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Lions of Sabi Sands

T I N O Offline
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(10-28-2020, 12:03 AM)Gijima Wrote: I love this ongoing affair between the infertile Kambula female and Ottawa Male. I've never heard of a female lioness going off to find another male when she has dominant males in her territory... but may it happens more than we think in the wild. 

*This image is copyright of its original author


Amore regal place for a male lion to be, I can’t imagine. The Othawa male and an Ntsevu lioness on Plaque Rock on the Sand River. The lioness was in fact watching the Tsalala pride that was on the far bank of the river. The Ntsevu female retreated a few seconds later, without having been seen by the Tsalala lioness. 

Full blog: https://blog.londolozi.com/2020/10/26/th...-fracture/

The Othawa male alongside the Torchwood young male are the most photogenic and beautiful lions that I've seen in the last years.
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An Ntsevu lioness and Othawa male, both of which were out of their respective territories.
The Othawa mane colour has been darkening a lot during the past times. Seems that his life as dominant male has give him the rewards... Now the lionesses will show more interest at the time of mating with him
Image by: James Tyrell - Londolozi GR,26/10/2020.

*This image is copyright of its original author
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What an amazing photo!! The Mangene Pride and all their cubs cautiously crossed the Sand River this morning, one of the most beautiful sights ever! (Photo by Marlon du Toit , Singita Sabi Sand)
Back in 2013.
The  well-known Mangheni pride once were the healthiest and largest that the Sabi Sand game reserve has seen in many a year. Really awesome see Mapogo blood running through their veins!
Currently the 3 old lionesses were fathered by the Mapogo males. If I remember 2 by the Majingilane males and the youngest lioness by the Birmingham's males.
The Mangheni pride has reputation for being successfully lionesses on raising their cubs into the adulthood. Nonetheless over the last past 2 years they didn't have much luck

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The lioness from the Nkuhuma pride with the ‘purple eye’.
Image by: Zali_Photo(insta post)

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Venezuela titose Offline
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Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author
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Gijima Offline
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Talamati subadult 
Dark Mane Jr or possibly Mohawk Jr
Wild Earth 10/28/20


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(10-28-2020, 08:44 PM)Gijima Wrote: Talamati subadult 
Dark Mane Jr or possibly Mohawk Jr
Wild Earth 10/28/20


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Great screenshot Gijima.
This boy look like as DM and Mohawk indeed.
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( This post was last modified: 10-28-2020, 10:05 PM by Slayerd )

(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author
From the post, it looks like Tinyo is the one who had a roar off with the Othawa Male. I understand the Rangers thought the Birmingham males were only in that location the next day because of the pride but Nhenha does seem to be scent marking so it does seem he is in a dominant mindset. It also seems the Othawa Male and Birmingham don't have a very competitive mindset even though the Birminghams have chased him off a buffalo kill a few months ago. We haven't seen a confrontation between them before. For all we know Tinyo was simply warning the Othawa Male but we also can't understand the mindset of these males at the end of the day.For example, It might have been a different story if it was Nhenha. As Londolozi reported, Nhenha chased the Avoca last month. People don't believe it because James attached a photo of Blondie and not Nhenha however James said it was true and he just attached the wrong photo. If Nhenha was confident enough to confront 2 prime males, I don't think he'd be too afraid of the Othawa male. We will have to see what happens next though.
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(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author

While OM is a very impressive male, and even more impressive for what he has accomplished since he was young, I still believe he should tread lightly, if confronted by both B-Boys. Though older, those two have proven to be quite the mighty warriors themselves.
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Venezuela titose Offline
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(10-28-2020, 10:02 PM)Slayerd Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author
From the post, it looks like Tinyo is the one who had a roar off with the Othawa Male. I understand the Rangers thought the Birmingham males were only in that location the next day because of the pride but Nhenha does seem to be scent marking so it does seem he is in a dominant mindset. It also seems the Othawa Male and Birmingham don't have a very competitive mindset even though the Birminghams have chased him off a buffalo kill a few months ago. We haven't seen a confrontation between them before. For all we know Tinyo was simply warning the Othawa Male but we also can't understand the mindset of these males at the end of the day.For example, It might have been a different story if it was Nhenha. As Londolozi reported, Nhenha chased the Avoca last month. People don't believe it because James attached a photo of Blondie and not Nhenha however James said it was true and he just attached the wrong photo. If Nhenha was confident enough to confront 2 prime males, I don't think he'd be too afraid of the Othawa male. We will have to see what happens next though.
Hi Slayerd, Nhenha chasing the Avoca males was just speculation. Since he used the word "I think" and never claimed that it was 100% true and hence James himself erased his own post!
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Slayerd Offline
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(10-28-2020, 11:36 PM)titose Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 10:02 PM)Slayerd Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author
From the post, it looks like Tinyo is the one who had a roar off with the Othawa Male. I understand the Rangers thought the Birmingham males were only in that location the next day because of the pride but Nhenha does seem to be scent marking so it does seem he is in a dominant mindset. It also seems the Othawa Male and Birmingham don't have a very competitive mindset even though the Birminghams have chased him off a buffalo kill a few months ago. We haven't seen a confrontation between them before. For all we know Tinyo was simply warning the Othawa Male but we also can't understand the mindset of these males at the end of the day.For example, It might have been a different story if it was Nhenha. As Londolozi reported, Nhenha chased the Avoca last month. People don't believe it because James attached a photo of Blondie and not Nhenha however James said it was true and he just attached the wrong photo. If Nhenha was confident enough to confront 2 prime males, I don't think he'd be too afraid of the Othawa male. We will have to see what happens next though.
Hi Slayerd, Nhenha chasing the Avoca males was just speculation. Since he used the word "I think" and never claimed that it was 100% true and hence James himself erased his own post!
It did indeed happen. James confirmed it in the comments.

