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Lions of Timbavati
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 (11-01-2017, 06:11 AM)sik94 Wrote:(11-01-2017, 05:33 AM)Chris Wrote: How are the mohalebetsi males doing? @Tshokwane There 7 but what I mean is how are they doing recently has the older male recovered has there been any reports.
Credits: Tintswalo Lodge
Safari Update It is with great sadness to announce that one of our resident lion pride males ’Sizanani', has finally succumbed to his injury and his final resting place was close to the lodge. He will live on in our memories for a very long time! The images shared in todays safari update will include some of the great moments that we shared with ‘Sizanani’ before he obtained his devastating hip injury in December 2016. The Avoca/Giraffe coalition was found with two Red Road lionesses and two cubs in the North of the reserve feeding intensely on a buffalo! After finishing off the kill, they made their way towards the North and settled in at a small waterhole for the day. Four of the pride males followed the females and the cubs towards the pan. The fifth male, was the lone Giraffe male that was found relatively close to the area where the carcass was. This male wasn’t in great condition, although it did look like he managed to get a piece of the cake. Despite the current condition of the last remaining Thanda Impi male lion ’scorro', the Mbiri lionesses and their youngsters are still doing good and in tip top condition. The lionesses were found on numerous occasions close to the lodge where they've also at times, left the cubs on their own whilst out searching for food. We haven’t seen ‘Scorro’ for a few days but we suspect that he could still be nearby sleeping and nursing his injuries that he procured by possibly fighting with the three young Avoca males.  *This image is copyright of its original author The two Thanda Impi males quenching their thirst on the 18th of March last year. Sizanani on the right and Scorro on the left.  *This image is copyright of its original author Avoca/Giraffe coaltion.  *This image is copyright of its original author Sizanani male lion moving through an open clearing with his coalition member Scorro not far behind.18th of March 2016.  *This image is copyright of its original author Sizanani male on the 15th of February 2016! This majestic male lion yawning right before he got up, stretched and walked over to the closest pan for an afternoon drink.  *This image is copyright of its original author On the 18th of June last year we found the two Thanda Impi males heavily bruised and scarred, because of territorial responsibilities! This was Sizanani after a long night keeping new males away from their piece of land!  *This image is copyright of its original author On the 25th of December 2016, we found Sizanani with a very bad injury to his left hip. This could’ve been caused by a Buffalo hunt that gone wrong and it looked like the hip was dislocated. He was never the same after obtaining this injury but managed to survive for almost a year by staying close to the Mbiri pride. By doing this he had an opportunity to feed regularly, giving him a fighting chance to survive a few more months.  *This image is copyright of its original author Scorro with a severe limp, slowly moving back to the heart of his territory.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Lone Giraffe male that usually spends time by himself away from the rest from his brothers. 
@vinodkumarn :
About #527: Sad to see how the tide was turning against these two male lions... One day they're triumphant, the day after moribund. The time is the only one absolute master of all living beings, including humans. (11-02-2017, 01:00 AM)vinodkumarn Wrote: Credits: Tintswalo Lodgeis this the youngest of the giraffe males who was born in 2011 and was beat up by the 2 young ross male lions?
Rest in peace warrior sizanani. is time to meet your good brother that passed away a long time ago fighting against matimbas. A terrible time to skorro when and if he come back he will discovered that his loyal friend is not with him anymore
anybody know who is the father of Siziani?
He was born around 2006-2007 in Nkuhuma pride. Is it Dozie and Blondie??  
Blondie 's Boy Nkuhuma male, named Sizanani male in the Manyeleti.
