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The Torchwood has been seen with cubs this morning. We knew they had cubs as we saw them 2 weeks ago late one night, but we finally got the chance to photograph 4 of them. We tracked them for almost 2km this morning until finding them not far from the lodge. Such a special sighting this morning to see them actually growing up and looking very healthy. Join us here at Nkorho Bush Lodge to see how the Torchwood bloodline extends in becoming a major force to be reckon with by other Lion prides. Cheers from a very excited and overwhelmed Nkorho Team!
Cubs and Cadavers. Life and death. Just in one weekend. Life is a harsh but beautiful wonder.
I am somewhat concerned about the cubless lionesses in the Mhangeni pride.
If another coalition doesn't take Nguvu's place soon, they may start to wander off to find mates. This may lead to them falling victim to other prides.
OM will be remembered not only by his impressive looks, but his herioc acts in his last days/months..
I dont know of many (if any) cases where lone male straight runs in enemies territory, outnumbered to clash with enemy males..
He was definitely an absolute beast, and he knowed that, he was ready to fight Bboys, scared males will never do this.. Unfortunately no lion can win 1 vs 2,
so neither did he..
Im just shoked that he did this, as he have big pride behind him, with new cubs, his territory was not under any pressure, but his testosteron lvl and confidence was so high that he was not satisfied..
I must admit i was one of who undervalued OM, because he got "lucky" with Mhangeni pride, he never had rough nomadic life etc.. But this guy was a real leader and protector from the age of 3.. And now in the past year he showed he is not scared even in 1 vs 2 situation, and challenging 2 experience and strong Bboys as lone male.. He showed that he is not just "good looks who got lucky", but that he is a real fighter and legend, just like his fathers and grandfathers, never satisfied and always looking for more, even if that means death..
(05-10-2021, 05:42 PM)RookiePundit Wrote: I just caught up with the news and this thread. We all suspected Othawa won't have a long reign over Mhangenis, but nobody would have guessed it would end so soon and abruptly. But it really seems it was done by his own doing. He played with fire venturing towards Birmingham territory and female(s) in Londolozi if he crossed even to Mala Mala... It is ironic that most likely the female he ventured in for is the infertile Kambula, so that endeavour would be fruitless anyway.
I can't help but smirk at Londolozi with their ongoing narrative of Birminghams being old and week and lion warfare is imminent and coming soon. Well, they got their warfare just not the way they wanted as they just lost the most photogenic individual frequenting their area.
Mhangeni pride seems cursed. Their cub raising record post Kabula ntsevu (ie six) won't get any better anytime soon, they were capable of losing cubs without males being involved and now the current cubs are doomed. I am sorry for the cubs, but the change in dynamic Othawa loss would cause (and we can't rule out it triggering more, depending how numerous coalition moves in and possibly shift their territory as Mhangeni females are not too few) might be for the better. It was always when rather than if Othawa's rule would end giving his cubs possibly too short window to make it and another thing is Othawa was too related to the lionesses through Mapogo and Majingilane bloodlines, whoever replaces him should be an improvement genetic wise.
Who could move in? Considering the number of cubs in the pride, the lionesses might fierce defend them (or split) which would make it a tougher takeover for young nomadic males chancing on the opportunity. Of those Plain Camp males might be currently closest to the area, it might be to early for them despite being of promising size, which is bit of a shame as they come from outside of Sabi Sands and Mantimahles' bloodline is unrelated to those ubiquitous there. Styx and Nkuhuma would be another suspects although they might be more south now, they have a sister in the pride (I am not completely sure how related they are trough their mothers) but it would be an improvement genetic diversity wise. Othawa youngsters are content sitting where they are I would say, Torchwood Youg Male is too far so far. I would rather see some of those nomads joining together than becoming dominant now with low numbers, especially the young Trochwood male.
But already dominant coaliton can move in.
