Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula update

 was off drive for a couple of days and could hear the roars of the Giraffe Pride as they continued to move around the plains; when I returned to drive later in the week, I was greeted with the news that the pride had killed a massive male giraffe less than a kilometer from camp, and I knew that we would have some good lion viewing for a day or two. What I wasn’t expecting was five days of viewing of the pride on their kill before they eventually moved back to the plains to sleep off their well-fed bellies. The pride all feasted for a full four days before they started to peel off, but even then, they stayed close enough to keep the hundreds of vultures that had gathered in the area at bay. When the lions eventually gave up on getting any more from the now putrid remains of the giraffe, more than a dozen hyenas descended upon the carcass to get stuck into the bones, hide, and inaccessible meat that the lions could not reach. As amazing as the scene was, I couldn’t help but feel for the vultures that had spent six days waiting for their turn and were now unlikely to get anything from it. What was wonderful to see were many of the endangered hooded vultures hanging around the kill, as well as at least four or five of the rarer Cape vultures in the area.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

When the lions did leave, they gave us a day of wonderful viewing as they played and hunted on the plains in both the morning and the evening. The next day the pride had moved a few kilometers to the east but remained on the property for the entire week. I just hope that this doesn’t mean that they will soon be spending an extended period away from our concession.

*This image is copyright of its original author

If they do, it seems as though the lions in the east will have to be some good substitutes – and that is not a bad thing.  Steve tracked down the nine members of the Sark Breakaway pride one afternoon in the central region as they too rested off fat bellies on the cooling sands of the Zebenine riverbed. The pride spent another couple of days in the area as the week ended. The three River Pride lionesses were seen on consecutive days with a kill closer to Tanda Tula Safari Camp, and two of the Vuyela males also spent much of the week with a buffalo kill just off our access road in the central region. The Birmingham Breakaway males were also found east of Safari Camp, meaning that the only lions that didn’t contribute to this week’s viewing were the Mayambula Pride – but with the River Pride pushing back into their old territory with the formidable force of the five Vuyela males, I do suspect that we will be seeing less and less of the Mayambula Pride.

*This image is copyright of its original author

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