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.
There is no doubt that the animals felt the heat, but we were still able to enjoy some good game viewing across the week, even if there were the odd quiet patches as the animals hid in the shade. The lions were the stars of the week, and we saw no fewer than 62 lions in our concession this past week, with all the prides showing face. The Mayambula Pride returned a couple of days after their double zebra and giraffe feast, and Tristan found 12 members walking with purpose in the eastern areas, despite the late morning heat. The next day, we tracked them into the deep, shady Machaton Riverbed but had no sightings of them beyond that; not that we missed them too much. At the same time, the River Pride were walking around the central areas with one Vuyela male, and with their cubs hidden on the banks of the Nhlaralumi near Tanda Tula Safari Camp, we caught up with them several times. They ended the week with a large buffalo bull kill, and this led to some very fat bellies for lionesses and cubs alike. Fortunately for the pride, two Vuyela males were also present, and this helped keep the behaviour of the decrepit Skorro male in check. Although I missed it, this intruding male was found with the River Pride’s cubs, as well as the Vuyela males at the kill – how (and why) they tolerated him is a mystery (perhaps it was his kill? Although in his state, I am not sure he would have had the strength to pull a buffalo of that size down), but there was a point where this tolerance ran out, and it appears that upon trying to return to the area, the Skorro male was fatally injured by the Vuyelas and River Pride and succumbed to his wounds on Sunday. A sad end to a once majestic male.
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Speaking of pulling buffalos down, the Hercules male managed to get himself a young buffalo in the west one evening, but when 23 members of his Giraffe Pride arrived, he had no option but to share with them! Twenty members of the pride had been seen in the same area a few days before, and it is always such a treat to see so many lions together. I also got my first sightings of the two cubs – they are about the same age as the River Pride cubs. The four Sark Breakaway cubs returned late in the week in the far western portions of their territory, and together with the nine adults and a Vuyela male, made for quite a traffic jam on our access road! All in all, it was a great week for lion viewing across the reserve.
11-29-2023, 10:53 PM( This post was last modified: 11-29-2023, 10:53 PM by Tr1x24 )
Guernsey and young Avoca causing trouble for Birmingham pride and Mbiris in Ngala:
They where fighting few lionesses from BP who where protecting their cubs, Shaka was seen in the area but apperantly is injured (no further info in that).
Will be interesting to see how will Mbiris respond and whats up with Shaka (lets hope nothing serious).
We need more info on Shaka/Zigzag and Guernsey/Young Avoca situation. Hope Shaka isn't injured badly and where is Zigzag?
Nice to see Guernsey/Young Avoca making waves but I wish is wasn't with 2 extremely strong lions like the 2 Mbiri's. Well it will only make these young boys stronger in the long run if they manage to successfully take them on.
The River Pride finished their buffalo kill at the start of the week and moved back to the northern parts of our concession before disappearing further north for a bit, but with the three cubs remaining within our concession, the mother lioness and some of the Vuyela males remained within the concession for most of the week. By the end of the week, the pride had all reunited and spent the day in the company of three Vuyela males. I followed one Vuyela male to the west one morning, and he led us to the Sark Breakaway Pride, with their four cubs. The pride later crossed into Klaserie, but did return for a couple of days later in the week. We actually had a day without any lion sightings, despite having woken up to loads of roaring to the north of camp; the following morning, after having heard no roaring all night, I headed out East in desperation more than anything. When the Hercules male lion was found near Plains Camp, along with tracks for the Giraffe Pride, I was tempted to make an early call and turn around and head to the far West. However, I decided to stick to my guns and stay in the east. A glorious scene of a dozen or so giraffes with groups of zebras, wildebeest and a hyena on one of the open plains was keeping me entertained when Scotch called to tell me that he had found the River Pride lionesses and three males. Feeling the pressure lift immediately, I decided to slowly head in that direction, but the radio message had no sooner come through when our tracker spotted a lion…and another, and in fact, another 15 of them! All seventeen members of the Mayambula pride were lying fat bellied out in one of the open areas. It was so good to have this pride together again and see that they haven’t forgotten about us. One of the lionesses even looked to be in the early stages of pregnancy and producing milk; time will tell what 2024 will bring for this pride.