Ndzhengas were already there, added to loss of two (iirc) cubs in some manner and should be ready and able to force their way in next time they travel north. They are finishing this round of producing cubs with Styx pride and the Souther female and might look elsehwere. The downside is they might neglect or out right abandon the aforementioned four lionesses and their cubs, we don't how they operate yet; Mhangeni pride alone has more females than those two prides. Let's hope that would not happen we already technically lost one pride in the south this year, that area could use bigger lion numbers. The upside is ofc NW's being unrelated to anyone afaik and would bring fresh blood to interwined Sabi Sand population, especiallly fittign in case of Mhangeni pride that consisted of females of different ages sired by some major coalitions of central Sabi Sands, pretty much all recent really in having Mapogo, Majingilanes and Brimingham daughters. The other great thing would be the colaition of this size should provide stability and time for Mahangenis getting their thing together and actually start reliably rasing cubs. Although if that would mean NW's shifting their territory more to the north, they might bacome dangerous for other coalitions around them later, namely Tumbelas and Northern Avocas, hard to tell what can happen with lions.
Tumbelas might realize nobody is roaring to their east or rather being done with producing Othawa pride cubs they might look for more. Although if the third female would not be able to conceive and/or Sassy's daughter comes back and goes into oestrus in appropriate time manner, they might still be preoccupied with females there. They still seems to be licking their old wounds, althought it seems their condition is getting better. I still think and hope they will stay put and help to rebuild the Othawa pride and won't boxed in and eventually invided by stronger coalition. Hoping for Thand Impi sons having some peaceful time for a change.
Avocas - I would not rule out them realizing there is no roaring from Singita/Londolozi and investigate. Mohawk is eager to lately and I could see him mating with cubs free females while the rest is hiding instead of takover attempt with territor shift. Blondie in tow possibly. That might divert their focus from Mala Mala and Kambulas to some extent even. Long shot but I could even see Dark Mane stumbling onto the situation dodging Talamatis and futily looking for Nkuhumas toawrds the west, but I don't know what would make him walk so far west (thus Manghenis might moved a bit dodging other males).
Birminghams - obviously they know Othawa is gone better than anyone else, but I can't see them spreading too thin and go for even more area and getting back to Mhangenis. I could see them going that way if they would get pushed out, which doesn't seem that likely short term, but things can change overnight in unexpected way in lion dynamics so who knows, accidents and diseases happen all the time.
It might also be some males outside of Sabi Sands, wandering through, nobody expected Tumbelas after all and Plain Camps are new to northern Sabi Sands. But most likely we wouldn't know them in advance coming from the Kruger itself, the closest coalition that might be on the move that comes to mind would be Tintswalos in central Manyeleti. Besides S8/Imbali male who I don't even try to guess what he will be up to in near future.
After all, it is shame we lost such a specimen, from photographic point especially it gonna take some time to have a male of that looks, lack of scar and rough look. And crazy long mane. Before Othawa, Nhenha was often considered the most handsome male in Sabi Sands. Interesting twist of fate that the latter was involved in the fall of the former. Nhenha is looking good strenght and condition wise but he already looks rough as well, I guess we have to wait if his likely son, Torchwood Young Male arises to something one day. Till then we gonna have awesome lions in Sabi Sands in more brutish, powerful way.
Well for now we can only speculate what will happen with Mhangenis, all options are wide open..
I actually think that either NK/Styx or N. Avocas will fill the void..
If anybody knows Singita and that area of Mhangenis is Nk/Styx, and its only matter of time when they realise that OM is gone, in fact, he chased them just a week or so ago..
As I said on another thread, with killing OM, Bboys might get rid of Avocas from their back also, as Avoca might just move southwest when they realise OM is gone..
