Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Motswari Blog 2020 Volume 02

Since the 9th of February the Timbavati landscape has further transformed at the hand of mother nature. Unbelievable amounts of rain swept through the area over a period of two days leaving Motswari almost entirely landlocked for 24 hours. Some parts of the reserve are even reminiscent of scenes from Jurassic Park, with grass over head height and Mopane woodlands so dense even the elephants disappear in the blink of an eye. So what does all of this mean for our lions and in particular the three Nharhu males and the River Pride females?

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As we know a new pride was in the making. The successful partnership between the Nharhu males and the River Pride females has created an exciting energy amongst all the guides within our area. Towards the latter part of last year we could see the bonds forming and growing stronger. Within the southern section of our traverse thunderous roars from the three males could be heard and felt, advertising to every living organism that they were here to stay. Around mid-January the news broke that at least one of the females had given birth, not long after reports had confirmed that another of the females had also given birth. Needless to say this pride was now flourishing. Though, it would still be a long while before the cubs would be viewable as the females will keep their young hidden and protected for around a two month period.

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Ensuring the survival of the cubs is not an easy affair, as the mothers have to make sure the cubs are firstly protected in a secure den site or den sites that will avoid detection by other predators. Secondly the mothers themselves have to hunt successfully in order to provide nutrient rich milk off which the cubs will suckle. Lastly, they will risk their lives for the safety of the cubs. The responsibility of the males is to make sure that no intruders manage to encroach into their territory. The combination of these different variables is a mammoth task to achieve but the one thing we have still left out is mother nature herself.

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Turns out the 9th of February may have been a significant turning point for the formation of this pride. With Motswari receiving close to 150ml’s of rain and almost 200ml’s further south in the heart of their territory, the sad reality of the pride losing their cubs in the raging flood of the Nhlaralumi river started to dawn on us. With this amount of water in such a sudden timeframe, the suspected den sites in the Nhlaralumi and Zebenine rivers would have been completely destroyed. After a few visits down to the south and much speculation amongst the guides, it seems that the pride may have to rebuild once more. It is, however, still possible that the mothers managed to rescue a few individuals or even each member of the different litters just before the storm hit. We will just have to wait and see.

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It’s now been a fair while after the rains and low and behold we were lucky enough to view some members of the pride mating with one another. Is this possibly the start of the pride re-build? We are not entirely sure yet but one thing is for sure, we will be keeping a close eye on this. Reply