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Lion tales
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 (04-22-2020, 11:10 PM)Tr1x24 Wrote: 3 SAND RIVER MALES Excellent write up! Also reminds us that while male lions do a lot of killing, lionesses can be equally ruthless when they get the chance. 
"Until mid to late 2015, when invading Fourways where seen starting to mate with their lionesses, followed by 2 Charleston males, and all 3 coalitions begin to fight for Southern pride, of which 2 Fourways male get the upper hand. "
"Sand River males decided to retreat further south into their territory in Kruger, abandoning Southern Pride, its pressumed that all their cubs where killed of by new males. " At some point Southern pride stragled a lot. They had difficultys in hunting or some other stuff, I do not remember exactly. Anyway cubs sired by Sand River males in Southern pride died from hunger or some natural causes, they haven't been killed by rival males. In the mean time Sand River males were slowly lowering their presence in the arena vacating this lands. Possibly they had some more intresting pride in Kruger. Fourway male did not oust Sand River males, but just took vacated land. There wasn't ever any reports of those two coalitions haveing any king of run in into each other.  (04-23-2020, 12:03 AM)Potato Wrote: At some point Southern pride stragled a lot. They had difficultys in hunting or some other stuff, I do not remember exactly. Anyway cubs sired by Sand River males in Southern pride died from hunger or some natural causes, they haven't been killed by rival males. In the mean time Sand River males were slowly lowering their presence in the arena vacating this lands. Possibly they had some more intresting pride in Kruger. Fourway male did not oust Sand River males, but just took vacated land. There wasn't ever any reports of those two coalitions haveing any king of run in into each other. Didnt the Fourways and Charlestons cubs mostly die by hunger and other causes, after Charlestons abandon them? Yes, Sand River males didn't exactly try hard to keep Southern Pride, because of that i said that they decided to abandon them instead of saying that they lost it. But there actually was report of 2 Fourways chasing 1 Sand River male and its reported in the last Sabi Sabi report i put into the post.
"Didnt the Fourways and Charlestons cubs mostly die by hunger and other causes, after Charlestons abandon them? "
Well they stragled then as well, but the point is all cubs sired by SRM died out before Fourway males begin to move into Sabi Sabi. "But there actually was report of 2 Fourways chasing 1 Sand River male and its reported in the last Sabi Sabi report i put into the post." Ah, ok. There was that little run into, althrough it was already when Sand River fairly vacated their holdings in Sabi Sabi. 
Others say that the 3 Sand River males born in 2008 in Hildas rock pride sired by the 2 old Skukuza males
(04-26-2020, 02:43 PM)Mohawk4 Wrote: Others say that the 3 Sand River males born in 2008 in Hildas rock pride sired by the 2 old Skukuza males We discuss it a bit on yt. So you are basing that on this comment right:  *This image is copyright of its original author The second part is key, rangers and reserves called this lions and prides different names. They where called Hildas Rock pride males later on, when they take Hildas Rock pride around late 2012-2013,before they where called Sand River males, so from that people might assume that they are born in Skukuza/Hildas Rock pride, but theres no evidence of that. This is post from Lions Sands in early 2012, it says that Hildas Rock pride was seen but also 4 males from Sand River pride, i think that Sand River males are this ones.  *This image is copyright of its original author We'll theres obiviously no evidence where this guys are born, but i find it very unlikely that they are born into Skukuza/Hildas Rock pride.
