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Lions of Timbavati
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Ross males. Credits to Johan Smalman.
Notice the relatively fuller manes now, and compare them to the ones they had a couple of months ago when they chased the Mabande male.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Ezulwini Game Lodges:
"A fleeting glimpse of a Mohlabetsi Pride male as he paced across our path on game drive. We had heard him calling early in the morning, and appeared to be looking for his partners in crime: the 3 other males belonging to a coalition of 4. A day before, there was a fight reported to have happened in which the coalition of 4 chased off a new male that joined the River Pride."  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Avoca Male
Credit to Armand Grobler Photography  *This image is copyright of its original author
From NThambo Tree Camp:
"Mabande male lion seen getting some shut eye yesterday afternoon on game drive! We caught him on rather a lazy day (not unusual for lions!) and didn't get much more out of him than a wink, but we are happy to have introduced our guests to this impressive character."  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
These(Avoca males) are probably some of the biggest male lions i have seen and they are coming closer and closer towards our dominant males and their pride! Lion dynamics in the Manyeleti is heating up big time
 Credits to Christof Schoeman  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Sundestinations
Times are a changing for the lions of the Balule, according to news and sightings from Ezulwini Game Lodges… Of late, there has been a fight between some significant males in the area, and the seldom-seen Singwe Pride has made a statement by mating nearEzulwini Billy’s Lodge. The tension between the Mohlabetsicoalition and Duma has broken over a fight that was reported to have taken place recently. Two of the four males in the coalition fought with Duma – brother of the Mohlabetsi Male and leader of his own pride (also known as Kudyela). The Olifants West lions fragmented a long time ago, and Duma and his brother did not stay together, and now it looks like they have come head to head. The result of the fight is unknown – who won, and who lost? What Ezulwini guides can tell us is that the females and subadults in the prides have scattered since the fight between the male leaders. Ezulwini River Lodge guides say they see the tracks for the prides on the traverse early in the morning, but by that time the lions have moved east, southwest, and northwest of the traverse. In addition to this new activity, the Singwe Pride has been seen yet again in Ezulwini’s neck of the woods! Last week, 2 females, and a male were seen at River Lodge, and now one mating pair has been seen not too far from Billy’s Lodge. Interesting times in the lives of Balule lions… We look forward to seeing what happens next.  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Trilogy males had a fight with the Ross males this morning. So this morning while we were waiting for the Ross male to mate with the Avoca lioness, the other Ross male sleeping about 30 meters away from them the two Trilogy males appeared.
The Trilogy males chased and the Ross males ran. We could not see what was happening but heard them fighting deeper in the bush. After a while I found one of the Trilogy males with loads of fresh scars on his face and completely covered in blood. I talked to Rico from Makanyi and he found one of the Ross males afterwards. He said he has big cut on his leg and was struggling to walk. The other Ross male was seen far from him and he was moving east. The Trilogy males were moving back west again. Will try and find the Ross males afternoon to see how they are doing..But the bigger Trilogy male was the one doing the fighting he received all the new cuts and scars. Photo and update by Johan Smalman at Shindzela Safari Cam  *This image is copyright of its original author
A very good blog from Tintswalo, The Avoca males start making their move.:
