Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula update

I then welcomed some return guests to Plains Camp and this time Jan and Ann had brought their families. We had a great few days around Plains Camp, and in fact, we didn’t even need to leave the area around camp for the first five-game drives as everything was playing along close to camp. Although the majority of the Giraffe Pride had headed to the south, three members remained in the area around the plains for a few days, and we caught up with them on three occasions during those five drives. Only later in the week did the pride make a brief return to the Klaserie River, but they soon headed south and out of view. So not quite the send-off that we were hoping for, but in exciting news for our return to the central areas, the Mayambula Pride was found on Nkhari, and we hope that this is a sign of things to come. With the three Birmingham males having moved to the north-eastern Timbavati, this is likely what has pushed the Mayambula Pride back to the western side of their territory. Sadly there was no sign of the Skorro males at a time when the pride really could use their presence in the area.


As the week drew to a close, there were some ‘unwelcome’ arrivals in this same area as all six Birmingham Breakaway males were reunited and found in the central parts of Mayambula territory. This presence of a growing coalition could cause the pride to run in a different direction altogether, so time will tell how this plays out. Earlier in the week three of these breakaway males reportedly encountered the Giraffe Pride in the southern Timbavati which sent the pride running to their western sections and away from danger. With three coalitions numbering three (Birmingham), five (Vuyelas), and six (Birmingham Breakaways) moving in the central and northern Timbavati, there are no doubt some interesting times ahead, especially as the dominant male coalitions are all relatively small at the moment – one (Nharhu male with the Western Pride in the north), one-and-a-bit (Hercules and the decrepit Sumatra male of the Giraffe Pride in the west) and two (Skorro males with the Mayambula Pride in the east). I have learned that speculation over the fate of lion prides is about as useless as buying lottery tickets, it is still always good to dream about what might happen!

If that wasn’t enough, Tristan and I had headed east in the hope of catching up with a big male leopard following the scent of a nearby leopardess, but despite coming up empty-handed on the leopard front, Tristan did call me back to come, and see the gorgeous Guernsey male lion as he walked purposefully through the Mayambula territory. I have only seen this male once in front of Plains Camp, but he has remained active in southern Timbavati until this visit to the east. He was walking around sniffing all the guarri bushes, but not scent-marking himself.
He looked a little flustered, so I am not sure who had been chasing him, but he seemed keen to get out of the central sections as soon as possible.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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