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(12-10-2023, 10:36 PM)Mwk85 Wrote: Nkuhuma male. He was on his own during this sighting.
They couldn't stick together finally with Skorro Orpen... I wonder what's the problem ...
Doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve split up, it’s normal for lions to be spotted alone but still be in the vicinity as their partner. Big thing for me is if Nkuhuma Male has been allowed access to Tsalala female, if he has there’s no reason for him to leave Skorro and Tsalala.
THE SAND RIVER PRIDE = 16
2 ADULT FEMALES ± 10 YEARS 4 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES ± 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 SUB-ADULT FEMALE 3 YEARS 10 MONTHS
3 SUB-ADULTS (1 FEMALE & 2 MALES) 3 YEARS 3 MONTHS
6 CUBS 2 YEARS 3 MONTHS
2 CUBS 0 YEARS 11 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(1 sighting)
On the 20th, at least two lionesses were seen feeding on the remains of a kudu carcass east of the Sand
River, south of River Rocks on Charleston.
THE NORTHERN AVOCA MALE = 1
1 ADULT MALE ± 10 YEARS 5 MONTHS
WESTERN EYREFIELD
First encountered in late 2019.
(5 sightings)
On the 8th, he was with his four young sons and nine females of the Nkuhuma pride south of the
Manyeleti River, east of Kigelia Crossing. The next day he was with them at Tlebe Rocks and at Buffalo
Bush Dam on the 10th. On the 11th, he stole a kudu kill from the Eyrefield male leopard at Buffalo Bush
Dam, where he stayed until the next day.
THE SOUTHERN AVOCA MALE = 1
1 ADULT MALES ± 10 YEARS 9 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
Dominant over the Sand River Pride.
First encountered on MalaMala Game Reserve
(5 sightings)
On the 6th, he was seen feeding on an old carcass in the Sand River, south of Beaumont’s Camp. He
was in the area for the next two days, defending his food from the young male from the Styx pride.
On the 11th, he killed an impala at the Windmill. He was at Charleston North Crossing on the 25th.
THE BLACK DAM MALES = 2
2 ADULT MALES ± 6 YEARS 2 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
First encountered on MalaMala Game Reserve …2022
(2 sightings)
They were only seen twice in November. On the 9th, they were seen with a lioness from the Nkuhuma
pride at Matshapiri Dam. One of the two males stole an impala kill from the Sibuye female and her
two cubs in the Mlowathi River at Mlowathi Dam Crossing on the 30th.
OTHER LIONS ENCOUNTERED:
Members of the STYX PRIDE were seen on two occasions this month. On the 7th, a young male was
chased by the Southern Avoca male in the Sand River. On the 20th, five young lionesses were east of
the Sand River, north of River Rocks.
On the 24th, two unidentified females and one sub-adult male were seen just west of the Kruger
National Park Boundary north of Split Rock. It is assumed they were part of the Torchwood Pride.
There was no sighting of Tsalala or confirmed sighting of the Torchwood pride.
12-12-2023, 06:29 AM( This post was last modified: 12-12-2023, 06:30 AM by Cath2020 )
I don't know if any of you thought about this, but it appears that the Ximhungwe lioness is readily nursing the cubs of the Othawa Breakaway.... So, instead of going into heat again real soon, this could be delayed. I was hoping she'd be mating again, so that we can see her own bloodline start to grow for the pride, with at least 2 cubs in her next litter and one being female, ideally speaking.
I fear the longer this is delayed, the less likelihood of her raising the next litter successfully. The PC Males might not be dominant for years and years.... The sooner she has more cubs by them, the better off they'd be to reach a couple of years of age by the time new males come poking around, vying for dominance. She does seem to have the worst luck with raising cubs well...her last 4 litters all perished.
Not all lionesses will continue to suckle other cubs in a pride, once their own are killed. I saw a documentary where a lioness lost her cubs and she then wandered off in mourning, searching and contact calling for days, until she finally went into heat again. She refused to let the other cubs have any milk right after hers were all gone. Her attitude suddenly changed.
