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Lions of Timbavati
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April at Timbavati
5 APRIL 2019 Less of a highlight were the lions this week. The Mayambula Pride remained very elusive, with only one sighting of a lone lioness. The lioness with the youngest cubs was reported at a new den site, but despite keeping an eye on the area, she was not seen. Adding to the frustrations was the fact that almost every day, we were finding tracks for what is presumably a portion of the River Pride to the east of camp, but the pride didn’t show themselves once. Fortunately, the Zebenine Pride were a little more evident, and were seen on a few occasions in the south-west – an area that now seems to be their preferred hunting spot. After leaving them setting off on the hunt one evening, they were relocated the following day on yet another wildebeest kill, resulting in some fantastic looking fat-bellied cubs! The Mbiri males started the week off with a buffalo calf kill to the far west of their territory, but then remained out of view for the week until they were found crossing off our western boundary at the end of the week; this after they covered around at least 16km worth of territorial patrols in the eastern section of their territory. With such big distances covered each night, no wonder we are having trouble keeping up with them! 12 APRIL 2019 The lioness mentioned above was the lone Mayambula lioness with the two smallest cubs, fortunately with the den site being found, we then managed to see her several times during the week with the two healthy looking cubs. Despite still being alone, she is doing a great job of keeping both herself and the cubs in very good condition. The remaining portion of the pride was only found once this week on our very southern boundary, but reports suggest that all eight cubs are still with them. After moaning a little about the lions’ behaviour last week, they redeemed themselves this week and the Zebenine Pride, who spent the whole week in the company of the Mbiri males, were seen most days. As the week drew to a close, the Mbiri males split off with the lioness without cubs, and this could be a precursor to some upcoming mating activity. As for the River Pride, the constant presence of lion tracks in the east eventually led to us finding three of the young males on their own a couple of times this week; it took us a while to figure out who they were, as they are so calm with the vehicles that they are like a different pride compared to a year ago! The youngest of the males was sporting a number of bite and scratch marks that indicated that these boys have had an altercation with other lions in the area. Where the other six members of the pride are remains a mystery. Regardless, the lions of the central Timbavati provided us with lovely game viewing on a daily basis this week. 19 APRIL 2019 I was out doing bush work when I saw a large wake of vultures taking off from deep inside a block near our southern boundary, before they descended in a hurry again. Knowing that the lions’ tracks had been in that area, I decided to go and check what had very obviously died. Arriving in the area, I had a bad feeling, and I could see that whatever the vultures were eating was not a large animal. As I moved closer, the vultures took flight and the sinking feeling hit when I saw the unmistakable sight of four lion paws lying scattered on the ground as the dust settled. The previous night, we had seen the female cub and the “aunt” in the company of the Mbiri males, and I was immediately concerned as to where the young male cub might have been. This find may well have explained where he was, but it was a long way off explaining what had happened to him. More concerning for me was the absence of the mother lioness, and as the week passed there was still no sign of her. Only time will tell what her fate is, but we obviously all hope that she is alive and well and can continue to raise her daughter to adulthood. As for the Mbiri males, the day we found the dead cub they were found in the far west having a go at the young males from the River Pride; hopefully this will be a message enough for the River Pride to stay out of the Mbiri’s territory. On a more positive note, the Mayambula Pride spent much of the week within our concession (albeit largely out of view), and all of their cubs are doing very well, and growing quickly! The fourth lioness still hasn’t joined the pride, and appears to have moved den sites, as we haven’t seen any sign of her this week. 26 APRIL 2019 Welcome back to your weekly update from the heart of the Greater Kruger! Following last week’s blog, I am sure that many of you have been wondering about the outcome of the missing Zebenine Pride’s mother lioness. Sadly, things are not looking good for a positive outcome, and a week after finding the remains of the dead cub, there has still been no sign of the mother. The other lioness was only seen on one occasion but walking around alone. The next day there were tracks for her and the remaining cub, but no confirmed sightings were had of either of them as the week progressed. If it is the case that the lioness was also killed, this is a disaster for the future of the pride and raises a number of questions. Most pressing of which would be whether or not the lioness will look after the remaining cub? If she doesn’t and the female cub dies, what will she do as a lone lioness? It is not impossible to survive as a single lion, but life will be considerably more difficult for her. Time will tell whether or not she stays within the concession, or if she will be forced out by other lions. The four River Pride lionesses seem to be on their own now and could well decide to push more into the heart of the prime Zebenine territory, especially if the Mbiri males were to take control of the pride. For now, though, the Mbiri males have been biding their time between the Mayambula Pride and their own territorial activities. The first half of the week saw some good viewing of the Mayambula Pride with the eight cubs, and later in the week, the lone lioness with her two cubs was seen feasting on a large kudu kill that she had made. In the west, the Giraffe Pride were around over the long weekend, but they had a run in with a pack of wild dogs and sadly ended up killing one of the pack members. Source: http://www.tandatula.com/blog Mbiri's run in with the River pride males: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919EArYhWoE Other 2 manage to escape and that one was catch although he stand his ground and also made it alive. |
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