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(06-30-2023, 02:11 PM)Brahimlegend Wrote: 2/3 Mazithi/Tshokwane males this week, they aren't looking well.
2 of them are not in greatest condition for quite some time now, atleast a year, 1 has "skinny" disease ( prob TB) and oldest/dark mane has that "black spot"/ leg problem.
(06-30-2023, 02:11 PM)Brahimlegend Wrote: 2/3 Mazithi/Tshokwane males this week, they aren't looking well.
2 of them are not in greatest condition for quite some time now, atleast a year, 1 has "skinny" disease ( prob TB) and oldest/dark mane has that "black spot"/ leg problem.
Its unfortunate to see that they are in poor condition as they are still age in their prime age (as they speculated to be half brothers of Trichardts) Is there any recent updates on the 3rd one? They should still be dominant over the Nkuhlu pride, with a few subs approaching 2 yrs old
(07-01-2023, 05:40 AM)Mdz123 Wrote: Its unfortunate to see that they are in poor condition as they are still age in their prime age (as they speculated to be half brothers of Trichardts) Is there any recent updates on the 3rd one? They should still be dominant over the Nkuhlu pride, with a few subs approaching 2 yrs old
“morning I will never forget
lol
Putting it into context:
I leave Skukuza when the camp gates open at 6am ... then I see a shadow from a distance (about 100 m) appear from the side of the road and walk in my opposite direction. I got closer and saw a fairly young male lion. I can’t believe it! For about ten minutes I followed him on his morning rounds, sometimes side by side with him. Then, in the distance, I saw another car stopped with 2 other lions beside it. I got closer and tried to film the 3 lions, who had now joined up, from both the front and the back. Then two more arrived, making a total of 5 lions. There were 4 cars in all. The lions then went to the side of the road and several of the cars drove off. But the lions returned to the road 5 minutes after leaving it. I was in the front row, with all 5 of them lined up in front of my car for about ten minutes! I was at a loss for words, it was so emotionally intense! The sun was already up but still quite low, letting the soft colours of the morning shine through the trees and illuminate the lions. “
• There has been much excitement surrounding the Shishangaan Pride as we celebrate the arrival of three new cubs. They were first found in the granophyre ridge line opposite Lebombo Lodge. Several days after they were found, the pride had managed to take down a bull giraffe along the eastern bank of the N’wanetsi River just to the south of Ndlovu Lookout. All eight cubs were seen feeding on the carcass over the course of several days. This pride is ever growing with what we think to be is another female that is entering the last stages of her gestation period so there might be even more cubs to follow soon.
• There have been several sightings of a portion of the Mananga Pride over the course of June. Most notably, eight members of the pride were found feeding on a buffalo near Double Crossing. Their hunting exploits were soon ended due to the arrival of six male lions. They chased the pride off and continued to feed on the carcass. This left the eight members heading south where the following morning they were found feeding on a zebra carcass in the vicinity of Pony Pan. This was the furthest south they have been seen in quite some time as they are sticking to the most north western parts of the concession and often venturing out into the Kruger National Park in search of the larger buffalo herds for sustenance.
• The fathers of the ever-growing Shish Pride have been seen on several occasions with the pride. Aptly with the month of June being associated with international Father’s Day, the two males have been making quite the impact and solidifying themselves in the southern regions of the concession. However, with several coalitions in the vicinity, all with higher numbers in their ranks it is going to be a tall order for the Trichardt males to keep them at bay and sire their impending offspring.
• The new six males have been seen intermittingly over the last eight months in the very far northern reaches of the concession. The make-up of the coalition is one older male and five younger males. Of the five younger males, two are substantially larger than the other three. Propositions have been made as to how the make-up of this coalition formed, however nothing can be said for certain. They are definitely a coalition to watch out for as potential successors of the north. They have been seen on a few occasions mating with a member of the Mananga Pride which could be them reinforcing their bond, however we are yet to see the fragmented portions of the Mananga Pride together with these males which could mean that their position has not yet been cemented.
