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Lions of Timbavati
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The Machaton pride was once again the highlight of the morning drive. The youngsters were playing all over the place and the ever watchful Mabande male was just gracefully looking on over his pride. Wow what a morning...
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One of the Trilogy males following one of the Ross Pride breakaway females. This boy wanted to mate
 *This image is copyright of its original author Avoca Male Lions The afternoon drive turned out to be quite surprising for us when the 4 avoca males were found sleeping with relative full bellies close to Xigamba pan! These guys did not bother to play along until the waxing moon was 2 thumbs up in the sky and they kept a not so hungry eye on buffalo bulls passing in the moonlight.  *This image is copyright of its original author One of the old Birmingham males with the Birmingham pride. If you look closely you will see the 5 young Birmingham Male Lions. Photo taken by AE.  *This image is copyright of its original author Old Ross Male The Good still going strong . Who remembers the Ross Pride leader 'the Good'? This magnificent male was chased away when the Trilogy moved in a couple of years ago, and now he has been seen again on the boundary of the Trilogy territory where he joined the small Ross Pride at a warthog kill. Take a look at this scene: http://www.sundestinations.co.za/…/the-good-feasts-with-th…/  *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 The result of trophy hunting. He can't defend his pride because his two partners were killed by humans. 2 days ago, the Machaton pride and Mabande had a run in with 2 unknown males, the males attacked Mabande and then proceeded to chase him off. This didnt bode well for the young cubs in the pride. Fortunately the whole pride including Mabande were seen this morning together and there has been no sign of the intruding males...interesting times may lay ahead but we all hold thumbs that this pride can continue to grow and do well.  *This image is copyright of its original author
It was all happening on Kambaku River Sands we had 2 of the trilogy males at hippo dam. 2 Ross break away females at feeding dam. Marula female leopard in a tree resting. Elephants drinking out of the swimming pool. buffalo moving north and 3 wild dogs resting at sunset dam
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Umlani Bushcamp
near Bushbuckridge, South Africa · Mabande still large and in charge, he is still with the pride and there has been no sign of the 2 invading males from the other day.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Here's the photo of the dying Trilogy male. Kambaku River Sands deleted the photo for some strange reason. We ended the morning off on quite a sad note as we manage to locate the 1 Trilogy male with the injured hip. We are sad to report he is a stick figure of the formidable beast that he once was.
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It happens.
Personally, I prefer a fighting death than this kind of slow wasting away but, regardless of my preference, it is the law of the wild. The weak die so the strong may survive.  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Trilogy Males are a coalition of 3 male lions and they are between 9-10 years old. The Trilogy males rule the Timbavati with an iron fist. 3 years ago one of the Trilogy males dislocated his hip and sadly his condition has deteriorated quite a bit. The dying Trilogy male is in Kambaku River Sands and the other two Trilogy males are in Shindzela Safari Camp. Sadly they are unaware of their dying brother. Here's a nice photo of the 3 Trilogy males together. Taken by Sun Destinations
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Kambaku River Sands:
Mabande is in trouble!!!! This morning 2 younger males chased him to the east.  *This image is copyright of its original author The rivals, the two young Ross Males.  *This image is copyright of its original author The chase!  *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 I won't stop saying it, until this truth gets into the think skull of the likes of Counter Strike and the rest of those people. In lion warfare, numbers matter. Yes, Mabande had partners and they were killed by trophy hunters. Bu that's besides the question. So now, he that is one of the biggest lions around, has to run, or else he risks being killed. Numbers matter, every time. We'll have to wait to see how this develops.
The Sizanani Thanda Impi male is heavily courting the Mbiri females, and were last seen on Vulture pan road, moving north. The Mbiri sub adults were seen a little further north on Hlana road. The Nharhu pride was also seen on Xiskankanka road, close to scratches plain, but moved deep into the drainage area. The Skorro Thanda impi male was seen this morning at Main Dam. The Sable bridge female Leopards cubs were found this morning, in the drainage area, close to Leopards drift. The single male Cheetah was seen twice in the last two days, once on Vulture pan road, when he saw the Lions and ran east. This morning he was found on Wilderness, where he killed a Warthog piglet. The Elephant sightings have been particularly good, with no less than three herd sightings per drive in the central Manyeleti.
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 (02-04-2016, 10:36 PM)Pckts Wrote: Timbavati's Location Like in other privately owned reserves the lions of Timbavati can not be considered 100% wild or free-ranging...they can be considered semi-captive in the sense that human intervention is more intense than in a national park setting, the owners will 'select' more impressive specimens and breed them, protect them, medicate them and even feed them. The tourist/hunters/photographers want to see big lions, scientists want to see, study, and protect ALL lions. I was intrigued with the hunting records from Timbavati as the trophies there are significantly larger than the lions of Limpopo-Kruger, but it is easy to explain once you factor human intervention. Also Timbavati is the source of white lions that are almost non-existent in other areas. (03-18-2016, 02:39 AM)Majingilane Wrote: Kambaku River Sands:Absolutely! A three male coalition of 180 kg each will easily kill a 250 kg male or two, large coalitions of 5 or 6 males have eliminated most rivals ( even if bigger in individual size ) whether in Ngorongoro, Serengeti, or Sabi Sands..such large coalitions monopolize mating and end up weakening the genetic variability in the area...the way lion society balance and regulates its genetic health through the dispersal of sub-adults is fascinating. A single evicted young male will struggle to master a pride of his own, a coalition of two has a better chance, and a coalitions of three even better...larger coalitions end up monopolizing several prides and sometimes breaking into smaller coalitions controlling different prides.
We had the two trilogy males and the two break away Ross females yesterday afternoon and first thing this morning on River Sands, there still been plenty of elephants around and this morning a beautiful female leopard.
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Kambaku Safari Lodge:
This morning we had the one Trilogy male and two of the Giraffe pride females in the west, with the white lioness mating with the 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
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