Lions of Sabi Sands

[Guillermo94]

(11 hours ago)Ttimemarti Wrote: I mean as long as we can keep track of gingerella and her daughters then we’ll all know but it’s strange most of the ximhungwe pride is othawa pride blood you can’t change their genes she’s othawa and will always be an othawa lioness but just in a different pride… she’s a ximhungwe female now but she’ll always be an othawa is what I’m trying to say lol I just wish it was a easier way to explain it

I think once a lioness helps her young partner with two daughters, and does not have cubs. In her honor lioness should be Ximhungwe lioness. Although wonder Ximhungwe lioness is going to have more cubs. Reply

[NLAL11]

(Today, 08:03 AM)sunless Wrote:

(Yesterday, 09:36 PM)RookiePundit Wrote: I would assume lioness No.1 being the oldest due to having fully black nose unlike the younger individuals.

Do not really know if looking at the nose color is accurate as older lions can also have lighter color noses also some guides say that it's not accurate to base their age on the nose color.

It can definitely vary a lot from lion to lion, but you'll never see an old lion with a pink nose. And in this case we can use it accurately to determine which lioness is which, considering there is such an age gap between them. Reply

[Rabubi]

(Today, 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

[BA0701]

(10 hours ago)Duco Ndona Wrote: Well lets say we go with the bloodline stuff. It even gets more complicated. 

If Ximhungwe dies we would have two Othawa prides.
Will Gingerella gain the Othawa pride name as she is the oldest and biggest Othawa group. Or will the two current semi nomadic Othawas keep the title?
And what will we call the losing pride instead if Ximhungwe is off the table?

While, I truly hope things do not come to that, I am sure, if it does, that the new pride would simply get a new name, akin to how breakaway prides are sometimes given new names, like the Ntsevu and Msutlu. Reply

[Mapokser]

My bet is that if Ximhungwe female dies without leaving female offspring in the pride, the name will officially carry on with the Othawa-blooded lions and I can 100% see why they'd go this way and don't disagree with it necessarily.

I also don't think they should be named the Othawa or Othawa Breakaway pride but although I don't think they'll do it, renaming them to another completely new name would work out for me as well, like with the Msuthu pride.

That way we don't have a Ximhungwe pride without Ximhungwe blood, having to constantly explain it in the future, nor do we have another Othawa pride which also wouldn't make sense, but rather a brand new pride that new followers can see and immediately assimilate "ok, this is the X pride", instead of being like "so this is the Ximhungwe pride but apparently nobody in the pride is Ximhungwe but rather Othawa who brokeway and killed the other Othawa?" or "is this the Othawa Breakaway pride that was the Ximhungwe pride but has no more Ximhungwe lions?". Reply

[Potato]

(19 minutes ago)Mapokser Wrote: I also don't think they should be named the Othawa or Othawa Breakaway pride but although I don't think they'll do it

100% dissagree. Othawa breakaway is essenially what they are and therefore I do not see reason why they shouldn't be called that way. Reply

[Rui Ferreira]

(19 minutes ago)Mapokser Wrote: My bet is that if Ximhungwe female dies without leaving female offspring in the pride, the name will officially carry on with the Othawa-blooded lions and I can 100% see why they'd go this way and don't disagree with it necessarily.

I also don't think they should be named the Othawa or Othawa Breakaway pride but although I don't think they'll do it, renaming them to another completely new name would work out for me as well, like with the Msuthu pride.

That way we don't have a Ximhungwe pride without Ximhungwe blood, having to constantly explain it in the future, nor do we have another Othawa pride which also wouldn't make sense, but rather a brand new pride that new followers can see and immediately assimilate "ok, this is the X pride", instead of being like "so this is the Ximhungwe pride but apparently nobody in the pride is Ximhungwe but rather Othawa who brokeway and killed the other Othawa?" or "is this the Othawa Breakaway pride that was the Ximhungwe pride but has no more Ximhungwe lions?".

I doubt lodges care enough about bloodlines and what makes sense, It will come down to laziness in the end whether they change or not the name of the pride I believe sadly Reply