Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula update

It was a week that belonged to the lions of the central Timbavati, and even those from further afield.  To begin with, last week’s blog had no sooner been published when we were notified that tracks for the Mayambula Pride had once more crossed into our concession and were heading to the north. Ginger got to the area before me, and being Ginger, along with his trusty aide, Given, it didn’t take them long to find all sixteen members of the pride lounging about on the edge of a mopane thicket in the south-central region.

*This image is copyright of its original author

I arrived a little while later and spent the rest of the morning watching as this impressive pride decided to be uncharacteristically active. They all awoke, and one-by-one, walked right past our vehicle.  It was fascinating to watch the order of movement; the four mothers moved off first, followed by the three sub-adult females.  Slowly, the seven young males followed suit, and eventually, the two Mbiri males thought it was best if they too kept up, just in case there was a meal on offer.  These two boys are looking in incredible shape and my mind still boggles as to how the much smaller Nharhu males were able to take control of such a big portion of the Mbiri male’s territory.

Mayambula young male:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Although the pride eventually settled, by late afternoon there was no trace of them. Fortunately, they hung around for the night and all but three of the mothers were found the next morning with the Mbiri males looking like their persistence paid off (they were the only ones with bulging bellies). At some point in the day the lionesses must have returned, because by the afternoon the pride had once again disappeared into a massive block of land and that was that!

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

It was still such a treat to be able to catch up with this pride once more, it has been almost five months since I last saw them!  Just how long it takes before their next visit is now up for debate, especially as we had a very unexpected, and potentially disturbing visit from a coalition of male lions from the southern Timbavati; the Mapoza male and the two Xikukutsu males…right in between the territories of the Mbiri and Nharhu males.


From all accounts, this also wasn’t just a wander up north, as the three newcomers didn’t hold back on their roaring from right within the bounds of the Nahru males’ range.  It seems as though no conflict unfolded during the night, and the next morning, the Mapoza male and his partners were found on a giraffe kill just off our access road; all the while, the Nharhu males roared from further north, close to the site of the River Pride lionesses and their cubs.  This pride was less evident than the past week, but still seen regularly. However, conditions made tracking them near their den sites a dangerous task, and as a result, we typically only found them if they were close to the road.


To add to the lion sightings of the past week, the Black Dam male was also found on most days, and once in the company of a Ross lioness as he managed to hold onto his territory in the west, despite pressure now coming from all sides. Reply