**This blog was written before we received news that on Sunday, 9 May 2021, the Othawa male's carcass was found. It would appear that he was killed by the Gowrie males and perhaps even the Kambula pride.**
With winter looming it should come as no surprise that the topic of lion dynamics is taking centre stage. We have already seen early signs of territorial shifts / takeovers and on top of that we have been seeing A LOT of lions recently. 83 different individuals were viewed on the reserve in April! Six prides were seen: Kambula, Nkuhuma, Torchwood, Marthly, Fourways, Styx and Sand River. Five ‘coalitions’ were seen: Gowrie, Northern Avoca, Southern Avoca, Ndhzenga and the Torchwood male. We’ll briefly discuss some of them…
The Gowrie males vs the Northern Avoca males. The Gowrie males are starting to feel the heat from all directions, barring the south. From the east, the two males who are dominant over the Fourways and Torchwood prides are likely the least concerning. The lone Othawa male appears to be applying some pressure in the west and has been seen mating with lionesses from the Kambula pride. Actually, as I write this a report has come in that the Othawa male has entered MalaMala near our airstrip and he’s aggressively displaying territorial behaviour! That being said, it is advances from the north which will be of the gravest concern to the Gowrie males. Not only have two of the Northern Avoca males been mating with lionesses from the Kambula pride but they have also been making significant inroads into Gowrie male territory, and they’re not being sneaky about it either. We’ve seen them roar and scent mark along the entire length of the Mlowathi River, all the way down to its confluence with the Sand River. Those readers who watch our MalaMala Safari Moments series on YouTube will know that we’ve already viewed one interaction between these two coalitions. The older of the two Northern Avoca males came across the younger of the two Gowrie males while the latter was attempting to mate with a Kambula lioness. The Northern Avoca male gave chase. What happened next can be interpreted in two ways… Either it was a straight up ‘run for the hills’ reaction from the Gowrie male or it was a tactical withdrawal into the core of his territory. The latter would allow him to enter terrain that is unfamiliar to his foe while increasing the chances of joining up with his brother while also decreasing the chances of the Northern Avoca male joining up with his. The challenger roared throughout the chase which reached an abrupt end in the form of many disgruntled elephants. The Gowrie male only started to roar once he reached the Sand River at Sand Pit Crossing. The Northern Avoca male returned the compliment and started making his way back north before he was sought out by the Kambula lioness who made rather persistent advances towards the male.
Now, like with most wars, these territorial takeovers rarely happen overnight. Rather, they consist of several skirmishes. It would appear that the Northern Avoca males currently have the upper hand. They have youth and ambition on their side (just shy of 8 years old) but the Gowrie males have more experience (roughly 10 years old) and they are bigger in size.
The Kambula pride It is impossible to provide you with accurate understanding of the dynamics within this pride at the moment and trying to do so will probably prove futile as a big shake up is on the cards. Power struggles and takeovers between coalitions don’t bode well for the stability of the general population. The pride has been fragmented for some time now and the lions seem to switch between the groups and these groups are often a mix of lionesses and both sub adult females as well as sub adult males. Typically, we would expect the young lionesses to remain with the pride but this is far from a being a foregone conclusion. Indeed, the six adult lionesses who form the core unit may even split. The fate of the young males is more certain though as they will surely follow the ‘young male lion blueprint’ and be pushed out of their fathers’ territory to start the nomadic phase of their lives. That is if they survive the potentially turbulent weeks ahead. We mentioned earlier that these lionesses have been mating with the Gowrie males as well as the Northern Avoca males and the Othawa male. The theory here is that they are hedging their bets in that the eventual victors will assume paternity over any cubs born in the coming months even if they are not the biological fathers. The only catch is that the timeline has to match, that’s if a study done on rats is anything to by. Researchers determined that male rats know what their species’ gestation period is (21-24 days). The dominant male would know when he mated with the female and any young born within 21 days or after 24 days were presumed not to be his and terminated. If the same does apply to lions, and I believe it does, then this is not great news for the pride’s newest litter of five cubs (+- 7 weeks old) if the Northern Avoca males take over but, they could very well be safe if the Othawa male does. This is likely the reason why their mother broke with longstanding tradition and didn’t give birth along the Sand River, instead choosing a spot further west, in Londolozi, closer to the Othawa male’s territory and further from the Northern Avoca males’. The odds are heavily stacked against this litter being successfully raised but you never know! We are often proved wrong after trying to predict what’s going to happen next with lions!
The Nkuhuma pride: It was over a year ago now that we started to enjoy regular sightings of the Nkuhuma pride. Before that it was only the southern tip of their territory that fell over the northernmost parts of the north-western corner of our reserve. They then took over the Styx pride’s land and roughly a third of their territory is now on MalaMala Game Reserve. They haven’t really pushed much further south since then, nor have they had reason to, but they continue to provide us with consistent sightings along the upper half of the Mlowathi River and west thereof. The most recent of which saw them bring down a buffalo bull near Mlowathi Dam at midday. With so many lions in the pride there was plenty of aggression and roaring as they fed on the kill. One of the lionesses has given birth but we have yet to see the cubs. The Northern Avoca males appear to be in complete control of their territory so the immediate future looks promising for this pride. The Torchwood pride: We’ve struggled to get an accurate grasp of this pride’s composition. They killed two buffalo near Clarendon Open Area recently and nine lionesses along with five cubs were present, along with the two dominant males. When we next saw them near Matshapiri Dam only five of the lionesses were there but an additional four young cubs were with them. So, we believe the pride to be 18 strong. This excludes the three young lionesses who have broken away from the pride as well as their brother aka; the Torchwood male, who’s been spending a lot of time along the upper half of the Matshapiri River.