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/06/sizanani-coalition-manyeleti-game.html
Year 2012 Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 1 Enter the Sizanani, the dominant coalition of that arena
The Manyeleti Game Reserve has been experiencing an extremely special period in its recent history with exploding populations of large male lion coalitions. With two new young males, called the Sizanani Coalition (meaning “working together”), looking to settle in the central parts of the northern end of the concession, it is starting to look like a battlefield. They are surrounded by a coalition of 5 males (known as the “Matimbas”) to their south and a reported coalition of 12 males (known as the “Skybeds Coalition”, confirmed at least 9) to their north. The scenario doesn’t look great for the young males, as besides the high lion competition, one of the males has an injured rear left leg. The injury seems to have been picked up many months ago, yet this young male manages to keep pushing on with the help of his brother. It has been well documented that nomadic male lions are superb hunters as they do not have the support of a pride. On many occasions scavenging seems to be the solution for minimal effort and maximum reward. This method certainly seems to be the answer to countless unsuccessful hunts, due to the disability of an injured leg. On two occasions within the last week this behaviour has been observed. Firstly when the young coalition managed to pick up the signal of diving vultures, they found the experienced Koppies pride feeding on a Zebra carcass. The stronger of the males managed to push the pride away from what was now there food, as a limping lion came in to reap the rewards.  *This image is copyright of its original author On the second occasion, on an evening game drive, we heard the bellowing of a helpless buffalo 300 metres away. We knew we were in luck, as earlier in the day we had left the two young males trailing a herd of buffalo. This was something, as a ranger or a tourist, you would always dream of witnessing, so the race was on to get to the scene before the events unfolded. Upon arrival we were shocked to find two hyenas trying to pull a juvenile buffalo to the ground. The tug of war went on for several minutes until the buffalo had no fight left to fight. Suddenly the Sizanani brothers came rushing to the scene and chased the hyenas away, one of which nearly ran into our game viewer as he got such a fright! The following events unfolded in the video clip below. The hyenas where out of sight but could be heard calling for support in the background:
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/07/another-greek-tradgedy.html
Year 2012 Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 2 July: Just after morning coffee, we decided to slowly make our way back to the lodge. It was already after ten o’clock and started to warm up nicely. Little did we know what was in store for us before breakfast. Mpho, our wilderness tracker, radioed in that he was with six male lions and they were killing cubs. Six big males together? We knew who these lions were. The Matimba males! They hadn’t been this far north in a very long time so something was definitely up. We briefed the guests on what was happening, explaining that it was a natural occurrence, hoping that the magnitude of what they were about to see, would sink in. Arriving at the scene, we found two lionesses and one cub, but something was wrong. The cub was struggling to lift itself up. And blood! The Matimba’s had already got to this poor cub. The males were about 50 meters away and the atmosphere was incredibly tense. Then one of the males got up and the females reacted with savage ferocity. They were both eyeing these killers with a well-designed death stare. Baring their teeth, their message was clear: “Come any closer and you’ll get it!”. These males were old hands and had played this game many times, but these females weren’t going anywhere. All the while, the unfortunate cub was trying to remove itself from this predicament. Its back was broken and no matter how hard it tried, it just couldn’t get away. At least mom and aunt were on the defence!  *This image is copyright of its original author The Matimba males moved away, but only about 100 meters. They were ready for the inevitable. The lionesses can’t stay with the cub for long. We followed the males for a while. They lay down in a shady spot not far from the females, comfort achieved, now just waiting. The males went to sleep.  *This image is copyright of its original author Going back to where the females were, we returned to a scene that would melt a stone heart. The mother was grooming the cub, willing it to get up and get away while they still could. The lioness had turned from fierce warrior to concerned mother. With the social bond still strong, she groomed the injured cub. A sad scene re-enacted itself as it had so many times before. We left with a mixed feeling of elation and sadness, a feeling that leaves you confused yet privileged. Mpho stayed with the lionesses for the rest of the day. Later that afternoon the inevitable happened. The instinct of self-preservation took over and the warrior lionesses that had held off six male lions that morning, abandoned the cub. We were getting the updates as it was happening. A few minutes after the females left, the six males approached the cub and within seconds it was over. The biggest male bit and shook the cub, ending the struggle, ending the drama. Chatting around the campfire later that evening, the shocking truth was revealed. These males had been seen mating with these females last year and this could very well have been their cub. It made me think of the story of Hercules. According to the myth, Hercules killed his own children in a fit of madness. He then had to perform incredible tasks in order to gain forgiveness. Who knows what feats these males will perform in the years to come?
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/08/lion-politics-plot-thickens.html
Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 3 August: Our reserve is a very confusing place at the moment as far as our lions are concerned! In this part of the Greater Kruger National Park massive coalitions of male lions wreak havoc in the lion population creating a forthcoming spectacle that will not be for the faint hearted. One of these coalitions is known as the Skybeds males. They were named after a dam in the north eastern part of the reserve where they were sighted first about nine months ago. At this first sighting we found nine males together but kept hearing reports that to the east as many as twelve have been seen together. These males mostly move in the northern parts of the reserve and into the Orpen section of the Kruger National Park. With the six Matimba males in the south, the two Sizanani males in the central area and now these males coming in from the north, a mega showdown is on the horizon.
With all these males around, females are finding it increasingly difficult to raise their cubs. Males they mate with are usually part of one of the larger coalitions. Their cubs are either killed by the other coalitions or another male from the same coalition who doesn’t know the cubs. As it is we regularly see eight females and as many as 22 males - a very lopsided ratio!
