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Lions of Timbavati
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 (12-26-2017, 04:20 AM)Fredymrt Wrote: The Legend continue... Notice how "clean" the lioness's face is of battle-scars as opposed to her male counterpart, who's face is " tatted" up. A solid indicator of just how brutal life for the male lion can be. 
Credits to Tintswalo Safari Lodge.
The lone Thanda Impi male lion ‘Scorro’ has made a full recovery after his altercation with the younger Avoca male lions and was found with three younger Mbiri lionesses on a wildebeest kill yesterday morning! Hopefully he will remain with his pride during the upcoming months!  *This image is copyright of its original author
(12-26-2017, 07:03 PM)chaos Wrote: A solid indicator of just how brutal life for the male lion can be. It's somewhat of an indicator, but not as much as it seems. 90% of those little scars are from slaps of the females or his brothers, when he had them, at feeding time or ins ome of their 10 second dominance fights. Those scars are far from brutal, they don't really take much damage from it. 
From: Motswari blog
The Cats of Motswari  *This image is copyright of its original author Although Motswari is home to hundreds of bird species, dozens of different types of reptiles and more than thirty regularly seen mammal species, it is often the big cats that are one of the main attractions to the area. With some 15,000ha of unfenced land to cover, Motswari is resident to a number of large cats that we have come to know intimately over the years, and all of our guides take great delight in sharing sightings of these special creatures with their guests. Due to the nature of these large cats inside an unfenced reserve, these animals are prone to wander great distances, sometimes moving beyond our borders and out of our concession. However, with over 3,000,000ha of nature reserves around us (we traverse the Timabavati and Umbabat Game Reserves), there is always the chance of being surprised by new arrivals into our area, which makes it one of the most exciting aspects of living and working in such a large, open system. LIONS: The biggest of Africa’s bigs, and the most iconic of Africa’s mammals, the lions, are always a big draw for tourists. Africa without lions is just not Africa. At Motswari, we have had mixed fortunes with our lions over the years, and gone from having plenty, to having almost none. Lion dynamics in the area are just that – dynamic! At present, we have some very stable lions, due to the presence of a big resident pride in the north, that includes a strong male. This has stabilised the northern sections’ lion viewing, while the south still has its ups and downs. Western Pride  *This image is copyright of its original author The Western Pride is our most viewed pride of lions in the area. Their viewing has been so impressive over the last 12 months that we are now proud to call them resident lions in the reserve. Although about half of their territory lies to the north of our concession, they do visit us regularly. and because they are not facing pressure from any other prides in the south, they find themselves very much at home. Western pride Male  *This image is copyright of its original author Despite the fact that one of the pride males died last week, the remaining males are strong, and with three other young males amongst the lions ten pride members, they are a force to be reckoned with. Two of the three mothers appear to be pregnant or have just given birth, which may lead to some changes in the pride, with the six young lions (three females and three males, all three years old) ending up splintering from the pride and moving off to establish themselves in another area. Part of the problem they now face, is finding enough food for ten adult lions, usually not too challenging when the buffalo numbers are strong, but a difficult task now that most the buffalo have died after the drought. Seeing this pride on the move is something guests don’t forget in a hurry.Ross Pride and Mbiri males A small pride of two lionesses of the Ross pride origin and two young males seem to be settling as a fixed unit, but are far from being a stable union. They occupy the territory to the south of our concession and visit only occasionally. Mbiri male Timbavati Pride The three adult lionesses and three subadults of this pride seem to reside in the Kruger, and visit us from time to time, although seemingly more in summer where come through every couple of weeks. Unfortunately the last few months have seen complete absence of this pride from the area, possibly due to the Western Pride’s dominance. Sumatra lioness Calling a lone lioness a pride would be a stretch, but this lone lioness seems to be able to make ends meet under all by herself. We see her (or more often just signs of her) mostly in the eastern sections of the reserve. She ended up alone when her two “brothers”, the Sumatra males, moved off and headed south, and she stayed behind in the area that she became familiar with after the three of them first moved into the area. She attracted the attention of the Machimba males, but theses boys seem to have been ousted and replaced by the Kruger males – two new but very shy males that have come in from the Kruger to the east of us. Time will tell how long they stick around and if they form a pride with her.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author RETURN OF THE KING – LION APPEARANCE AT MOTSWARI  *This image is copyright of its original author Over the past few months, we have been incredibly fortunate to have had some amazing sightings of the western pride of lions within our traversing area close to Motswari. The sightings have generally only been of the females and younger sub-adults. The two mature males of the pride never really ventured into our area long enough for us to find them. This last week, however, we eventually found the two majestic male lions sleeping near the river. Though they were still separate from the rest, it was a real treat as it had been many months since a nice, big-maned male was seen in the area – let alone two together! That being said, it was saddening to see that the one male was looking in much worse shape than the last time he was seen. It appeared that he had recently been blinded in one eye during an unknown fight. A possibility could be that his injuries were inflicted by the three younger males of the pride the last time they all joined together. Despite this natural occurrence of nature, which is still sometimes hard to see, it