22-29 June. Mbiri pride (3) This week was still a very unsettling week for the Mbiri pride! We started their week off with two of the younger Lionesses around Manor house on the 23rd, where they tried to hunt Wildebeest close to Manor house pan. The entire pride was seen again on the 25th, accompanied by one of the Avoca male Lions. He mated with one of the older Lionesses several times, with the younger females in the area. It seems that the younger females are more comfortable with the Avoca males, that the Thanda impi males. The last sighting we had of the Mbiri pride was on the 28th, where they were accompanied by the Thanda impi males on River road, only about 100 meters from our Presidential suite. Again there was mating taking place. This pride seems to be bringing the two coalitions closer to one another, a cause for concern in the future.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Thanda Impi male Lions (2) We had two sightings of the Thanda Impi’s this week. They were seen early in the week with the Nharhu pride on Ngwenya loop, to the west of Main Dam. It was a wonderful sighting, with interaction between the males, cubs and the females. They then disappeared for a few days, before turning up with the Mbiri pride at our presidential suite. They were mating with both of the older Lionesses, including the Lioness that was mating with the Avoca male a few days earlier. I personally don’t believe that they’re strong enough to look after two prides, and it might be worth their while staying with the Nharhu pride, but thats not how male Lions are wired, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next few months.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Nharhu pride (1) We only had the one sighting of the Nharhu pride this week. They are still staying in the Main Dam area, which has proven to be a small but bountiful territory. After killing a Buffalo close to Main camp, at the end of the last week, we found the pride with the Thanda Impi males on Ngwenya loop. They soon moved west into thick bush, and we couldn’t follow any further.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Avoca males (2) We had at least one of the big males from the north this week. He spent the majority of the week in the north and west of the reserve, and was interacting with two separate prides, the Mbiri’s and the Mohlawareng pride. He was first seen with the Mohlawareng pride around Civet road, and later moved more south to the Mbiri pride on Nyathi drive. We are used to seeing these guys sporadically, but this week they were interacting with prides. We think this might be the start of a new group of males in the north!  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Mohlawareng pride (1) We only had one sighting of the shy pride in the north, this week. They were seen without the young male, but in the company of, and mating with the Avoca male, on Civet road. They are a rarely seen pride, spending a lot of their time in the KNP, but it seems that they are setting up their territory north of Khoka Moya Dam and into the KNP. The fact that a new large coalition of males (Avoca males), could benefit the pride immensely, with the Mbiri pride moving south and west onto our concession, it leaves a huge area to settle. With these males in the area, that area could be well protected more the first time since the Matimba males controlled it, which was a bout two years ago.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Selati males and Talamati pride (1) We discovered the pride, with one of the Selati males, on Sarabanga north of Buffelshoek plains. They had killed a sub-adult Buffalo, and we found them when the cubs were feeding. To our surprise, we noticed some rustling on the periphery of the pride, and three tiny cubs were hiding in the grass. One of the young Lionesses was looking a little anxious with us being there, so we decided not to go any closer, so photos will have to wait, at least a little while.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
News of the Ross Males from Makanyi Lodge
This is the update from Johan "Update on the Ross males. We found the Ross male with the Mohawk this morning mating with another Avoca lioness. He has almost no new scars on his face or body. Just a bite mark on his right front paw. His leg is swollen and he is struggling a bit to walk on it. So it looks like the Ross males chased the Trilogy males off. Seeing that the Trilogy males moved off west again right after the fight and that the Ross males stayed in the same area still mating with the Avoca lionesses." New video from Makanyi FB https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_f...1790599240
One of the Avoca male Lions penetrated deep into Thanda Impi male Lion territory, and marked over all of their marking spots.
Credit to Darren Donovan Wildlife Photography  *This image is copyright of its original author The war is coming...