The Sand River pride and the Southern Avoca males: The demise of the Eyrefield pride has left this pride in complete control of Toulon as well as the southern and south-eastern parts of Charleston. One of the lionesses gave birth last month but the cubs haven’t been seen after the initial sighting and the lioness has been spending time with the Southern Avoca males. This leads us to believe that they didn’t make it.
The older of the two males has turned into a rather impressive specimen – he’s not the tallest lion by any means but he does have a very solid physique. This coalition’s biggest threat at the moment comes from their west in the form of the four Ndhzenga males.
(05-10-2021, 05:42 PM)RookiePundit Wrote: I just caught up with the news and this thread. We all suspected Othawa won't have a long reign over Mhangenis, but nobody would have guessed it would end so soon and abruptly. But it really seems it was done by his own doing. He played with fire venturing towards Birmingham territory and female(s) in Londolozi if he crossed even to Mala Mala... It is ironic that most likely the female he ventured in for is the infertile Kambula, so that endeavour would be fruitless anyway.
I can't help but smirk at Londolozi with their ongoing narrative of Birminghams being old and week and lion warfare is imminent and coming soon. Well, they got their warfare just not the way they wanted as they just lost the most photogenic individual frequenting their area.
Mhangeni pride seems cursed. Their cub raising record post Kabula ntsevu (ie six) won't get any better anytime soon, they were capable of losing cubs without males being involved and now the current cubs are doomed. I am sorry for the cubs, but the change in dynamic Othawa loss would cause (and we can't rule out it triggering more, depending how numerous coalition moves in and possibly shift their territory as Mhangeni females are not too few) might be for the better. It was always when rather than if Othawa's rule would end giving his cubs possibly too short window to make it and another thing is Othawa was too related to the lionesses through Mapogo and Majingilane bloodlines, whoever replaces him should be an improvement genetic wise.
Who could move in? Considering the number of cubs in the pride, the lionesses might fierce defend them (or split) which would make it a tougher takeover for young nomadic males chancing on the opportunity. Of those Plain Camp males might be currently closest to the area, it might be to early for them despite being of promising size, which is bit of a shame as they come from outside of Sabi Sands and Mantimahles' bloodline is unrelated to those ubiquitous there. Styx and Nkuhuma would be another suspects although they might be more south now, they have a sister in the pride (I am not completely sure how related they are trough their mothers) but it would be an improvement genetic diversity wise. Othawa youngsters are content sitting where they are I would say, Torchwood Youg Male is too far so far. I would rather see some of those nomads joining together than becoming dominant now with low numbers, especially the young Trochwood male.
But already dominant coaliton can move in.
Ndzhengas were already there, added to loss of two (iirc) cubs in some manner and should be ready and able to force their way in next time they travel north. They are finishing this round of producing cubs with Styx pride and the Souther female and might look elsehwere. The downside is they might neglect or out right abandon the aforementioned four lionesses and their cubs, we don't how they operate yet; Mhangeni pride alone has more females than those two prides. Let's hope that would not happen we already technically lost one pride in the south this year, that area could use bigger lion numbers. The upside is ofc NW's being unrelated to anyone afaik and would bring fresh blood to interwined Sabi Sand population, especiallly fittign in case of Mhangeni pride that consisted of females of different ages sired by some major coalitions of central Sabi Sands, pretty much all recent really in having Mapogo, Majingilanes and Brimingham daughters. The other great thing would be the colaition of this size should provide stability and time for Mahangenis getting their thing together and actually start reliably rasing cubs. Although if that would mean NW's shifting their territory more to the north, they might bacome dangerous for other coalitions around them later, namely Tumbelas and Northern Avocas, hard to tell what can happen with lions.
