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Lion
History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
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History's most brutal killers, the Majingilane Male Lions
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Majingilanes are back. Dark mane was sighted at sabi sabi looking for food.
Credits to Franscois Rosslee - Sabi Sabi.
An old male lion followed a herd of buffalo and got chased away by two bull elephants that were among the big herd of buffalo.  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Final Demise of the Majingilane: By James Tyrrell - Londolozi.
An old male lion, ousted from his territory and suddenly nomadic, will always have a haunted look in his eyes. Without trying to sound fanciful or assume he has human emotions, you can see that the reality of his situation has in whatever way it does for lions, started to sink in. With no more pride to provide regular meals, no more territory to defend, and with almost every roar in the night air the sound of an enemy that will wish to kill you, the harsh reality for these males is that they have switched roles from the hunter to the hunted. Such was the case with the Scar-nosed Majingilane when I saw him this morning. Gaunt and weathered, he was moving through a relatively open space to the north of camp. It was still early and the air was still, yet he wasn’t roaring. He wasn’t even listening for roaring, something he would have done time without number when he and his coalition were dominant over probably half the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. The Scar-nosed male walks past ranger Pete Thorpe’s vehicle.  *This image is copyright of its original author He had an air of defeat about him, and his sunken eyes with dark rings around them that indicate a male lion at the end of his days, didn’t instil a feeling of awe as they must have done to observers thousands of times. No, what I and I’m sure others felt while watching him move through the gwarrie bushes was an emotion I’ve never before had one of this magnificent coalition evoke in me. It was pity. The Scar-nosed male in his prime. March 2014  *This image is copyright of its original author The Scar-nosed male, April 2018. A shadow of his former self.  *This image is copyright of its original author Reports have been filtering in over the last while that a second member of this coalition has died. The Golden mane or Missing canine male, whichever title people chose to call him by, has not been seen for a few weeks. One report said that he had been badly injured by a buffalo, and as an older lion is far less able to recover from a serious wound than a young one in its prime, it would come as no surprise to find out that he succumbed to injuries sustained. In a way the sequential and individual demise of each member of the coalition is fitting. The hip-scar male was the first to go, as we always suspected he would be. Somehow the outsider of the group, he was always the one off on his own, his roars regularly going unanswered by his brothers. The Missing canine male, although he spent more time with the Dark-maned and Scar-nosed males, seemed to be firmly established as the third most dominant, never taking first mating rights over oestrus females. The Scar-nosed and Dark-maned males themselves were always the core of the group. Almost inseparable, if there were two Majingilane together it would almost invariably be them. But now even this formidable twosome seems to have split, quite possibly for the last time. The Dark-maned male was reportedly seen on Sabi Sabi two days ago, badly emaciated and seemingly in no condition to hunt for himself (report to be confirmed), and then the Scar-nosed male was seen this morning on Londolozi, also looking frail. A depleted mane is one of the first signs of a male lion in poor condition. One can see just how skinny the male is in this photo. How long can he last in this condition?  *This image is copyright of its original author With no coalition actively having forced these male out, it seems like age has finally caught up with them. After 8 years of dominion over much of the Sabi Sands, and having ousted and then warded off numerous other coalitions, the only adversary for which they had no defence, was time. (04-03-2018, 04:57 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: Credits to Franscois Rosslee - Sabi Sabi.It looks like the old boy has either hyphema or glaucoma ...... other than that he doesnt look too bad for his lion age 
Just by chance that the elephants were there? Or do they sometimes follow a herd of buffalo?
(04-03-2018, 08:56 PM)brotherbear Wrote: Just by chance that the elephants were there? Or do they sometimes follow a herd of buffalo? Most likely it was just by chance, but generally herbivores stick together in large herds, even if they're not the same species. It isn't necessarily planned, but it does bring the benefit of extra protection, as this case shows. (04-03-2018, 10:35 PM)Tshokwane Wrote:(04-03-2018, 08:56 PM)brotherbear Wrote: Just by chance that the elephants were there? Or do they sometimes follow a herd of buffalo? Yes I agree. Even during great migration lots of Zebra, Giraffes, Topis, gazelles stay with Wildbeests
Those contrasting pictures of Scar Nose are very emotional. Nothing can escape death or the eventual senility.
But they were legends indeed. Only time could beat them in the end. If only the two remaining brothers would stick together in their final days.
Is it really confirmed the gm death? Somebody see his injuries? Sn must be following dm in the south. I hope the mhangenis help dm and sn in the hunt at sabi sabi.
(04-04-2018, 03:32 AM)T Rabbit Wrote: Is it really confirmed the gm death? Somebody see his injuries? Not at all, I don't think he has been seen in the last month and a half. Which is why I'm not jumping into conclussions so easily, because there hasn't been any veridic report on it. So until then I will wait.
For me it appears like Male lions loose condition quickly if they loose females/prides with whom they spend lot of time.
Majingilanes lost Mhangeni females but not much territory. They have entire western sector and also another pride (Othawa, apparently One of the females is lactating!) But they are quickly loosing condition. Couple of months ago they were looking as good as ever. Same applies to Matimbas, they lost condition quickly when they lost Kambulas. Though they had territory in Londolozi and Tsalala pride, they became nomadic. 
In old age, most coalitions rely on their prides for hunting more than ever. After 10 most male lions would struggle finding consistent food sources, they can scavenge at best at that point.
 (04-03-2018, 10:41 PM)vinodkumarn Wrote:(04-03-2018, 10:35 PM)Tshokwane Wrote:(04-03-2018, 08:56 PM)brotherbear Wrote: Just by chance that the elephants were there? Or do they sometimes follow a herd of buffalo? Generally species tend to stick with their own kind, wildabeast and zebra do graze together but most of the time, every heard I saw were of the same species. Especially with Giraffes, Elephant and Capes. Watering holes are where most come together obviously.
Credits to Dulini Private Game Reserve.
More on the Majingilane Males... After asking Dinamosi about the status of the Majingilane, he confirmed what was being reported by other lodges to our east. It appears as though they may be down to a coalition of 2. We're not sure which of the 3 may have passed away, but thoughts are that it might be Golden Mane since he was in fairly bad shape. As far as for Dark Mane and Scarnose, neither is in good shape so our greatest fears may be realized soon in that the Majingilane's days may be limited. We feel especially concerned for the new cubs that were recently delivered by an Othawa female since they are offspring of the Majingilane. Should another Coalition move into the area, it may put the cubs at risk. We'll share more information as it becomes available. |
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