There is another coalition comprising of three very large males that also roam the north. This is now where this story gets very interesting. We recently got a report from one of the Mpumalanga Parks Rangers that six males and a female were not far from where we were. As this was to the north we reckoned it could only be the Skybeds and off we went to have a look.
Alfred and I decided to walk in and track them. It was fairly windy day and the conditions weren’t the best for tracking but as it’s all in the job we decided to go off anyway. We quickly found what we were looking for when we noticed places where they had laid down and identified some tracks. After about 20 minutes of tracking we heard the unmistakable sound of a lion growling. Being windy we couldn’t pinpoint their exact location and allowed better judgement to take over. We moved in the opposite direction all the while trying to determine their location. Knowing we’ve done some very good work, we collected the guests and the vehicle, proudly told them our story and started making our way to where we heard the growling.  *This image is copyright of its original author Upon arrival, we realised that the lioness was not growling at us, but rather at one of the males. They were clearly mating! We saw the other males lying in the thick grass, but it was the honeymoon couple that grabbed our attention. We settled down and waited.  *This image is copyright of its original author The big male got up and meandered towards the lioness. She looked like one of the Koppies lionesses and as it was right in the middle their territory we thought it must be a Koppies girl! The male was very distinctive. It looked like there was a knot in his tail. This was clearly not one of the Skybeds males originally seen, but possibly part of another coalition we know as the Timbavati males comprising of three males! Could these three be the other three males seen to the east with the Skybeds? They’re bigger and older than the others but could very well be. They were with another three males but most were unfortunately sleeping in thick grass, so getting a picture and confirming their identity was impossible.  *This image is copyright of its original author After about five minutes our patience was rewarded as the male got on the top of his business. We watched these two lovebirds mate as only lions can and after about fifteen seconds the show was over. Only time will tell if these males will settle down and tend the females and future cubs, protecting them from the menace in the south - The mighty Matimba’s. Note: What do you guys think about identity of a male in the video. He is I think too old for Skybeds isn't he? Most likely it is Matimba male, but perhaps can it be old Birmingham male?
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/09/
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/10/ Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 4 September: [b]Matimba males:[/b] The Matimba males are a well-known powerful coalition of six males that frequent the central and Southern parts of the reserve and also move in the Northern parts of the Sabi Sands. They were seen at the beginning of the week at Bushbuck dam on the Sabi Sand boundary with five males in attendance. We went the next morning to relocate them, only to hear that they were found on a Wildebeest kill on Bee-eater road. This is about 12 kilometres from the boundary which indicates the size of their territory. There were also some scattered sightings of these males around S8 dam and one male was found on a Zebra kill on S10 road. So a fair amount of movement in core of their territory, the south, with the typical Matimba incursions to the north.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author [b]Sizanani males:[/b] The Sizanani males are a coalition of two that move around the central and western parts of the reserve and occasionally moves into the Timbavati Nature Reserve.  *This image is copyright of its original author The first sighting for the week was the male with the bad back leg at Lompfaan pan to the north of the lodge. His brother was vocalising further north and he promptly roared back, got up and started making his way to his brother. The healthy Sizanani brother was seen with the Koppies females where he was endlessly mating with the oldest female in the group. A few nights later we found him at Panicum road, about 200 meters from the lodge. He was fiercely roaring, advertising his territory, and moved right past the staff accommodation! We found the pair the next night chasing Buffalo at the Tintswalo pump house, once again only 100 meters from the lodge. They seem to be evading the larger coalitions and have set up a small territory close to the lodge.  *This image is copyright of its original author 15 October: [b]Skybeds 9 males:[/b] Two of the nine were seen at Skybeds dam. After careful scrutiny Fritz confirmed that they were indeed the Skybeds males. Their bellies were full and it seemed like they had eaten well. They spent almost two full days at this dam that gave them their name. Matimba males: Besides the incursion into Sizanani territory, three males were seen hammering a female down at S10 road in the south. We think this might be one of the Hamiltons females, but she was deep in Matimba and Nkuhuma lion territory. Sizanani males (Nkuhuma male lions):  *This image is copyright of its original author These males, having seemingly taken over the Koppies pride, have had a tough few weeks. It all started out with them feeding on a Buffalo kill on Mazambaan corner while the females had a Buffalo all to themselves a few kilometres away on Helens road. Then all hell broke loose! The Matimba’s were roaring to the east towards Main dam, only a few kilometres