Tumbelas might realize nobody is roaring to their east or rather being done with producing Othawa pride cubs they might look for more. Although if the third female would not be able to conceive and/or Sassy's daughter comes back and goes into oestrus in appropriate time manner, they might still be preoccupied with females there. They still seems to be licking their old wounds, althought it seems their condition is getting better. I still think and hope they will stay put and help to rebuild the Othawa pride and won't boxed in and eventually invided by stronger coalition. Hoping for Thand Impi sons having some peaceful time for a change.
Avocas - I would not rule out them realizing there is no roaring from Singita/Londolozi and investigate. Mohawk is eager to lately and I could see him mating with cubs free females while the rest is hiding instead of takover attempt with territor shift. Blondie in tow possibly. That might divert their focus from Mala Mala and Kambulas to some extent even. Long shot but I could even see Dark Mane stumbling onto the situation dodging Talamatis and futily looking for Nkuhumas toawrds the west, but I don't know what would make him walk so far west (thus Manghenis might moved a bit dodging other males).
Birminghams - obviously they know Othawa is gone better than anyone else, but I can't see them spreading too thin and go for even more area and getting back to Mhangenis. I could see them going that way if they would get pushed out, which doesn't seem that likely short term, but things can change overnight in unexpected way in lion dynamics so who knows, accidents and diseases happen all the time.
It might also be some males outside of Sabi Sands, wandering through, nobody expected Tumbelas after all and Plain Camps are new to northern Sabi Sands. But most likely we wouldn't know them in advance coming from the Kruger itself, the closest coalition that might be on the move that comes to mind would be Tintswalos in central Manyeleti. Besides S8/Imbali male who I don't even try to guess what he will be up to in near future.
After all, it is shame we lost such a specimen, from photographic point especially it gonna take some time to have a male of that looks, lack of scar and rough look. And crazy long mane. Before Othawa, Nhenha was often considered the most handsome male in Sabi Sands. Interesting twist of fate that the latter was involved in the fall of the former. Nhenha is looking good strenght and condition wise but he already looks rough as well, I guess we have to wait if his likely son, Torchwood Young Male arises to something one day. Till then we gonna have awesome lions in Sabi Sands in more brutish, powerful way.
Well for now we can only speculate what will happen with Mhangenis, all options are wide open..
I actually think that either NK/Styx or N. Avocas will fill the void..
If anybody knows Singita and that area of Mhangenis is Nk/Styx, and its only matter of time when they realise that OM is gone, in fact, he chased them just a week or so ago..
As I said on another thread, with killing OM, Bboys might get rid of Avocas from their back also, as Avoca might just move southwest when they realise OM is gone..
But anything can happen..
it may not make a lot of sense, as they are two boys which makes everything so much easier, but I wonder if the fact that OM chased them both encouraged him in any way or gave him more confidence to challenge the bboys is something that never we will know for sure, but it is interesting to think how something like this may or may not have influenced
(05-10-2021, 05:42 PM)RookiePundit Wrote: I just caught up with the news and this thread. We all suspected Othawa won't have a long reign over Mhangenis, but nobody would have guessed it would end so soon and abruptly. But it really seems it was done by his own doing. He played with fire venturing towards Birmingham territory and female(s) in Londolozi if he crossed even to Mala Mala... It is ironic that most likely the female he ventured in for is the infertile Kambula, so that endeavour would be fruitless anyway.
I can't help but smirk at Londolozi with their ongoing narrative of Birminghams being old and week and lion warfare is imminent and coming soon. Well, they got their warfare just not the way they wanted as they just lost the most photogenic individual frequenting their area.
Mhangeni pride seems cursed. Their cub raising record post Kabula ntsevu (ie six) won't get any better anytime soon, they were capable of losing cubs without males being involved and now the current cubs are doomed. I am sorry for the cubs, but the change in dynamic Othawa loss would cause (and we can't rule out it triggering more, depending how numerous coalition moves in and possibly shift their territory as Mhangeni females are not too few) might be for the better. It was always when rather than if Othawa's rule would end giving his cubs possibly too short window to make it and another thing is Othawa was too related to the lionesses through Mapogo and Majingilane bloodlines, whoever replaces him should be an improvement genetic wise.
