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Avoca male lions
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Since there isn't much on this thread on the Southern Avocas, I'm posting some info from their nomadic years (which was probably one of the most adventurous for a coalition of 2).
Age: 3.5 years old Young Mbiri Males & Avocas- What could have been? Sept 2016 On the morning of the 24th, and interesting mention on the radio was 6 young male Lions on Civet. Have the Avoca subs joined up with some other Lions? How would this change our Lion dynamics? What impact would this have on the Thanda impi males? We investigated and found the 3 Mbiri males had joined the Avoca sub-adults with a Buffalo kill on Civet road. They weren’t lying together, but were only separated by about 100 meters. Was this the beginning of yet another super coalition in the area? By the next morning they had all moved and we didn’t have any answers. Only time will tell! Tinswalo Lodge Blog- September 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author
Age: 4 years old
Matshipiri & S Avocas “…On the morning of the May 23rd. Shaun D’Araujo and Elmon Mhlongo traced these calls to central Londolozi and found two young males lions that none of us had ever seen before.” The tracks showed where the new males had been walking when they spotted the Matshipiri male. They took off after him attempting to chase him down. There was a point where the new males managed to grab him but he ran a few more paces, dragging them along with him. The scene where the actual fight occurred showed a lot of disturbance to the ground, patches of blood as well as clumps of hair that had been ripped out of his mane. The tracks showed where the older male managed to get away and run off. From there the newcomers continued walking, leaving small smudges of blood on the ground from the base of their paws as they walked. The newcomers were found a little while later, still roaring and walking. They were both limping slightly, with blood on their feet but were otherwise in good condition. Later on that morning, they met up with a Ntsevu lioness who was seen mating with them sporadically." June 2017 “Three mornings ago we bumped into the non-injured Matshipiri male and followed him for 100 metres through the chilly dawn until he lay down in a clearing, looking about him. His face bore many cuts and gashes, and on his spine was a fresh puncture wound, with a thin trickle of blood running from it down his flank. Ranger John Mohaud was joining us in the sighting, and we could see his vehicle approaching, when suddenly his urgent voice came over the radio “There are two more males here approaching rapidly!” Looking towards John’s Land Rover, we suddenly saw the shape of a young male lion emerge from the bushes, and then a second, both moving quickly with heads down, clearly on the scent trail of the Matshipiri male.  *This image is copyright of its original author Needless to say heart rates spiked, but none more so than that of the Matshipiri male, whose head suddenly snapped round as he heard the other males footfalls, and then took off, running for his life. Seeing him flee, the two other males, by now identified as the Avoca young males, immediately gave chase. Luckily we were in relatively open country, which allowed us to follow the lions on a crazy ride as they ran at high speed through a succession of clearings towards the Londolozi airstrip. The two young Avoca males were roaring as they went, but the Matshipiri male remained silent, with only escape on his mind. His saving grace came on the far side of the airstrip, where a thick band of vegetation a couple of hundred metres wide lay between the next clearing.  *This image is copyright of its original author The two lions got up and began retracing their steps, and as expected, it wasn’t long before they caught the scent of the injured Matshipiri male, and had found him within a few minutes. Needless to say, Greg and Alistair expected fireworks, but nothing like that happened. Instead of rushing in to finish him off, the Avoca males simply circled him at a distance, scent marking every bush and tree, but doing nothing to initiate a physical conflict. The Matshipiri male, injured and helpless, simply lay there growling. Unable to run off or rush in to attack, he simply had to await his fate. Interestingly, the two young males, after scent-marking, simply walked away.” Full Blog: https://blog.londolozi.com/2017/06/07/is-there-honour-between-lions/ & https://blog.londolozi.com/2017/05/29/matshipiri-tsalala-males-in-trouble/
Age: 5.5- 6 years old (they would settle down and become territorial after this)
Sept 2017 S Avocas & Tsalala (Many incidents): We were surprised on Sunday morning when we heard a commotion as the Avoca males were found fighting with one of the Tsalala’s who became submissive. The Avoca’s then turned on the other two chasing them south and vocalizing with authority. This sent the remaining Tsalala heading north away from his coalition. Oct 2017 It wasn’t long before the Avoca males returned and in a confident display of aggression, attacked the third Tsalala male who had only just been reunited with his brothers. Taking on 3 male lions is tough and it was very well coordinated when the Avoca males decided to focus their attention on just the one member of the coalition. This split the 3 once more sending the other two Tsalala males fleeing south with the two Avoca males in hot pursuit, who were vocalising and scent marking aggressively after the altercation. It wasn’t long before the brothers reunited once more as the two brothers ventured back North to find their brother, however, these two coalitions battles are far from over. https://www.sabisabi.com/blog/14457/terr...eroctober/  *This image is copyright of its original author S Avocas & Kambulas MALAMALA TODAY: October 17th. We woke up to a magically misty morning but any sense of serenity was short-lived... Driving south from Lion Waterhole we came across the 2 Avoca males who were in the process of bringing down a zebra mare. They’d just delivered the final blow when the Kambula pride appeared. Chaos ensued. Eventually a semblance of calm came and the 6 lionesses settled down a few feet from the males who gorged on the carcass but many more scuffles took place during the course of the day.  *This image is copyright of its original author Feb 2018 S Avoca & Southern Pride The two young Avoca males have been found frequently, suggesting they may be slowly taking over the territory previously held by the two Charleston males. This has meant some very challenging times for the Southern Pride as one female was killed by the two brothers possibly due to her standing up to the young Avoca males whilst protecting her two cubs. However, one cannot say for sure why such a tragic scene occurred, but we were reminded that as beautiful as Mother Nature can be, she takes no prisoners.  *This image is copyright of its original author March 2018 MALAMALA TODAY: March 6th. Few lions have been simultaneously hated and admired as much as the 2 Avoca males. Hated for the part they played in the upheaval that ripped through our lion population and because they killed 2 of our most loved leopards*. Admired for their bravery in confronting dominant males and for their efficiency at bringing down large prey. These 2 males were viewed along Sibuye Drive. *S Avocas & Two Leopards (Source: Londolozi Blog) “It just under 16 years, Xidulu was in the twilight of her life, but still should have had at least a year left, without having it cut short by an encounter with two male lions. Her body was found close to where these two as-yet-unidentified males were resting, and the tracks seemed to indicate that they had caught her unawares... it seems likely that the two lions either caught her while her attention was elsewhere, or if we want to put a romantic spin on it, she may even have been defending her two cubs unto death.” “In the early hours of Saturday morning, in an incident unseen by human eyes – like so many others in the bush – the Piva male leopard, one of Londolozi’s most well-known, was pulled from the boughs of a Saffron tree by lions and killed. No-one saw it happen, but the signs were clear for all. Deep gouges in the bark from lethal claws tearing through it. Tufts of mane hair caught on a branch where what are suspected to be the Avoca males attempted to lunge up to grab the leopard. A drag mark across the sandy track led to where his carcass – partially consumed by hyenas – lay. It was still warm upon its discovery, suggesting that his death had occurred only a short while before.”  
The Battle of Imbali – Matimbas vs Avoca Males - PART 1
One of the shortest nights of 2017 would become one of the longest nights for two of the Matimba males on the Mluwati concession. The confrontation between them and the three Avoca males had been building up for a couple of days already. The Avoca males spent three days on a buffalo kill just off the S36 during the previous week, while the Matimbas were somewhere in the North of the concession. We realized that there was a showdown looming when the two Matimbas showed up at the Imbali waterhole early on the morning of the 20th of December. They declared their arrival with loud roars and in the distance, there was an ominous answer from the three Avoca males. The Matimbas flopped down in the shade but stayed alert and watchful as they heard the roars of the Avoca males getting closer. Our guides followed the approaching Avoca males until they too, lay down and went quiet. The scene had been set, but the action stopped, as both groups of lions decided to rest during the heat of the day. Picture: One of the Matimbas listening to the approaching roars of the Avoca Males.  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Battle of Imbali – Matimbas vs Avoca Males - PART 2
Later that afternoon the roars from both groups of lions can be heard as the Matimbas against all odds win a small intimidation victory driving the Avoca males back North towards Ridge Road. It becomes very obvious that one of the Matimba males is severely hampered by an injured back leg. Even though he can’t keep up with his stronger coalition partner he joins in the roaring battle and it looks like the Avoca males are retreating. The stronger of the two Matimbas shows us again why they are such legends to all that know them and have spent time with them. He walks head on towards the Avoca males, his partner lying down as his leg injury slows him down. The Battle of Imbali - Matimbas vs Avoca Males - PART 3 The Avoca males in the meantime look very focused and calm, watching every move the two older males make. They are attached at the hip at this point, sticking close together. The lions are now close enough to see each other but the Avoca males move into a very thick patch of bush with no visibility. The stronger of the two Matimbas follow, roaring as he goes into the thickets. The injured Matimba watches on and drags himself to his feet trying to follow with wobbly steps. The guides are unable to follow through the dense bush but it