• In a twist of events, close to the end of the month the Maputo male was seen, need we say more? A recap on who the Maputo male is: He along with the Kumana male are the coalition that formed after he tried to take over the Kumana males’ territory. After months of fighting they decided to team up as they were equally matched and they realised two were better than one. They then ruled over the Shish Pride in the southern part of the concession until the Trichardt males succeeded them. Back to today, he was seen with an unknown male lion in the far north-western parts of our property. The two males did not show any aggression towards each other so it is possible he took a page out of his old book and formed a new coalition late in life. On the very last day of the month he was seen yet again with this unknown collared male but now they dared to head further southeast of where they were first seen which is but a stone kick away from his old territory. We wonder what will become of this new coalition as they were heard roaring which tells us they don’t intend on passing by. Only time will reveal…
• The remains of one male lion were seen around Sticky Thorn but by the time we were made aware of the incident by the descending vultures the hyenas on the ground had worked a number on the carcass and there was not much left but a few handfuls of a mane and teeth. What we were able to ascertain was that it was a younger male lion due to the condition of the canines. We thought perhaps one of the six were taken out but a few days later we saw all of them, in all their glory. So, we assume that it i possibly a young male from the Mananga Pride as we are yet to see that specific male in a while. But the next question is, “Who done it?”.
• There has been much excitement surrounding the Shishangaan Pride as we celebrate the arrival of three new cubs. They were first found in the granophyre ridge line opposite Lebombo Lodge. Several days after they were found, the pride had managed to take down a bull giraffe along the eastern bank of the N’wanetsi River just to the south of Ndlovu Lookout. All eight cubs were seen feeding on the carcass over the course of several days. This pride is ever growing with what we think to be is another female that is entering the last stages of her gestation period so there might be even more cubs to follow soon.
• There have been several sightings of a portion of the Mananga Pride over the course of June. Most notably, eight members of the pride were found feeding on a buffalo near Double Crossing. Their hunting exploits were soon ended due to the arrival of six male lions. They chased the pride off and continued to feed on the carcass. This left the eight members heading south where the following morning they were found feeding on a zebra carcass in the vicinity of Pony Pan. This was the furthest south they have been seen in quite some time as they are sticking to the most north western parts of the concession and often venturing out into the Kruger National Park in search of the larger buffalo herds for sustenance.
• The fathers of the ever-growing Shish Pride have been seen on several occasions with the pride. Aptly with the month of June being associated with international Father’s Day, the two males have been making quite the impact and solidifying themselves in the southern regions of the concession. However, with several coalitions in the vicinity, all with higher numbers in their ranks it is going to be a tall order for the Trichardt males to keep them at bay and sire their impending offspring.
• The new six males have been seen intermittingly over the last eight months in the very far northern reaches of the concession. The make-up of the coalition is one older male and five younger males. Of the five younger males, two are substantially larger than the other three. Propositions have been made as to how the make-up of this coalition formed, however nothing can be said for certain. They are definitely a coalition to watch out for as potential successors of the north. They have been seen on a few occasions mating with a member of the Mananga Pride which could be them reinforcing their bond, however we are yet to see the fragmented portions of the Mananga Pride together with these males which could mean that their position has not yet been cemented.
• In a twist of events, close to the end of the month the Maputo male was seen, need we say more? A recap on who the Maputo male is: He along with the Kumana male are the coalition that formed after he tried to take over the Kumana males’ territory. After months of fighting they decided to team up as they were equally matched and they realised two were better than one. They then ruled over the Shish Pride in the southern part of the concession until the Trichardt males succeeded them. Back to today, he was seen with an unknown male lion in the far north-western parts of our property. The two males did not show any aggression towards each other so it is possible he took a page out of his old book and formed a new coalition late in life. On the very last day of the month he was seen yet again with this unknown collared male but now they dared to head further southeast of where they were first seen which is but a stone kick away from his old territory. We wonder what will become of this new coalition as they were heard roaring which tells us they don’t intend on passing by. Only time will reveal…
• The remains of one male lion were seen around Sticky Thorn but by the time we were made aware of the incident by the descending vultures the hyenas on the ground had worked a number on the carcass and there was not much left but a few handfuls of a mane and teeth. What we were able to ascertain was that it was a younger male lion due to the condition of the canines. We thought perhaps one of the six were taken out but a few days later we saw all of them, in all their glory. So, we assume that it i possibly a young male from the Mananga Pride as we are yet to see that specific male in a while. But the next question is, “Who done it?”.