Who could move in? Considering the number of cubs in the pride, the lionesses might fierce defend them (or split) which would make it a tougher takeover for young nomadic males chancing on the opportunity. Of those Plain Camp males might be currently closest to the area, it might be to early for them despite being of promising size, which is bit of a shame as they come from outside of Sabi Sands and Mantimahles' bloodline is unrelated to those ubiquitous there. Styx and Nkuhuma would be another suspects although they might be more south now, they have a sister in the pride (I am not completely sure how related they are trough their mothers) but it would be an improvement genetic diversity wise. Othawa youngsters are content sitting where they are I would say, Torchwood Youg Male is too far so far. I would rather see some of those nomads joining together than becoming dominant now with low numbers, especially the young Trochwood male.
But already dominant coaliton can move in.
Ndzhengas were already there, added to loss of two (iirc) cubs in some manner and should be ready and able to force their way in next time they travel north. They are finishing this round of producing cubs with Styx pride and the Souther female and might look elsehwere. The downside is they might neglect or out right abandon the aforementioned four lionesses and their cubs, we don't how they operate yet; Mhangeni pride alone has more females than those two prides. Let's hope that would not happen we already technically lost one pride in the south this year, that area could use bigger lion numbers. The upside is ofc NW's being unrelated to anyone afaik and would bring fresh blood to interwined Sabi Sand population, especiallly fittign in case of Mhangeni pride that consisted of females of different ages sired by some major coalitions of central Sabi Sands, pretty much all recent really in having Mapogo, Majingilanes and Brimingham daughters. The other great thing would be the colaition of this size should provide stability and time for Mahangenis getting their thing together and actually start reliably rasing cubs. Although if that would mean NW's shifting their territory more to the north, they might bacome dangerous for other coalitions around them later, namely Tumbelas and Northern Avocas, hard to tell what can happen with lions.
Tumbelas might realize nobody is roaring to their east or rather being done with producing Othawa pride cubs they might look for more. Although if the third female would not be able to conceive and/or Sassy's daughter comes back and goes into oestrus in appropriate time manner, they might still be preoccupied with females there. They still seems to be licking their old wounds, althought it seems their condition is getting better. I still think and hope they will stay put and help to rebuild the Othawa pride and won't boxed in and eventually invided by stronger coalition. Hoping for Thand Impi sons having some peaceful time for a change.
Avocas - I would not rule out them realizing there is no roaring from Singita/Londolozi and investigate. Mohawk is eager to lately and I could see him mating with cubs free females while the rest is hiding instead of takover attempt with territor shift. Blondie in tow possibly. That might divert their focus from Mala Mala and Kambulas to some extent even. Long shot but I could even see Dark Mane stumbling onto the situation dodging Talamatis and futily looking for Nkuhumas toawrds the west, but I don't know what would make him walk so far west (thus Manghenis might moved a bit dodging other males).
Birminghams - obviously they know Othawa is gone better than anyone else, but I can't see them spreading too thin and go for even more area and getting back to Mhangenis. I could see them going that way if they would get pushed out, which doesn't seem that likely short term, but things can change overnight in unexpected way in lion dynamics so who knows, accidents and diseases happen all the time.
It might also be some males outside of Sabi Sands, wandering through, nobody expected Tumbelas after all and Plain Camps are new to northern Sabi Sands. But most likely we wouldn't know them in advance coming from the Kruger itself, the closest coalition that might be on the move that comes to mind would be Tintswalos in central Manyeleti. Besides S8/Imbali male who I don't even try to guess what he will be up to in near future.
After all, it is shame we lost such a specimen, from photographic point especially it gonna take some time to have a male of that looks, lack of scar and rough look. And crazy long mane. Before Othawa, Nhenha was often considered the most handsome male in Sabi Sands. Interesting twist of fate that the latter was involved in the fall of the former. Nhenha is looking good strenght and condition wise but he already looks rough as well, I guess we have to wait if his likely son, Torchwood Young Male arises to something one day. Till then we gonna have awesome lions in Sabi Sands in more brutish, powerful way.
Well for now we can only speculate what will happen with Mhangenis, all options are wide open..
I actually think that either NK/Styx or N. Avocas will fill the void..
