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Lions of Timbavati
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 (07-31-2018, 09:05 PM)Peteporker Wrote: From Ngala Game Reserve Who are the current males for the Birmingham pride? Avoca/Giraffe? (07-31-2018, 09:55 PM)Matimbalani Wrote:Yes, the Avoca/Giraffe males used to be dominant over the Birmingham pride. I think they might have abandoned them and seemed to be chasing the break away girls (Nahru pride sisters to the Birmingham boys) as Tintnsawalo reported them close to the Nahru pride.(07-31-2018, 09:05 PM)Peteporker Wrote: From Ngala Game Reserve
27 July 2018
http://www.tandatula.com/blog/posts/a-we...n-pictures A week of ample game viewing in pictures Chad Cocking Another week has come and gone in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, and it has been another fantastic few days of game viewing at Tanda Tula Safari Camp. Despite a week of rather chilly, windy and not overly-pleasant weather, the glorious Lowveld winter days have returned, and the big blue African skies are once more keeping us company. Following the blog post about “Lion dynamics of Tanda Tula”, things remained interesting in this part of the Greater Kruger Park. For the majority of the period since my last report, the two Mbiri males have been absent from the Zebenine Pride’s territory. Their focus remains firmly on the Mayambula Pride with their distant roars only occasionally reaching our camp. The lack of their presence has once more allowed the River Pride to push deeper into the Zebenine Pride’s territory, and we yet again found the nine River Pride members close to the Zebenine lionesses den site. Fortunately though, after stealing an impala kill from a pack of African wild dogs, the River Pride moved off to the east and away from the den site. The Zebenine lionesses are doing well, but remaining very much out of sight with the cubs. The cold weather no doubt making the dense riverine vegetation a great deal more appealing than sitting out in the open riverbed! When we have seen them, the two lionesses have been looking in great condition and are clearly feeding well. A couple of days back, they were found feeding on a large zebra that they had managed to catch. Sadly however, the hyenas succeeded in chasing them off the kill during the night and finished off whatever was left. This is another situation that could have been avoided if the Mbiri males had been around. Their visit the previous day didn’t bring them into contact with the lionesses before they headed back to the south-east. Good news is that they too are looking in good shape. All their wounds seem to have healed nicely, and simply add to their already impressive scar count.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Tintswalo Safari Lodge
Safari Update Another productive and exciting week has passed in the Manyeleti Game Reserve at Tintswalo Safari Lodge! The lion dynamics haven't changed much since the last update other then the Mothlawareng pride being back in the north after their stint to the south of the reserve. ... This pride was possibly chased off a kill by the Avoca/Giraffe males after they were all found with full bellies not far away from a buffalo carcass with some jackal and hyena busy finishing the scraps. After this possible encounter, the Mothlawareng male with the limp was missing from the pride and his new coalition partner, the Red road male was the only one found with the pride. The Mbiri pride of lions remained in the area around Tintswalo and we caught up with them and the Nharhu pride on a few occasions during the week. Both pride dynamics seemed to be unchanged and they are all in great condition. Mothlawareng male that is missing:  *This image is copyright of its original author Giraffe male  *This image is copyright of its original author Young Mbiri male:  *This image is copyright of its original author Red Road male coalition partner of the Mothlawareng male  *This image is copyright of its original author
looks like the Mbiri males are on on their way to take over the Myambula pride.
