Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula

On the baby front, the River Pride lioness had her three ten-week old bundles of joy not too far from where Nthombi has set up her den site.  We caught up with the playful cubs on several occasions during the week – their exuberant energy was clear to see!  The River Pride, and in particular the Nharhu males, were far more evident this week, and most nights were accompanied by the not-so-distant roars of the males.  They are all looking in great shape and we even found the limping male with an adult zebra kill on the banks of Machaton Dam one morning, whilst his two partners were resting on Giraffe Plains less than a kilometre away.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

The other lion sighting of the week was what appeared to be of the Vuyela Pride – four lions and one lioness – feasting on a massive male giraffe kill.  The last update we got was that it was the Mapoza male that was at the kill with two younger males close by, but it appears as though this may have been some misinformation?  Either that, or by the time we went to see it, the Vuyela Pride had regrouped and chased him off – either way, they treated us to a wonderful sighting as they ran off and chased away fifteen-odd hyenas that had moved in to clean up the carcass as the lions went for a drink.  Tracks for the Mayambula Pride once more came quite far north, and although there were no sightings of them, it is great to see that their visits are now more regular for a change. Reply