away from where these males were feeding. Somehow one of the Koppies females got tangled up with them during the night and the guides found her beaten up again, mating with the Matimba’s. Then a few days later, they had one of the Koppies girls with them at Mantwaan Mphisi pan, close to Helens road. All this Matimba activity eventually drove them north and they were found feeding on a Buffalo carcass at Mantombeni pan. It seems though that this was an opportunistic feeding, as the Buffalo looked like it had got stuck in the mud. 27 October: [b]Sizanani Males and Koppies Females: [/b] We haven’t seen much of our resident pride lately. After all the chaos caused by the Matimba’s a few weeks ago, the Koppies females have been keeping a very low profile. We saw them with the Sizanani males on Panicum road and this was the first time they’ve been seen together since the Matimba’s were in town. The next morning we found the Koppies girls at Wild dog dam and they moved north towards the airstrip. They went into a thicket and settled down for the day.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The Sizanani boys moved far north, unfortunately into an area of clay soils which means we have not been able to follow up on them for a few days. Matimba’s: These boys have been fairly busy lately. Two of the Matimba’s seem to have set up shop from S8 dam all the way to Main dam. These are the two culprits that have been giving the Sizanani males uphill. Their week started out with a Buffalo kill on Power lines road and a second buffalo kill was found on Ntzaka loop a few days later. The Sizanani males then roared close to Mantwaan Mphisi pan and the next night both Matimba males were there, almost in exactly the same spot as the Sizanani males the night before. They did the same thing, marked their territory and roared into the night. The next night I found them at Main dam where they crossed the dam wall and continued to mark their territory and roar.
It looks as though a show down between these lions is on the cards.
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/11/
Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 5 7 November: Skybeds males: We only had the one sighting of these two males, that seem to have lost the rest of their pride, at Koppies. Unfortunately this is quite close to where Nduna, the biggest Matimba male, was last seen. He was last reported close to Talamati Bush Camp in the Kruger National Park, which is only a few kilometres from Koppies. Let’s hope they stay out of the big guys’ way! Sizanani males After a rough month of Matimba incursions, these lions have once again settled down. They have been spending most of their time around Tamboti road, AK road and up to Catwalk area. There hasn’t been any major upheaval’s and it’s just been “business as usual”.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author They were with the Koppies females again on Catwalk east and ended up on a Buffalo kill on Gumede road, less than a kilometre away from the lodge, a few days later. 18 November: Sizanani and Koppies : They have been in their core territorial area for the last while and have not had any major dramas during this period. For the last while they have been apart and the males have been trying to re-enforce their dominance over their territory. For the girls though it’s been business as usual. One of their favourite areas of operation is to the south of the lodge. It’s a gabbro area with fantastic grazing and plenty of big grazing animals such as Zebra and Buffalo. So the sightings we have had of them were around Panicum road and Manor house pan. The Sizanani males moved a lot more, and were seen around Zebra pan and Catwalk west, before slipping off the radar for a while.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author 28 November: Sizanani males and Koppies females: It has been a little quiet with these Lions for a while! We finally found the Koppies females on a young Buffalo kill, on Konkoni road close to Zebra pan quarry. They were seen feeding on the Buffalo for two days. It’s remarkable how these females have relaxed with the vehicles ever since the Sizanani males took over the pride. [b]  *This image is copyright of its original author [/b][b]  *This image is copyright of its original author [/b]So we got wondering, where were the males? One morning on our way to check on the Koppies girls and their kill, we found both Sizanani males walking from the Lodge towards Zebra pan, right towards the females. We followed the males and they settled about 200 meters from the kill, completely unaware of it. During the day, the females left what little meat was left. That afternoon we found the stronger male with the older Koppies female at Zebra pan quarry. No need to explain what they were up to! [b] Matimba males: [b]The first sighting we had of these males was on Ntzaka loop. This area seems to be a favourite of the two Matimba’s that ventures this far north into the Manyeleti. They were just lying on a big open area, so nothing out of the ordinary. The strange thing about these Lions is that they dominate a large portion of land, but are hardly seen with females. The Mbhiri females also frequent this area but it doesn’t seem like the Matimba’s have managed to settle them down yet.[/b] [b]  *This image is copyright of its original author [/b][b]  *This image is copyright of its original author [/b]A few days later, we found four Matimba’s together on S6 cutline not far from Tamboti road. Our concern was that this was where the Sizanani male and two Koppies females were. If the Matimba’s got any clue of them, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill the male and they have a reputation for killing females too. Luckily they went east towards Main dam.