Umlani Bushcamp, August 6, 2018 On saturday night the reason for the Mbiris movements south and being absent for so long became apparent, they have been mating with the Myambula pride females, we found the two males and 3 of the Myambula females resting in between bouts of mating, interestingly it is the smaller of the 2 Mbiris that has mating rights over the females and the larger one was left to watch from a distance.  *This image is copyright of its original author (07-15-2018, 09:00 PM)Fredymrt Wrote: Junior Nkuhuma & Buddy with Skorro pride Photo credits to Ziggi Hugo I always thought that Juniors buddy was the lost magheni male. if you look at the old pic's it looks like him. (08-06-2018, 11:34 PM)swtlei4u Wrote:He does look like the lost mangheni male. They have the same stout frame as well. Any old photos of the lost male to do a comparison?(07-15-2018, 09:00 PM)Fredymrt Wrote: Junior Nkuhuma & Buddy with Skorro pride Photo credits to Ziggi Hugo
LION UPDATE- Mbiri males and Myambula pride
It has been quite a change not hearing the familiar roars of the mighty Mbiris just north of our camp every night as they remained in the vicinity of the Zebinine pride and their cubs, it seemed the males weren't straying too far from their youngsters and new females which was good as their constant presence keep threats like hyenas or even other lions away from the den site. But male lions are males after all and with both lionesses from the Zebinine pride occupied with their cubs the males were left to seek out other females, females they can mate with and in turn increase their stronghold over the central Timbavati by spreading their genes. It appears that the Mbiri males have found what they were looking for, in the form of the Myambula pride, a pride consisting of 5 adult lionesses, and apparently no dominant male lions ruling the pride although that hasn't been confirmed as we do not see the pride enough, this makes for a relatively easy pride take over. One of the lionesses has been seen with small cubs which either signals that the Mbiri males have already laid claim to this pride some time ago or they have dispatched the previous dominant male/s of the Myambula pride. There was a young male that was with the Myambulas however he no longer is seen, what happened can only be guessed, did he get chased off by the Mbiris? Was he caught and killed by the Mbiris? We don't know and can only speculated as to what happened to him. But which ever scenario it was the Mbiris have taken over the pride and are now cementing themselves as the dominant males of the Myambulas. A couple of nights ago, we found both Mbiri males with 3 of the Myambula lionesses, the larger Mbiri was resting with 2 lionesses while the smaller male was coupled up with the third lioness. Interestingly it is the smaller male who seems to be the more dominant of the 2 males, often muscling out the larger male even when testing the scent of a female to find out her reproductive status. This is unusual as the larger males with their full dark manes carry more testosterone which not only makes them bigger but also more aggressive and defaults them into the dominant position of a coalition, but this is not the case with the Mbiri males, the heavily scarred face of the smaller male in comparison to the relatively untouched larger male tells a different story, and the big male is left to watch his brother mate from a distance and any attempt to approach the lioness in season is met with thunderous growls from the other male. Here are a few photos from that sighting:  *This image is copyright of its original author It is unbelievable how animals have the ability to heal while living out in the harsh environments of the bush, a few weeks back this male looked as if he had potentially lost an eye, now that wound is just another scar to add to his tally. *This image is copyright of its original author One of the Myambula lionesses rests next to the smaller Mbiri male in between mating sessions, the male however, was ever watchful and tried to mate at every movement the lioness made even if it was just to re-position her head. *This image is copyright of its original author This has to be one of the meanest looking lions I have ever seen, his scarred face and amber gaze add to the intensity when he looks at you. *This image is copyright of its original author A striking feature of the Myambula lionesses is how beautiful they are, they are big healthy looking lionesses and perhaps now that they have the protection of the Mbiri males we will begin to see more of this pride. *This image is copyright of its original author At one point the males frustrations and impatience proved to much for him and he tried mating with the lioness while she was asleep, this was met with an angry response from the lioness which sent one of the other lionesses running off into the shadows, the male then quickly made his way over to were the lioness had run from and started sniffing the area to see if she was perhaps ready to mate. *This image is copyright of its original author The Mbiri male showing the Flehmen response as he tests the scent of the lioness to gauge whether she is ready to mate or not. *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Once things had calmed down a bit, we decided to leave the lions to their somewhat turbulent love lives and head back to camp. Hopefully this is the start of more sightings of this pride as the Mbiris continue to bring some sort of stability to the area, something that has been lacking for some time now. Written & photographed by: Greg McCall-Peat
Anyone knows how the 4th Machaton male was killed or what happened to him? There were four when they ousted the Mohlabetsi males. Did he succumb to injuries when the attacked and killed the large Mohlabetsi male? The updates just trails off and never really mentions the fourth male.
