyz (2 males) 2001-2010
Sabi Sands Game Reserve - South Africa
Ranger report: The missing Mapogos
...You got confuse when you hear Rasta and Dreadlocks?
The lion on the left was known as Rasta or the missing Mapogo. Since he was a little older than the other three Mapogos (together with his twin brother Pretty Boy) , his mane formed earlier and they gave him the nick name Rasta/Dreadlocks. Due to the color of his mane, he also got the nickname Red and because of his character even the name of Leonides after the famous King of Sparta.
The lion on the right was Dreadlocks Mapogo. Because of his tail he was also called Snip-tail. Some also called him Scar and because of his power and ability to bring down a buffalo on his own, he got the name the Beast from the Mapogo community. The name Rasta/Dreadlocks had been shared when the mane of the snip-tail Mapogo became even more impressive, so he became Dreadlocks and Rasta kept only his first name.
Also in the documentary, the names are given incorrectly:
Dreadlocks is named as Pretty Boy, Rasta as Rasta / Dreadlocks and Pretty Boy as Scar. Unfortunately, it apparently led to confusion until today, so that many do not know that Rasta and Dreadlocks were Mapogos but not the same lions.
Rasta was Pretty Boy's twins and was born in January 2001. Over years this was the official version of the disappearance of the Mapogo King: 
Rasta got killed at the mysterious fight at Elephant plains on July 9th 2010. We dont know what happened that night, but there was a fight between the Majingilane coalition and the two twins (Rasta and Pretty Boy). Rasta was never seen again, and Pretty Boy reappeared one or two weeks later with a bent spine. Rasta's body was never found. The other Mapogos (Makhulu, Dreadlocks, Mr.T) weren't involved in this fight since they had no signs of battle the days afterwards. Until today many speculations are circulating. Some claim that the 5 Mapogos were on their way (July 5th 2010) to take revenge for the death of Kinky Tail. They wandered deep into the Majingilane territory and began to roar. It was a clear provocation and proof of dominance. A video was recorded where all 5 remaining Mapogo lions roared at Leopard Hills in July 11th, 2010.
If this video was recorded on 11th of July, 2010, how could Rasta be killed by the Majingilanes on 9th of July? By July 19th, all 5 Mapogos had been sighted. From 20 to 23 July, 4 days, there were no reports of the Mapogos. From 23 July, only 4 Mapogos were seen. Rasta never reappeared again. Pretty boy showed signs of a fight because his back was badly injured. The question is what happened between July 20 and 23? That is the key for an answer!
Dreadlocks was born on March 2001 and he was the dominant Mapogo when Makhulu was becoming old (end of 2008 at 10 years old).  Sadly, he mysteriously disappeared in December 2010 and was never seen again. The general consensus is that Dreadlocks was poached (in a village hut outside the reserve a lion skin with a magnificent mane was sighted hanging on a wall and freshly skinned) since a leopard disappeared at the same time, and an other lioness got caught in a trap also. After years of secrecy, ranger Willem Botha came forward in 2015 and explained what happened to Dreadlocks: At that time there were big rains and the fences of the reserve were washed away by a flood like 2009 when the Sand River pride fled there and started to kill cattle. The big culprits were the three chiefs of Dumphries village who insisted that the lions should be distroyed after eating their cattle. We attempted to bait and dart the lions and take them back to the Sabi Sands but members of the local population on instruction of the chiefs chaded the lions away from the bait. They also threatened members of the Sabi Sands and MTPA with violence should we attempt to dart the lions. At one stage we wanted to leave the area the but were blocked by the local population and were told that we could not leave before the lions were destroyed. That was when a group of hunters with their dogs from Lydenburg was called to assist the authorities. 4 sons of the Mapogos and a lioness were shot. 
The snip tail Mapogo called Dreadlocks also left the reserve by the end of November 2010 in the north of the reserve at the Kokovelo river where he on various occasions left the reserve to seek easy prey in the community outside the reserve. There he was caught in a snare which was set near a carcass of a cow (he caught the cow the previous night) and the Mapogo King was shotted by the locals. The End of the Beast was decided in a bloody way!

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