As for Ximhungwe, I feel for her, but she's not that old, she'll only turn 12 next year.
Now that it seems the Kambulas are settling in the North, the biggest threat to the PCM will probably be removed at least for now, and if the NK + Mohawk are ousted to Kruger, things will look pretty good for the PCM as long as they are not so unlucky to go down due to some hunting accident or disease. I also doubt the PCM will ever leave this territory. They'll probably get 3 new females to mate with ( Ridge Nose & Othawas ) in the next year, and in the next one they'll have the 3 younger Manghenis again.
It's a huge territory too, they have no reason to leave.
I felt bad for the cub that was lost, but maybe in the long run this will be more beneficial for the pride, as it allows the female to maybe have a bigger litter next time.
(12-12-2023, 06:52 AM)Mapokser Wrote: As for Ximhungwe, I feel for her, but she's not that old, she'll only turn 12 next year.
Now that it seems the Kambulas are settling in the North, the biggest threat to the PCM will probably be removed at least for now, and if the NK + Mohawk are ousted to Kruger, things will look pretty good for the PCM as long as they are not so unlucky to go down due to some hunting accident or disease. I also doubt the PCM will ever leave this territory. They'll probably get 3 new females to mate with ( Ridge Nose & Othawas ) in the next year, and in the next one they'll have the 3 younger Manghenis again.
It's a huge territory too, they have no reason to leave.
I felt bad for the cub that was lost, but maybe in the long run this will be more beneficial for the pride, as it allows the female to maybe have a bigger litter next time.
This seems heavily reliant on Kambula males taking over Nkuhuma Pride in the North and ousting both BDMs plus Nkuhuma males with Mohawk and sending them away from Sabi Sands. Even then u still have Talamati males, Skorro Orpen and Nkuhuma Male - not saying these males will necessarily be successful in ousting PCMs within the next year or so but they would be an immediate threat for the cubs born and could even attract some of the females. And that’s just a few males who are within the area, there’s bound to be a few new coalitions that will enter Sabi Sand within this space of time.
(12-12-2023, 03:43 AM)Mapokser Wrote: MalaMala report for November:
Compiled by the Rangers of MalaMala Game Reserve
THE SAND RIVER PRIDE = 16
2 ADULT FEMALES ± 10 YEARS 4 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES ± 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 SUB-ADULT FEMALE 3 YEARS 10 MONTHS
3 SUB-ADULTS (1 FEMALE & 2 MALES) 3 YEARS 3 MONTHS
6 CUBS 2 YEARS 3 MONTHS
2 CUBS 0 YEARS 11 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(1 sighting)
On the 20th, at least two lionesses were seen feeding on the remains of a kudu carcass east of the Sand
River, south of River Rocks on Charleston.
THE NORTHERN AVOCA MALE = 1
1 ADULT MALE ± 10 YEARS 5 MONTHS
WESTERN EYREFIELD
First encountered in late 2019.
(5 sightings)
On the 8th, he was with his four young sons and nine females of the Nkuhuma pride south of the
Manyeleti River, east of Kigelia Crossing. The next day he was with them at Tlebe Rocks and at Buffalo
Bush Dam on the 10th. On the 11th, he stole a kudu kill from the Eyrefield male leopard at Buffalo Bush
Dam, where he stayed until the next day.
THE SOUTHERN AVOCA MALE = 1
1 ADULT MALES ± 10 YEARS 9 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
Dominant over the Sand River Pride.
First encountered on MalaMala Game Reserve
(5 sightings)
On the 6th, he was seen feeding on an old carcass in the Sand River, south of Beaumont’s Camp. He
was in the area for the next two days, defending his food from the young male from the Styx pride.
On the 11th, he killed an impala at the Windmill. He was at Charleston North Crossing on the 25th.