Here's a Sarafi update from Pondoro Game Lodge Safari August 2, 2018. This morning the highlight was seeing all 3 Machaton males with 6 Kudyela lionesses and 8 cubs all together, with the cubs all cuddled up.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Ezulwini Game Lodges, August 8, 2018
SAFARI NEWS!!! Yesterday morning, 4 male lions were spotted on game drive. This coalition has ventured into our area 3 times in the last few months. In the past, the Machatons have successfully chased them away however, these new males seem to be growing in strength and bravado. Only time will tell whether the Machaton reign is at an end. PHOTO CREDIT: Jaxon Kraemer, current guest at Ezulwini Game Lodges. Thank you Jaxon for sharing!  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Tintswalo Safari Lodge, August 12, 2018
The lions as always have fulfilled their part this week, the main focus this week was the Avoca male lions in the South. These 3 boys seem to have settled completely in the South and mating with numerous females. We had 2 males mating with different females from the Talamati pride we think! News from the Sabi Sands is that the other male is mating with a Nkuhuma female. These males seem to be getting no resistance from the Birmingham males in the Sabi Sands. The Mbiri pride are doing well with the young Nharu male growing in size every day and still making no attempt to join his orginal pride. The Nharu pride is also doing well and we saw 10 of them all together this week. The Koppies pride was also seen this week aswell as the 3 Giraffe/Avoca males still doing their rounds in the Central Manyeleti and stealing kills from the Nharu and Mbiri prides. Let’s hope we have new males moving into the North soon! News from the South today was the the Nkuhuma pride and Talamati were in very close proximity of each around a buffalo carcass. We are heading down there today so stay tuned for next week’s update! Written by Alistair Leuner Pictures by Alistair Leuner, Andrew Kirton and Jacques Du Toit  *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
The less mature looking of the two Mbiri's is not as broad headed or big maned as his brother, but he is a scary lion imo. The length and the fluidity of movement, coupled with the intense gaze suggests something exceptional. He looks to have a frame as big as Hairy Belly and it will be interesting to see how he fills it out.
Credit: Tanda Tula, video by Ant Collett, posted May 13, 2018 (08-22-2018, 05:41 AM)Herekitty Wrote: The less mature looking of the two Mbiri's is not as broad headed or big maned as his brother, but he is a scary lion imo. The length and the fluidity of movement, coupled with the intense gaze suggests something exceptional. He looks to have a frame as big as Hairy Belly and it will be interesting to see how he fills it out. Both the Mbiri's have a very menacing energy about them--sort of similar to looking at a tightly wound spring that you know is about to go off. Slit Nose had the same gravitas though with much less menace.
Credit: Timbavati Game Reserve, image by Wayne Donaldson, posted August 27, 2018
When the big boy shows himself on your last morning safari ". It was a magical morning hearing the loud roar before sunrise. This was my first sighting of this magnificent male known as " The Black Dam Male ". Referred to above as the Black Dam male, this guy is in fact his successor known as the Giraffe male. He is incredibly tolerant of his cubs. Credit: video by Darren Rentzke at Thornybush, posted September 9, 2018 And the way he lopes around with his head swinging side to side really reminds me of Mfumo. Credit: video by Darren Rentzke at Thornybush, posted August 29, 2018
Tintswalo Update:
On the lion front the Mbiri pride has been around the lodge almost every day. They managed to bring down a giraffe and wildebeest this week. The Nharu pride seems to have joined up with the 3 Giraffe/Avoca males making this pride 12 now. They managed to bring down a large buffalo this week. The Koppies Pride and Red Road male were seen this week as well, The Road Road male and Koppies male looks like they have teamed up with the 2 young Birmingham males, as they were all found on buffalo kill together. The Avoca males killed a buffalo in the South and were joined by the Nkuhuma pride briefly. The Talamati pride was also seen in the South. Where else in the World...?  *This image is copyright of its original author
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