From Sundestinations
Lion tension continues in the Klaserie! The arrival of the Mapoza male lionssent things into a tailspin in the kingdom of the Trilogy males. Since this pair of unknown lions, now known as the Mapozas, arrived on the block we’ve seen them mating with the Ross Breakaway lionesses, Mabande lying low and then emerging with healing wounds on his flank, and the Trilogy males fighting with the Ross males in the Timbavati. Now, last night during #livebushfeed it was reported from theAfrica on Foot vehicle that the Mapoza males were seen picking a fight with the Ross Breakaways! Yesterday morning, the guides at Africa on Foot and nThambo found the tracks for both the Mapoza male lions, while at the same time the Ross Breakaway lionesses were spotted by student guide, Rey. Well, lions in the flesh are a better sighting than tracks in the sand, so Mike and Bjorn took their guests through to see the lionesses we know and love. We couldn’t have betted on what happened next! As we were enjoying the sighting of the lionesses, the Mapoza males came in in a storm of dust and a ‘cat fight’ broke out between the males and the females. After some serious snarling and squabbling, it dissipated and the lions moved off, but this was not to be the end of the morning’s lion action! The Ross Breakaway lionesses were spotted soon after the fight stalking a kudu bull, and soon enough, it was reported that they succeeded in taking the animal down. Unusually, the lionesses were very uneasy. One female was found on her own, keeping her distance from the vehicles, but there was evidence of having made the kill on her face. The second lioness was found feeding hungrily, although she was also highly alert. The guides gave them space and took their guests back to camp for breakfast, while photographer and cinematographer, Kevin MacLaughlin, returned to the scene to investigate the strange behaviour. Lo and behold, the two Mapoza males had arrived and taken over the kudu carcass, chasing the lionesses away from their hard-earned meal. The larger of the two males was feasting, while the smaller, shy one hid in the bushes. Last night on game drive, Mike returned to the scene with his Africa on Foot guests, and they witnessed the same feisty tension between the Mapoza males and the Ross Breakaway females. They stared lethally at one another, and the big Mapoza stood and guarded the kill from the two lionesses.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Safari update
A two day update On the afternoon of the 14th of July, the Nharhu pride was located close to Metsikitsoro plains. The Mbiri pride was found close to Vultures pan and the Thanda Impi male Lions were found on Xingalana road. The rest of the afternoon produced some good general game sightings, including over 60 Elephants at old pump. Yesterday morning, the Nharhu pride was found on Sundowner loop, playing with a dangerous toy. The Mbiri pride killed a sub-adult Buffalo on Lomfane road.The young male leopard we have being seeing, has been identified as the young Ntusntsu male leopard, and was seen late in the morning close to Sable bridge. In the afternoon, the Mbiri pride was relocated on their kill. The young Ntuntsu male Leopard was relocated on Red road. The one Avoca male Lion that was injured by the Thanda Impi male Lions, was found on old Chiefs kaia north of Khoka Moya dam. This morning was very dramatic! The Thanda Impi males were found on Wilderness, moving north. They were looking for something, and managed to get what they were looking for. The three young Mbiri males! They chased the youngsters, and managed to corner one. He was lucky, and managed to escape. All the commotion was heard and answered from the west. Two of the Avoca males came towards Khoka moya dam, where all the fighting was taking place. They continued roaring through the morning, sending the Thanda Impj males back south to Vulture pan. The Sable bridge Leopard cubs were also seen on Catwalk west. Credits to Tinstwalo Safari Lodge  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Thanda Impi male Sizanani  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Avoca male  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Tintswalo Safari Lodge
Safari update A three day update On the afternoon of the 16th of July, the Sable bridge cubs were found on Catwalk west, and presented us with incredible photographic moments. The Thanda impi male Lions were relocated on Vulture pan road. Alistair relocated the one Avoca male Lion on Civet road. The rest of the afternoon produced some great general game sightings as well. The morning of the 17th, the Nharhu pride was found on Piva path with a sub-adult Buffalo kill. The Sable bridge Leopard cubs were relocated on Catwalk west. The Hyena den in the south also had some action, with some of the pups out and about. The afternoon of the 17th, we relocated on the Sable bridge Leopard cubs. The rest of the afternoon was fairly quiet. On the morning of the 18th, we spent the majority of the morning following tracks for the Mbiri pride. While we were tracking, the Rhulani male Leopard was found on marula ridge. One of the Avoca male Lions was then found with a Buffalo calf kill, north of Vincents pan. The Mbiri pride was then found with another Buffalo kill, just to the west of the male. Yesterday afternoon, we started off with an Elephant herd at the lodge. A large Buffalo herd was found at New Pump. The three young Mbiri male Lions were found at Skybeds dam. The Mbiri pride and Avoca male Lion were relocated north of vincents pan. The young Ntuntsu male Leopard was found at Twin pans in the north. After dark. Dave found the other Avoca male Lion, chasing the Mohlawareng pride at khoka Moya dam. This morning, It started off a bit quiet. At about 7 o clock, the Mbiri pride were found. They were following a Buffalo herd. After about half an hour, the three young females killed a sub-adult.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Sizanani Thanda Impi male  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Avoca male  *This image is copyright of its original author Mbiri sub adult males  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
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