THE BLACK DAM MALES = 2
2 ADULT MALES ± 6 YEARS 2 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
First encountered on MalaMala Game Reserve …2022
(2 sightings)
They were only seen twice in November. On the 9th, they were seen with a lioness from the Nkuhuma
pride at Matshapiri Dam. One of the two males stole an impala kill from the Sibuye female and her
two cubs in the Mlowathi River at Mlowathi Dam Crossing on the 30th.
OTHER LIONS ENCOUNTERED:
Members of the STYX PRIDE were seen on two occasions this month. On the 7th, a young male was
chased by the Southern Avoca male in the Sand River. On the 20th, five young lionesses were east of
the Sand River, north of River Rocks.
On the 24th, two unidentified females and one sub-adult male were seen just west of the Kruger
National Park Boundary north of Split Rock. It is assumed they were part of the Torchwood Pride.
There was no sighting of Tsalala or confirmed sighting of the Torchwood pride.
Who are the sires of:
1. The 5 year old females
2. The sub adults
3. The cubs
Assuming that you are referring to the Sand River pride, the 2 5 yr old females are Mantimahle daughters while all the subs and cubs are S Avocas offsprings.
(12-12-2023, 02:28 PM)Mabande Wrote: Assuming that you are referring to the Sand River pride, the 2 5 yr old females are Mantimahle daughters while all the subs and cubs are S Avocas offsprings.
The Mantimahle daughters are way older than 2.5 now. They are the mothers to at least 6 of the younger subs, each having 3 in a litter...(well, probably fewer after the death of at least one male from the younger 6 subs). Rangers never specified the genders of those 6, but there were more males than females overall. Since at least 2 males were killed, there would have been at least 6 initially. So, basically 2 older/4 younger....but one of each died (it seems so, but not 100% sure)
The M. daughters are all at least 5 years old. They are around the same age as the current PC Males. Born around 2016/2017 I'd say.
(12-12-2023, 02:28 PM)Mabande Wrote: Assuming that you are referring to the Sand River pride, the 2 5 yr old females are Mantimahle daughters while all the subs and cubs are S Avocas offsprings.
The Mantimahle daughters are way older than 2.5 now. They are the mothers to at least 6 of the younger subs, each having 3 in a litter...(well, probably fewer after the death of at least one male from the younger 6 subs). Rangers never specified the genders of those 6, but there were more males than females overall. Since at least 2 males were killed, there would have been at least 6 initially. So, basically 2 older/4 younger....but one of each died (it seems so, but not 100% sure)
The M. daughters are all at least 5 years old. They are around the same age as the current PC Males. Born around 2016/2017 I'd say.
There's no decimal (dot, full stop, point) between the 2 and the 5 in his original comment, just a space. He said that the 2 fiveyear old females are Mantimahle daughters.
Tendai said in the comments Mohawk was seen near MalaMala boundary, with how many sons idk but he’s bound to be with some of them and as we know BDMs went into MalaMala tracking buffalo. Ndhzengas gonna be pissed. Possibly 7 male lions entering MalaMala, not a welcoming sight for any dominant males.
After many months with no sightings the lone Tsalala lionesses hunted her way along the Sand River close to Boulders Lodge. Despite having no pride, she is looking in superb condition.
The Ntsevu males and their sister have, once again, been showcasing how to hunt buffalo. This time they have taken up position around Giraffe Pan hunting successfully on two occasions. There also seems to be a change within the Breakaway Pride as the lionesses seems to be coming into heat which has got the attention of all the males, a potentially dangerous situation for this female that may get caught in the cross-fire of these testosterone-fuelled lions.
With the temperatures soaring this month hunting for the Mhangene Pride seemed to be a difficult task as they struggled for over a week to catch a prey item substantial enough to feed all members sufficiently. This pride generally thrives in cooler conditions as seen in the earlier part of the month with a buffalo kill not even a few hundred yards from Boulders Lodge. In recent days their overall condition has improved as we have watched them lounge about with plump bellies.