was an absolutely magical and visceral experience to be in the African bush spending time with these two commanding, dominant male lions with the glowing sun setting on the horizon. We sat with these regal animals for a good 20 minutes. Slowly, they started to stir, sauntering over to a pool of water in the riverbed to have a drink. We left them, and headed back to the lodge for dinner. They continued walking west towards where we knew the rest of the pride was. Following the lions The next day, I headed south in hope of finding some rhinos that had recently been alluding my guests. During our search, I got a report that the whole pride of lions from the previous day had joined up together and were sleeping just west of our traversing boundary. I remained hopeful that the lions would come back into our area the next day and we would get a chance to see them altogether. As the sun rose the next morning, one of the other guides found tracks which he suspected belonged to the two males heading back into our area. Unfortunately, however, the tracks crossed back north and out of our domain. Disappointed that I had missed the chance to see the males amidst the pride, we continued with our drive. Along the way, we found a few bull elephants heading towards Arygle dam, close to Motswari. While we were enjoying the elephants drinking at the water’s edge, I heard on the radio that the western pride had been found. They were not too far away. There was one of the males in attendance! Turns out the tracks that had been called in earlier were of only one of the males with one female. Since, the other male had joined up with the rest of the pride. Leaving our group of elephants, we proceeded to head towards where they had spotted the lions. A memorable farewell It was already getting pretty hot. I was a bit worried that we would arrive to a pride of lazing, sleeping lions. To my surprise – and my guests’ astonishment – as we turned the corner we were greeted by the awe-inspiring sight of nine lions. They were walking towards us on the road, with the majestic male in tow! We waited for them to pass, and followed behind them for quite some time. They eventually headed towards a thicket which provided ample shade under which to settle down and rest for the day. As chance would have it, it was the last drive of my guests’ stay. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end their memorable safari experience at Motswari! Hopefully it won’t be the last time we get to see this remarkable pride all together. It will be interesting to follow their dynamics as they mature. Especially as they head into the abundance of summer in the next few months. The original blog was published on the Motswari blog  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Pondoro Game Lodge
SAFARI UPDATE: Two of the Machaton males were found in the south resting in the shade.  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Sun safaris
A warning look to the hyenas and vultures that gather menacingly around the scene of the crime, desperate to get in on this meal of buffalo. Mazopa males  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Trilogy Male lion
Trilogy Male lion has been around a lot lately mating with the resident Monwana females . Location: thornybush_collection. Image by Greg Morambo (January 2018)
From: Tintswalo
The Manyeleti Game Reserve has been cooking during the last week! Literally and figuratively! The temperatures have been soaring comfortably above the 30’s and the sightings were tremendous from north to south! Unfortunately, there is still no sign of the legendary Selati and Matimba male lions, but at least we can share images of some new and old faces that visited this unspoilt environment throughout the week! There were a couple of surprises! One of the old Avoca male lions and his Red rd lionesses were found in the northern parts of the central areas on two buffalo kills. Luckily for them the site of the kill was close to Kokomoya dam and they could quench their thirst regularly before they could melt in the excessive heat! The pride consisted of the gigantic Avoca male and four lionesses with their two cubs thats approximately a year old. These Red rd lionesses are some of the biggest girls we’ve ever seen and on one occasion, one of the lionesses demonstrated from top to bottom how important it is for hyenas to sometimes be patient and wait their turn! Because of the pronounced condition these lionesses find themselves in, the lone Avoca male is well fed and in tip top shape himself. The beloved Mbiri pride of lions has still been enjoying the area around Tintswalo Manor house and the lodge! The pride of five lionesses and their eight cubs are still separated into two groups most of the time and fortunately, no cubs has succumbed to rival males in the surrounding areas. The lone Thanda Impi male lion Scorro hasn’t been seen for quite some time and his current whereabouts is sadly unknown. A surprise visit by a male known as Nkuhuma ‘junior’ and his partner in the far north close to sky beds dam was refreshing! Apparently these two unrelated males that we haven’t seen for quite some time, were found chasing the three younger Avoca males in the early morning hours of the 16th at Skybeds dam. That same afternoon, we only found two of the younger Avoca males south of the dam in a thicket escaping the heat. There were no sign of ‘junior’ and his coalition member at the time, but close by, three young unknown lionesses enjoyed a drink at the dam! These ladies never saw the males until the males decided to come out of the thicket. The lionesses didn’t seem to interested but for the young Avocas, it was love at first sight! The males approached with caution, scanning the vicinity for males that could accompany the lionesses and realized there was none whatsoever. They followed the three females, vocalising frequently until we lost visual of them as they aimed north towards Kruger. The Giraffe male lions were found much further towards the south east of the central Manyeleti towards main camp on a buffalo kill! Not far from where they were, four individuals of the Nharu pride was found. We speculate that these males might have forced the Nharu’s from their much needed kill! Red rd lionesses  *This image is copyright of its original author Old Avoca 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 Patner of nkuhuma male 'junior'  *This image is copyright of its original author Young Avoca males  *This image is copyright of its original author
I posted it on the Kruger's thread, I thought they were still there.