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(10-28-2020, 11:05 PM)BA0701 Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author

While OM is a very impressive male, and even more impressive for what he has accomplished since he was young, I still believe he should tread lightly, if confronted by both B-Boys. Though older, those two have proven to be quite the mighty warriors themselves.

Totally agree with you my friend. Actually the Othawa male is still very young and without any kind of experience. the Othawa male was chasing away by the Birmingham males a few times before. OM is being stubborn trying to mate with the Ntsevu females. Specially in the Birmingham territory. If Tinyo or Nhenha get caught him. Undoubtedly he will not have any opportunity to survive such an attack by two big lions as the BBoys are... At this stage the best movements that the Othawa male can do without run any risky is spend the majority of their time with the Mangheni pride and abandon the infertile Ntsevu lioness.
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Venezuela titose Offline
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(10-28-2020, 11:59 PM)Slayerd Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 11:36 PM)titose Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 10:02 PM)Slayerd Wrote:
(10-28-2020, 07:59 PM)titose Wrote: Lion Follow-Up

Acouple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.


Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.

Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.

Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.

Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.

I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.

This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.

I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…

Written and Photos by: James Tyrrell


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author
From the post, it looks like Tinyo is the one who had a roar off with the Othawa Male. I understand the Rangers thought the Birmingham males were only in that location the next day because of the pride but Nhenha does seem to be scent marking so it does seem he is in a dominant mindset. It also seems the Othawa Male and Birmingham don't have a very competitive mindset even though the Birminghams have chased him off a buffalo kill a few months ago. We haven't seen a confrontation between them before. For all we know Tinyo was simply warning the Othawa Male but we also can't understand the mindset of these males at the end of the day.For example, It might have been a different story if it was Nhenha. As Londolozi reported, Nhenha chased the Avoca last month. People don't believe it because James attached a photo of Blondie and not Nhenha however James said it was true and he just attached the wrong photo. If Nhenha was confident enough to confront 2 prime males, I don't think he'd be too afraid of the Othawa male. We will have to see what happens next though.
Hi Slayerd, Nhenha chasing the Avoca males was just speculation. Since he used the word "I think" and never claimed that it was 100% true and hence James himself erased his own post!
It did indeed happen. James confirmed it in the comments.

The story he told had many incongruities, he never affirmed in the main article, there was only speculation on his part (James Tyrrell). In fact that is why he deleted it... I think this Avoca and Birmingham stuff is boring, so let's focus on the recent news! 

The only thing that I have read is that one of the two Birmingham males was challenged by the male Othawa who is a beast in body and there was no response, for me it was very accurate from the Bboy since a physical confrontation in a 1 vs 1 would be detrimental to the 2 males as it could cause serious injuries and there is much to lose and little to gain since the male Othawa himself is not a serious threat... And I think the smartest thing the Birmingham male did was to wait for his partner to deal with the threat more decisively!
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Gijima Offline
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( This post was last modified: 10-29-2020, 01:13 AM by Gijima )

@titose  Agreed “We heard Birminghams calling and moving north in response to the Avocas calling" (along with "no footage") sounds like another night in the bush, not anything worth hyping up. 

I also think we need more faith in the Ottawa Male... This is from 2018 (When the Ottawa Male took over the Mhangeni Pride): 

"Whatever happened, the presence of a rival male with lionesses (Mhangeni) that they have been mating with will certainly be unwelcome by the Birmingham coalition. Years ago the Majingilane went on the hunt when they heard the young Southern Pride males roaring, and after 48 hours they caught and killed one of them. I’m not saying the same thing will happen here, but with the ominous and silent approach by the Birmingham males that was witnessed last night, the Ottawa male would be best advised to make himself scarce." https://blog.londolozi.com/2018/10/20/ot...ngerously/

And... nothing happened. So why would he fear the Birminghams? Animals learn behavior from experience and his experience with the Birminghams so far hasn't been that scary. I guess my point is, I think most lions have to be a bit audacious and bold if they have any chance of success in their short lives. Like the Red Road male who kept flirting with the Orpen Males' prides until he eventually took over one of them. Obviously it can go horribly wrong but if it doesn't, then like RRM and Ottawa Male, you get to be a territorial male. So good for him.
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Croatia Tr1x24 Offline
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( This post was last modified: 10-29-2020, 01:34 AM by Tr1x24 )

Birminghams know OM for few years now, they know that he is their western neighbor, and that he is alone.. They know very well that he is no threat to their territory and pride..because of that they never went to "search and destroyed mission" against OM as they did vs 4 N'ws.. 

Lions are smarter then we think, they know their neighbors, also i think that they can distinguish roars, from just "territorial" roars from their neighbors, to threatning "takeover/challenge " roars..

Birminghams have no reason to go and fight OM if he is not threat for their territory/pride..
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