looks like the Matimbas are standing their ground against a much younger and stronger coalition. No one knows exactly what happened during the night but it becomes evident that the Avoca males were not retreating when we hear them roaring early the next morning very close to Imbali. It seems they might have separated the Matimbas on purpose by trying to draw away the stronger one. The guides find them lying just south of the lodge. Less than a hundred meters away, one of the Matimba males is also found. He has been injured and he does not move much. The guides leave him alone and we close the area to let nature take its course. There is no sign of the second Matimba male but he could possibly just be lying in the thick bush close by. The Avoca males spend the whole day sleeping in the exact same place and as night falls they roar only once and then silently get up. Miraculously there is no sign of the Matimba male at the spot that he was last seen in the morning. The Avoca Males come to drink at the Imbali waterhole, then move purposefully south towards where the Matimba male was last seen. Late during the night, we hear the roars of the three males again, this time further to the south-west. We don’t see any of the lions the next day and we don’t know what the fate of the Matimbas are. On the morning of the 23rd, we find the Avoca males in the eastern section of the concession, close to the S36. We also find two sets of lion tracks heading south-west down the Mluwati river… The Battle of Imbali - Matimbas vs Avoca Males - PART 4 The challengers – Avoca Males coalition. These young males first walked onto the Imbali concession at the end of November 2017. We suspected that they could possibly be looking to move into this territory permanently. It was confirmed that these males came from further north in Greater Kruger Park area and they were known as the Avoca male coalition. The Mluwati males who are resident males on the concession have recently been active only in the southern part of the concession and to the north the two old Matimbas were keeping a low profile. The perfect opportunity for these three to establish a territory of their own. Over the next couple of weeks, it became clear that they meant business as they became more vocal and started scent marking everywhere they went. They killed a buffalo just off the S36 on the far eastern side of the concession a couple of days before the confrontation with the Matimbas.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great posts @"TinoArmando" Those Avoca boys sure are warriors, aren't they? Which two Matimbas are they referring to, and which one was so badly injured they thought he was going to die?
Btw, if the Avocas indeed intentionally drew the stronger Matimba away, so as to create a 3 on 1 confrontation, I have to admit that is a level of advanced strategy I previously considered unattainable by lions. But, we learn on these very pages every single day, these animals never cease to amaze, in so many incredible ways.
Northern Avoca males vs the 2 Southern Matimba males.
These boys were really good fighters on their youngers days. The N.Avoca males as the S.Avoca males had a very tough nomadic life, The southern Avoca males defeated up numerous times to the three Tsalala males, and the N.Avoca had a fight with Skorro Thanda Impi,2 Matimba etc. (11-18-2020, 07:02 AM)TinoArmando Wrote: Northern Avoca males. These three boys really were good fighters on their younger days So, I assume that HB was the one with the injured leg? Wow, those boys took it to two of the baddest dudes in South Africa, albeit three of them, but that is no small feat regardless. (11-18-2020, 07:09 AM)BA0701 Wrote:(11-18-2020, 07:02 AM)TinoArmando Wrote: Northern Avoca males. These three boys really were good fighters on their younger days Actually, HB during this fight is the healthiest Matimba male. The injured Matimba male in fact It's Ginger. Then,HB faced to the N.Avoca males (As per the text) and obviously saved to his brother (Ginger).
This is the text of the images: Pictures: One of the Matimbas walking in to face the younger males + The injured Matimba looking on.
Pictures courtesy of field guide Wesley Lovell and guest Cois de Wit.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
@BA0701 Thanks! I too think their age (4) at that time meant they probably didn't have a real plan, but it definitely shows how assertive they were if you consider the fact that they were basically the same age as the current Nkuhuma & Styx males. It would be the equivalent to our current four year olds going into the Manyeleti and chasing Red Road Male around.
@"TinoArmando" Thanks for posting that! I always heard about that incident but never read the report. Good find! (11-18-2020, 07:17 AM)TinoArmando Wrote:(11-18-2020, 07:09 AM)BA0701 Wrote:(11-18-2020, 07:02 AM)TinoArmando Wrote: Northern Avoca males. These three boys really were good fighters on their younger days Ahh, ok. The way I read it, was that the one Matimba had an injured leg, thus the stronger fresher one chased after the Avocas, and then they found one Matimba lying motionless, possibly near death, so I misunderstood that to mean the one that was drawn away was the one who was lying motionless the following day. (11-18-2020, 07:19 AM)TinoArmando Wrote: This is the text of the images: Pictures: One of the Matimbas walking in to face the younger males + The injured Matimba looking on. HB always up for a fight. All the lions in this story, absolute incredible warriors! |
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