Any idea where exactly they are?  (01-19-2018, 10:30 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: I posted it on the Kruger's thread, I thought they were still there. From Tintswalo blog, I read that they were chasing the 3 younger Avocas around and the report says they were able to see only 2 Avocas later.. They must be in Timbavati few days ago.. (01-19-2018, 10:44 PM)vinodkumarn Wrote:(01-19-2018, 10:30 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: I posted it on the Kruger's thread, I thought they were still there. Junior is taking revenge for his father..Hairy Belly :)
From Tintswalo Update & Photos by Alistair Leuner while Christof Shoeman is on leave!
SAFARI UPDATE: The Young Avoca Males Make a Return to Manyeleti The game viewing over the past few days at Tintswalo has been incredible. We have been inundated with Male lions. The young Avocas made a strong return in the south west near Pungwe camp, trailing a huge herd of 500 buffalo and making their presence known by roaring into the night. In the South, the 2 Birmingham males were found with the Nkuhuma pride on a buffalo kill which they finished off very quickly. We are sure that the young Avocas won't venture to far South or they will meet up with 4 powerful Birmingham males. It would be much better for them to head to the central regions of the reserve which seems to be the home of the Mothlawareng pride. They do have 2 young males but the Avocas will be too much of a force for them to hold off. The Lone Thanda Impi was also found in the central reserve looking healthy and also calling one morning. He seems to be a complete nomad as the Nharu pride and Mbiri Pride were all found the past few days and the Thanda Impi never seemed to join either of these prides. As we move further North, the Giraffe male was found around Tintswalo looking very thin and worse for wear. His limp on his back leg looks quite bad and he has been alone but constantly looking for his coalition partners. The Avoca male and red road pride was also found in the north feeding off a young kudu. This male still looks great and the pride is doing really well with 3 females and 2 youngsters. Young Avoca males  *This image is copyright of its original author Old Avoca male  *This image is copyright of its original author The Giraffe 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 Avoca/Giraffe male  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits Pondoro
ARE THE MACHATON MALES HERE TO STAY? POSTED ON FEBRUARY 9, 2018 AT 1:28 PM. During the first quarter of 2017 the lion dynamics around Pondoro was as normal as could be with the Mohlabetsi coalition (6 males at the time) being the dominant territory holders and unchallenged by the surrounding coalitions. Their territory covered our entire traversing area ( +- 12 000 ha) and more, although there were 2 young males (+- 3,5 years old) from the Kudyela pride and another 4 young males (+-4 years old) from the River pride they didn’t dare challenge the larger coalition. That soon all changed one morning when the tracks of three large males were called in over the radio. It wasn’t long there after when they were found, at first there was quite the speculation on who these males are or even where they came from. A few weeks later, with the help of social media followers, it was found that these males are known as the Machaton males and originate from the Timbavati. Reports suggested that the where about of the coalition was somewhat unknown for a few months prior to their reappearance and have brought along a lot of happiness to their followers. From day one the Machaton males were serious contenders for the territory of the Mohlabetsi coalition, that was clearly seen when the big Mohlabetsi male went unseen for almost 3 weeks. It wasn’t long after when the first casualty happened and only the remains of Blondie was found in the center of what was then just the aftermath of a big battle which he unfortunately lost. That was the ultimate blow for the Mohlabetsi coalition and they were slowly seen less and less until no sighting of them have been reported for months now. The Machaton males have put fear in the remaining coalitions and they too have disappeared, but they have managed to win the trust of the Kudyela lionesses. These males have now made it their priority in protecting these lionesses and future offspring against any other males. We can confirm that at least one of the Kudyela lionesses currently has 3 cubs around 3-4 weeks stashed in a well chosen den site. The Machaton males have now successfully fathered cubs and the answer to the question is made quite simple, they now have more reason than before to stay and ensure the safety of not only the females but now their own offspring too. |
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