Sad to see you go.. you lived the true life of a king! R.I.P. old fella.... you will be Missed! Tribute from Peter Retting. He will always be remembered as a brave Male who survived the Mapogos, the Majingilanes and the Matimbas, who took care of his limping brother, who both became the Ghost Males in the Sabi Sands, to then become Pride Males in the Manyeleti to the day they were outnumbered and chased off...who lost his brother and surprisingly teamed up with Scorro to become a successful Pride Male again. What a life. May he rest in peace. The nkuhuma boys pic by karin van taken in 2010  *This image is copyright of its original author Nkuhuma boy and othawa female taken in 2011  *This image is copyright of its original author These were the Nkuhuma brothers, that male with a bad limp most lkely died, but he survived with the help of his brother for about 4 years, absolutly amazing!  *This image is copyright of its original author Here is an extract from manyeleti game reserve back in 2012 "We had two sightings of these males. The first was on Nyathi drive junction with Vulture pan road. They had a young Wildebeest calf which they had killed. The dominant male was feeding and the male with the bad leg was watching. The bond between these two still surprises me and I’m still amazed by their behaviour. The dominant Sizanani fed on the calf for a while, left the kill and approached his brother. They went on to head rub and the dominant male left his brother the rest of a very small kill. Normal lion behaviour would have been eating the calf and leaving nothing for the other male. Lion society revolves around the strongest survives, but these two have a relationship stronger than I have ever seen. They spent several days feeding on the female Buffalo. Once again the strong male, who we’ve decided to name the Madiba male (so named after Nelson Mandela because of his unusual compassion not seen in lion behaviour), left his brother Gimpy to feed in peace." The two male lions in the central and northern parts of the manyeleti game reserve have become celebrities. Thuy show compassion not seen in lion behaviour often. Here they feed on yet another fully grown Buffalo. Nkuhuma Male Lion Sep 6 2010 by banditt066 Sizanani love These brother lions show clear affection to each other and strengthen their social bonds Tintswalo Lodges Nov 5, 2012
@Fredymrt :
About #533: impressive movies showing something I would not have believed occuring among lions: the compassion (condolence), the gift (almost a self sacrifice in the first video, always staying with his dimished comrade in arms and assisting him), and of course the real affection between them over several years. The noble human sentiments that establish during the life and its trials exist also in the wild life. But being discreet, we have to discover them. And to show them, thank to these movies. Thank you !   *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 Safari Update The last couple of days have been very exciting with game viewing in the Manyeleti Game Reserve! With great relief, we found the last Thanda Impi male ‘Scorro’ with the Mbiri pride a few nights ago! The sighting was short lived before they disappeared into the thickets and as expected the pride male still had a bad limp. Big herds of buffalo are scares during the summer time due to the excessive amounts of resources like grazing and water being widely scattered throughout the area. Therefore the Mbiri females have been battling in the hunting department and by their movements around Tintswalo lodge, it seems that their desperation for protein is rapidly increasing. And furthermore this desperation is driven by the fact that they have to produce milk for their young. So the pressure is on! We managed to catch up with the Avoca/Giraffe coalition a couple of times this week! The usual number of four males were found with the Red Road pride in the central North of the Reserve.
Photo by Christof Schoeman
Avoca/Giraffe coalition.  *This image is copyright of its original author Trio of beasts on the move. Location - Manyeleti Game Reserve Date - Nov.11 2017
From Ngala Private Game Reserve November 14 2017
The Birmingham Breakaway/Nharu Pride with two Giraffe males/Western males were found yesterday morning. Lately we have been struggling to find adult males so this was a great delight for our guests to view them all together. Watch the female next to the males get up and you can see her physical feature that helps us identify the pride. Those who have seen this pride before might remember too. Video by Messham Photography Click on it to play
Credits to
17NOV
Tintswalo 0 The Lions of Tintswalo A TRIBUTE TO SIZANANI – TINTSWALO’S LEGENDARY LION KING It was a sad day last month when we learned of the passing of Tintswalo’s most magnificent male lion—Sizanani. One of our rangers, Christof Schoeman, described Sizanani as a ‘True Survivor’ for his amazing ability to somehow come out on top, despite all odds. At Tintswalo, he also gained the nickname “Phantom”, because he would sometimes disappear for long periods of time—everyone would presume he was dead—and then almost miraculously appear back in the Manyeleti to stake his claim once again. He was a tidal force in the greater Kruger National Park area, with a territory that fluctuated between the Manyeleti and Sabi Sands regions, and involved various other males whom he formed tight bonds with; and numerous cubs that he sired. It’s fair to say that his incredible survival genes have been passed on into numerous new generations of cubs as he made his way in the tough world of the African bush. Below is his remarkable story.  *This image is copyright of its original author Sizanani’s amazing early life Sizanani was born in the beginning of 2007, from a pride of 20-strong lions known as the Nkuhuma Pride in the Northern Sabi Sands region. This pride was well-known in the area as the ‘buffalo hunters’ for their remarkable ability to kill buffalo, one of the largest prey species. This was a skill that would prove important for Sizanani. Sizanani was part of a litter of 20-plus cubs. But in December of 2007, tragedy struck the pride. Blondie (father of Sizanani), was killed by the legendary Mapogo male lion coalition. Attacks on the remaining pride and cubs during the first half of 2008 devastated the pride. Many cubs fell victim to the attacks; as did some of the adult lionesses too. The pride became fragmented, lost, and Sizanani and his brother were the only two cubs to survive the onslaught. It was up to them to carry on to adulthood. The first time the brothers were seen together on Tintswalo’s concession was in the middle of 2012. At this point, they were known as the Nkahuma males. The brother of Sizanani had a very bad hip injury which he maintained for a very long time, probably with the help of Sizanani. This is where Sizanani gained his name, Sizanani, which means ‘working together’, given to him by Tintswalo guides and trackers at the time.  *This image is copyright of its original author The brothers
In September 2012, Sizanani and his brother, now known as the Sizanani coalition, were mating with some of the Koppies (breakaway from the Orpen super pride) Females. During this time, the brothers had numerous fights with the Legendary Matimba males, but somehow managed to survive. At the end of 2012, another blow struck Sizanani when his brother (one with the bad hip) was killed by the Matimba males close to Tintswalo. Sizanani then ran back towards the Sabi Sands and spent most of 2013 in the Northern sands, wandering the reserve as a lone male lion. Although we did not see him, Sizanani became legendary in the area, and there were reports of him single handedly taking down adult buffalo during this time. In Aug 2013, he fathered his first litter of cubs with a pride known as the Styx Females in the Sabi Sands. Unfortunately, his first litter was killed by other males. At this point, Sizanani disappeared off the radar. And we began to presume that he had died. Sizanani’s triumphant return And then, just like that, he was back! To our surprise, In September 2014, he appeared back in the Manyeleti by himself after months of wandering the wilderness alone. It was at this point that people on social media began to describe him as the “Phantom’—a true surviver. Sizanani finally decided to reside in the Manyeleti, close to Tintswalo Safari Lodge, and it was here where he also made a new friend, another male lion whom he joined forces with to take back the territory. This was officially the start of the Thand Impi Males, where Sizanani and an unknown male ‘Scorro’ formed a coalition and started to dominate the the central Manyeleti! When Sizanani was a cub, he had learned the skills of hunting buffalo, and now him and his new brother began to take that reputation forward, hunting massive buffalos in the reserve and feeding on them for days. [video] Sizanani stakes his claim Just as the two boys began to set up their new territory near Tintswalo, the infamous Birmingham Lions made up of five big males arrived. They spent some time in the Manyeleti. Despite this, the Thanda Impi males, led by Sizanani, managed to evade this monstrous coalition. The Birmingham Males moved off. Finally, the two boys had established themselves and their territory. They were lucky enough to meet up with the 3 Birmingham lionesses that originated from the Southern Timbavati Game Reserve during the remaining months of 2015 until early november. This was the start of the Nharhu pride! Now the lion count was 2 pride males, 3 lionesses+ 10 cubs! These cubs are currently still in the area as 2 year old Sub adults. Next in line for a takeover was the Mbiri pride. In 2016, this pride consisted of 8 lions, 5 lionesses with 3 young males—ready to be kicked out and become nomadic. The Thanda Impis saw the opportunity and forced the females to submission during June 2016. Mating ensued for the first time in September 2016, where both males collectively started mating with the two older Mbiri Females. Ever since then, the Thanda Impi males spent less time with the Nharhu pride and more time with the Mbiris. In February 2017, the first Mbiri cubs sired by the Thanda Impi’s were born! The total count as it stands 5 lionesses, 2 pride males and 16 cubs of different generations.  *This image is copyright of its original author Sizanani’s last days At some point, Sizanani’s epic tale had to begin to end. And that day was Christmas day of 2016. We found Sizanani with a bad hip injury that could’ve been caused by a buffalo hunt gone wrong. Either way; he wasn’t the same male again. He managed to feed well by staying close to the lionesses he had come to dominate, until he finally succumbed to his injury on the 27th of October 2017. His final resting place was a spot not too far from the lodge—an area that had become his final kingdom, and the place where he fathered the most number of cubs, Sizanani provided all of us and our guests with hours of joy and amazement. He truly was one of the great lions of Kruger, and he will live on in our memories for a very long time. |
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