Lions of Sabi Sands

[NLAL11]

(Yesterday, 03:22 PM)Vengeous Wrote:

(Yesterday, 02:33 PM)sunless Wrote: Video from Londolozi where we can clearly see and know what clearly happened between the chase of Ndzhengas and PCM, also Tsalala lioness feeding on a kudu.

From what I can conclude in the video is that it's like they are just reestablishing the territory lines like the last time they chased back and forth in Londolozi as half of Londolozi is the territory of Ndzhengas while the other half is the PCM.

I usually try not to glorify male lion altercations, because it is a very grim thing. But it's seriously impressive to watch these duos push at each other. The first time they clashed it was the PCMs who charged first with the Ndzhengas then pushing them back, this time it was the reverse - Ndzhengas had PCMs sprinting for their life, only for them to mount a counter-attack and split the Ndzhengas up. As most people have said, let's hope this never actually escalates into a physical altercation. But both these duos are seriously impressive, and I admire how in sync they are with each other. Very difficult not to feel a sense of awe at 2 duos in their prime going head to head. Let's just hope they stick to what they're doing right now, which is reaffirming territorial boundaries. Ndzhengas need to check the PCMs' eastward advance so the PCMs continue to focus on their Western prides, and the PCMs need to shore up their eastern boundary so their lionesses can focus on raising their cubs.

Being in sync is vital in these encounters. The Ndzengas seemed to have the upper hand until they split up for some reason. Then it seemed that the PC males sensed the other two were no longer together, and tried to catch one of them on their own. I'm glad the Ndzengas were able to get away. I think if Amahle was caught on his own, he would have a better chance of fighting them off until OE got there, but if OE was caught on his own, then I think he would be at a serious disadvantage. Luckily his smaller size and leanness means he's probably better able to outrun them.

The Ndzenga males are to date the only males to successfully check the PC males and repel them, since they became fully territorial at least. As you said, let's hope this remains just a re-establishing of territorial boundaries and doesn't escalate into a physical altercation. If one of the duos caught another alone for long enough, I fear the damage done would be serious. Reply