If anybody knows Singita and that area of Mhangenis is Nk/Styx, and its only matter of time when they realise that OM is gone, in fact, he chased them just a week or so ago..
As I said on another thread, with killing OM, Bboys might get rid of Avocas from their back also, as Avoca might just move southwest when they realise OM is gone..
But anything can happen..
it may not make a lot of sense, as they are two boys which makes everything so much easier, but I wonder if the fact that OM chased them both encouraged him in any way or gave him more confidence to challenge the bboys is something that never we will know for sure, but it is interesting to think how something like this may or may not have influenced
It could make much sense to be honest, lions tend to gain a lot of confidence when they defeat a territorial or chased off a territorial male, Perhaps, the chase of the Othawa male to the young males made him thought that he could match against the two Birmingham males, Whose males proven us that still are a force to be reckoned with.
In the end waht did was very non-Majingilane. They always fought on their terms and then were brutally efficient in such opportunities often nipping future opposition in the bud (like Selatis). Othawa either went full all in not knowing better or might even have the same instinct but gravely miscalculated.
(05-11-2021, 03:22 AM)RookiePundit Wrote: In the end waht did was very non-Majingilane. They always fought on their terms and then were brutally efficient in such opportunities often nipping future opposition in the bud (like Selatis). Othawa either went full all in not knowing better or might even have the same instinct but gravely miscalculated.
Being a lone male surrouding for strong coalitions is a hard task to keep up. The Othawa male couldn't did much to be honest. He was outnumbered in numbers and stregth.The Majingilane males always fighted with the numbers on his favour, of which is really smart for their part. That's how the coalition of male lions really work at the time of territorial fights. Seems that the Birmingham males did the same with the Othawa male and definitely killed him in mins...
(05-11-2021, 03:22 AM)RookiePundit Wrote: In the end waht did was very non-Majingilane. They always fought on their terms and then were brutally efficient in such opportunities often nipping future opposition in the bud (like Selatis). Othawa either went full all in not knowing better or might even have the same instinct but gravely miscalculated.
Being a lone male surrouding for strong coalitions is a hard task to keep up. The Othawa male couldn't did much to be honest. He was outnumbered in numbers and stregth.The Majingilane males always fighted with the numbers on his favour, of which is really smart for their part. That's how the coalition of male lions really work at the time of territorial fights. Seems that the Birmingham males did the same with the Othawa male and definitely killed him in mins...
The Othawa male was himself chased by the Bboys several times. So, I think he very clearly understood what he was up against. In the past, he never took chances and always re-treated in the face of danger. Very difficult to understand what really emboldened him this time around. Perhaps the lure of the lioness or overconfidence that he could take on the BBoys one-on-one. He wasn't expecting both of them to be there. And based on word that the Bboys don't have any significant wounds implies he went down pretty easily. It all does not quite add up!!
(05-11-2021, 06:39 AM)sik94 Wrote: Was his spine broken when they found the body?
There wasn't much of a body left when he was found. Most of it was eaten up by scavengers including bones. I think there are pictures on this forum. Strong possibility that his spine was punctured and he was immobilized. Don't know if the rangers and reserve personnel were able to gather any more information from the scene of the incident.
It looked like the skin was still there under the bones, guess they can check the skin on the back to look for puncture wounds (if they collected his remains)
Although given that he entered malamala and then came back into londolozi and died, I'm wondering if he took a beating from the birmingham males and maybe the kambulas combined and then died of blood loss back inside londolozi.
05-11-2021, 01:06 PM( This post was last modified: 05-11-2021, 01:06 PM by Tonpa )
Some good Othawa news (for now) - Two lionesses have suckle marks
"It has been great to see all three of the Ottawa females together again. And even better news is that the older female and younger female both have suckle marks. Hopefully we get a view of the cubs soon, and be able to show them to you! This means that the Tumbela male coalition have now cemented their role as the dominant males over the Ottawa pride." - Savanna Private Game Reserve
I wonder if they looked around the cadaver for tracks?
I can imagine that if he died on the spot. The battle would have left quite some traces.
If not, the only lion tracks present should be his own, unless they tracked him down later to cannibalise on him.
It may also give some clues about who was present. One or two male lions? The pride and cubs?
Hyenas?