• There has been much excitement surrounding the Shishangaan Pride as we celebrate the arrival of three new cubs. They were first found in the granophyre ridge line opposite Lebombo Lodge. Several days after they were found, the pride had managed to take down a bull giraffe along the eastern bank of the N’wanetsi River just to the south of Ndlovu Lookout. All eight cubs were seen feeding on the carcass over the course of several days. This pride is ever growing with what we think to be is another female that is entering the last stages of her gestation period so there might be even more cubs to follow soon.
• There have been several sightings of a portion of the Mananga Pride over the course of June. Most notably, eight members of the pride were found feeding on a buffalo near Double Crossing. Their hunting exploits were soon ended due to the arrival of six male lions. They chased the pride off and continued to feed on the carcass. This left the eight members heading south where the following morning they were found feeding on a zebra carcass in the vicinity of Pony Pan. This was the furthest south they have been seen in quite some time as they are sticking to the most north western parts of the concession and often venturing out into the Kruger National Park in search of the larger buffalo herds for sustenance.
• The fathers of the ever-growing Shish Pride have been seen on several occasions with the pride. Aptly with the month of June being associated with international Father’s Day, the two males have been making quite the impact and solidifying themselves in the southern regions of the concession. However, with several coalitions in the vicinity, all with higher numbers in their ranks it is going to be a tall order for the Trichardt males to keep them at bay and sire their impending offspring.
• The new six males have been seen intermittingly over the last eight months in the very far northern reaches of the concession. The make-up of the coalition is one older male and five younger males. Of the five younger males, two are substantially larger than the other three. Propositions have been made as to how the make-up of this coalition formed, however nothing can be said for certain. They are definitely a coalition to watch out for as potential successors of the north. They have been seen on a few occasions mating with a member of the Mananga Pride which could be them reinforcing their bond, however we are yet to see the fragmented portions of the Mananga Pride together with these males which could mean that their position has not yet been cemented.
• In a twist of events, close to the end of the month the Maputo male was seen, need we say more? A recap on who the Maputo male is: He along with the Kumana male are the coalition that formed after he tried to take over the Kumana males’ territory. After months of fighting they decided to team up as they were equally matched and they realised two were better than one. They then ruled over the Shish Pride in the southern part of the concession until the Trichardt males succeeded them. Back to today, he was seen with an unknown male lion in the far north-western parts of our property. The two males did not show any aggression towards each other so it is possible he took a page out of his old book and formed a new coalition late in life. On the very last day of the month he was seen yet again with this unknown collared male but now they dared to head further southeast of where they were first seen which is but a stone kick away from his old territory. We wonder what will become of this new coalition as they were heard roaring which tells us they don’t intend on passing by. Only time will reveal…
• The remains of one male lion were seen around Sticky Thorn but by the time we were made aware of the incident by the descending vultures the hyenas on the ground had worked a number on the carcass and there was not much left but a few handfuls of a mane and teeth. What we were able to ascertain was that it was a younger male lion due to the condition of the canines. We thought perhaps one of the six were taken out but a few days later we saw all of them, in all their glory. So, we assume that it i possibly a young male from the Mananga Pride as we are yet to see that specific male in a while. But the next question is, “Who done it?”.
any clue who are the 6 males
Not too sure.
Theres mention of 5 unknown males in the last months report too, seems they possibly joined the 6th in the last month? (if its the same group). They are car-shy so could even be from Mozambique I guess
Towards the end of the month we came across five unknown young male lions (still with Mohican hair styles – three to four year olds) near the Sticky Thorn thickets. There was also a lioness with them. We were not sure if it was one of the lionesses from the Shish Pride or from Mananga Pride. The lioness was seen mating with one of the males. These male lions are unknown to us and are obviously not from this area as they were quite shy of the vehicle.
Coalitions of Kruger National Park
