Lions of Sabi Sands

[Rabubi]

(Yesterday, 03:37 AM)adamstocks16 Wrote: The whole Ximhungwe/Othawa scenario would definitely get quite complicated for anyone who doesn’t have the knowledge of the respective prides and their history. For me it does add an interesting layer to their already complex history and also the fact for the majority of this period they have been the two main rival prides in the west of Sabi Sands.

Although Gingerella is considered a fully fledged member of Ximhungwe Pride now I would personally find it difficult to continue the name if it was just left with her and her two daughters. It would be a shame to lose another iconic pride of Sabi Sands but ultimately this is nature and their is no room for sentiment. Sparta Pride, possibly the most famous and well known of all prides in the history of Sabi Sands went extinct and some have been or close to the brink of collapse namely Southern Pride, Othawa Pride and Tsalala Pride.

This is the natural way of things and allows others to rise up and take their place and write their own history, if you think some of these newer prides didn’t even exist a decade ago and now have become synonymous with the lion dynamics of Sabi Sands such as Mhangeni, Kambula and Msuthlu. I can see why the topic divides opinion so much and probably there isn’t a right or wrong answer. Anyway, let’s hope the old lioness is able to raise some cubs to independence and in doing so continue the original Ximhungwe bloodline.

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm also rooting for the Ximhungwe lioness to bear some female cubs to keep the Ximhungwe name going but if not, then so be it. If she dies without having any female cubs and the reserve(s) names Gingerella and her cubs as a new pride, I would personally agree with that. In such large ecosystems, prides will continue to rise and fall over time and as long as these ecosystems remain protected and connected, new prides will continue to rise in place of those extinct prides because Nature abhors a vacuum. Reply