There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
I apologise for not posting frequent updates on the Mayanbula pride of lions over the past few months. They have been spending a lot of their time in the eastern Timbavati, which means we don’t get to see them as often as we used to. Their change in location might be a result of pressures imposed by the five big Vuyela male lions that have been infiltrating the Myanbula pride territory from the western side.
On this occasion, we had an amazing afternoon with the Myanbula pride. They were all lazing around a small dam, not doing too much of anything. Every now and then, one of the lions would wake up briefly. Most often it was one of the cubs looking for another pride member to play with. We were very fortunate to be able to spend roughly 40 min in this sighting watching and waiting in hopes that they would start to get more active soon.
While watching the lions, we heard some elephants far in the distance, but at that time we didn’t even think of them possibly showing up. All of a sudden, a large herd of elephants appeared out of the greenery, moving with haste straight to the water. It was amazing to see how quickly the lions made way, while the elephants had absolutely no idea of the lions presence.
A little history of kudelya males.
6 kudelya boys were born in kudelya pride in 2018-19. They were sired by 3 machanton males.
2/6 were were brutally killed / eaten by 2 sark males , who ousted their fathers from kudelya pride and territory in 2022.
2 oldest of the remaining 4 , Earless and his bro ( first two images) are now in charge of singwe pride.
1/2 of younger ones, ( last image)is missing since January 2023.
The other younger one ( third image) is all on his own.
