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.
Great sighting At Shindzela Teneted camp in Timbavati. Thabamati and Makanyi Lodges in Timbavati also joined the sighting of the young white Birmingham male and his 2 brothers.
On the lion front, the Mayambula Pride continued to hang out in as two separate entities in the east, with the three females and eight cubs being seen a couple of times. The younger lionesses remain active around the den site of the youngest cubs and we are still waiting on our first views of them. Although the River Pride did come down as far south as Safari Camp (and we found where they had made a kill right on the camp fence line), the next day they were tracked into an area that was just too wet to get to after the rain.
Luckily the Timbavati spoilt us with a few surprises towards the end of the week. The first came in the form of the long-lost Monwana male and the young Giraffe Pride male. The Monwana male and his brother dominated the Giraffe Pride until early last year when the other Monwana male was killed and the Hercules/Sumatra coalition took over the Giraffe Pride. The Monwana male had a terrible limp and we didn’t give him much chance of survival, but after spending months trying to chase the young Giraffe male from the pride, this young male has become the lifeline of the injured Monwana male, and the two seem to have established a coalition of sorts. Although both lions appear to have been sired by the Black Dam male, and are “half-brothers”, they have no idea of their relatedness, and simply utilised their situations to form a coalition to better improve both of their own chances of survival. They were trailing buffalo, but the next day the Vuyela males pitched up and appeared to be chasing some lions, which may or may not have been the Monwana/Giraffe boys. Four of the five Vuyela males were then found with a buffalo kill the next day, all sporting enormous bellies! In between that, we also caught up with a lone Sark breakaway lioness near Nkhari Homestead to round off a week of good lion viewing despite our regulars not playing along so well.