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2012/12/
Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 6 December: Sizanani and Koppies: The first sighting we had of these Lions was of a single female on a Buffalo kill on Buffalo plains. She was quickly joined by one of the other Koppies females and the two of them spent a few days feeding on the Buffalo. The third and youngest female hasn’t been seen in a while now, but we have seen tracks for one female around the Madache/ Tamboti area. After a careful calculation, we believe she may be preparing to have cubs. She was seen mating with the gimpy leg Sizanani male, as told about in the blog on the 23rd of September, and it is possible that she is now distancing herself from the other females in order to find a suitable den site. She’ll more than likely spend the first two months away from her pride mates, all the while imprinting herself onto her cubs. The other two females were seen again in the company of the two Sizanani males just off a small track between Tamboti and Sable west. This was the only sighting we had of the males since the last sightings report. Skybeds males: Eric found two of these males once again at Skybeds dam in the north of the Manyeleti. They seem to come back to this particular dam fairly often and we’re hoping that the other seven males join them in the north of the Manyeleti. It should be a good area for them as the competition is very low in the north. If the new pride eventually settles here, it would be a largely unaccompanied pride.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
http://tintswaloguides.blogspot.com/2013/02/
Year 2013 Matimba males conquest of northen Manyeleti Part 7 February: Koppies females: It’s been a bit difficult finding these girls lately as it seem they have moved in a westerly direction into gabbro plains. Unfortunately this is clay soil and with all the water around, it’s as good as trying to drive on an oil slick. We did have one sighting in the last four days but all does not seem well unfortunatley. When we eventually managed to find the youngest female, she was in pretty bad shape. We have been waiting patiently for her to show us her cubs, but when she was found she was no longer lactating and her condition looked a bit worse for wear. She seemed skinny and had obviously gone through a tough time.
A few things go through my mind as to what possibly happened. It may have simply been another predator that found her cubs and killed them. Another reason might be that she has been on her own now for a good two months, as lionesses distance themselves from the rest of the pride to have their cubs. This time away allows for the lioness to imprint her scent and sound on the cubs. However, this is also the most difficult time as they have to kill for themselves, by themselves. For a social hunter this is not easy! The second theory is therefore that she wasn’t able to kill often enough to sustain her lactation and in the process weakening herself. It’s not uncommon for young mothers to abandon their cubs.
Either way, we are not sure what happened, but it does seem that she has lost her cubs. Matimba males: We've had three sightings of these males in the last four days and as always are providing us with fantastic viewings. One concerning sighting was of one Matimba male close to Vulture pan. This is usually an area that the Sizanani males move to when the Matimba males venture into their territory. Hopefully these incursions deeper and deeper into Sizanani territory don't become habitual. It seems that a pattern of their movements have emerged. The three blonde males have the southern Manyeleti firmly in their grasp and have completely tamed the Nkuhuma females. The two darker males dominate the central Manyeleti and also interacts with the these females but also the Koppies girls. Induna, the oldest male, moves further east into the Kruger area but at this stage he is only awarding us with infrequent sightings.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Note: This is when sightings of Sizanani coaliton ends. Matimba males manage to kill injured Siazanani male and in following starts to mate with Koppies females. Here: https://tintswalo.com/safari/the-lions-of-tintswalo/a-tribute-to-sizanani-tintswalos-legendary-lion-king/ You can read that: "At the end of 2012, another blow struck Sizanani when his brother (one with the bad hip) was killed by the Matimba males close to Tintswalo." and here: https://tintswalo.com/safari/uncategorized/thanda-impi-male-lions-unlikely-warriors/ "They managed to hang on to the territory with the Koppies pride, until May 2013, when 4 of the Matimba males moved into the area, disposing of the male with the bad leg" but infact it was between December 2012 and February 2013 when Sizanani male meet his end at the paws of Matimba males.
Sorry for the offtopic
@Tr1x24 There are a lot of comments from S.D.H.3T about Sand River Males One more:  *This image is copyright of its original author Maybe the 4 lions were The Kumana Dam males Also a post from Ngala #231 https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-lions-of-sabi-sands?pid=25373#pid25373 Old Sand River Males were impressive lions (04-30-2020, 08:25 PM)Mohawk4 Wrote: Sorry for the offtopic Well ok, if multiple people claim that, i just see it very odd that they came from Hildas Rock Pride. Are those Old Sand River males the same Old Skukuza males?? |
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