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Other male lion coalitions from Masai Mara
Other male lion coalitions from Masai Mara
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Other male lion coalitions from Masai Mara
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Scar, seen by Safari Live.
A couple of details on this video. The presenter says that based on his mane, nose and teeth that Scar is old, more than 10 years old but that is not true. Scar and his brothers are about 8-9 years old. Another thing he mentions is that he's "at least 20% bigger than the Birmingham males, something I don't entirely buy, considering who was the B boys father, But in any case, it is completely awesome to see him. He's magnificent.
Great Plains Conservation:
Well this looks interesting. Leaving Mara Expedition to start our game drive and we see a young male lion running away. He's a subadult from our resident pride and we soon saw what he was running from. There are two very good looking males who have turned up. The dominant males here, Romeo and Mohican are not going to like this at all. These two are roaring but not with too much conviction. It will be enough to alert all the lions in the area though and we should see some interesting behaviour. We'll try and follow and let you know what happens.  *This image is copyright of its original author We can hear who we presume to be Romeo not far away. The two intruders are heading in that direction. They're in incredible condition. Mohican, the other dominant pride male was recently in a fight and still recovering. If these intruders are looking for new territory, they might just have a chance here...  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
Things are moving quickly. The pride is running. The sub adults have all run and the lionesses are moving their cubs. The two intruder males are definitely causing a stir. With one pride male not in his best form after a fight this is a definite possibility for a pride takeover - which is not good news for these cubs.  *This image is copyright of its original author The pride male, Romeo has made his appearance. He's been roaring and drawing the intruder males away from the lionesses and cubs. There's currently a bit of a standoff and Romeo is posturing. There's no sign of his partner Mohican though. Romeo is huge and in great condition but the intruders also look to be very healthy. Romeo would probably not have any trouble fighting one of them, but two...  *This image is copyright of its original author The intruder males are busy assessing their chances with Romeo. They're rolling a lot to cover themselves in the scent of this territory. Nobody is moving just yet but everyone is highly alert. There's been some roaring from both sides but neither side is roaring with absolute conviction. They're about 300m apart. We can't see the lionesses and their Cubs right now. They've disappeared into a thicket. It's up to the males to decide if there's going to be a fight.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
It looks like Romeo is backing off. You can see what perfect condition he's in but unless Mohican has recovered from his fight, Romeo will struggle to beat the two intruders. We can see another lion walking away in the far distance. It must be Mohican. This is certainly turmoil for the pride. The intruders are looking to be in a very strong position. Today might be the start of a new regime. We have lots of mixed feelings right now.  *This image is copyright of its original author The intruders have started following Romeo and who we presume is Mohican. He's still too far away to be sure. It looks like the intruders have decided that this is a territory that they may be able to take!  *This image is copyright of its original author Oh this is not good. We've caught up with Romeo and the other lion who is indeed Mohican. Mohican is not doing well. It looks like he's been in another fight and has fresh wounds. He's limping and walking slowly. He's in no condition to fight. The intruders have seen this and they're starting to run after Mohican and Romeo. We fear that if they catch Mohican he's very likely to be killed.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation
Phew. This is unbelievable. We lost sight of all the lions as they ran into a thicket. We really thought that would be the last we would see of Mohican. But he slithered down a steep bank next to the river and is hiding there. The intruders won't see him. He's growling, but silently so as not to give himself away. Amazingly Romeo called the intruders away and they took off in pursuit of him. They're running quite far away now. We don't know what the day holds but it certainly looks like the intruders are in a very dominant position. It's quite remarkable though that even in a potential life or death situation, Romeo is looking out for his partner. Mohican seems safe for now, but his chances are not looking good. We'll see if we can find the others and will keep updating you.  *This image is copyright of its original author Oh no. Passing by the last place we saw the lionesses and cubs and we heard a mewling. It seems that one of the smallest cubs has got separated and is now lost and alone. We can only hope that the mother comes back for it and that it manages to hide in the meantime. There's no sign of any of the others though. This day has certainly changed things. We're trying to remain positive but this is getting hard.  *This image is copyright of its original author Our guide John is quite remarkable and has found the lionesses and remaining cubs. They're hidden away on the edge of a forested area. They're unlikely to move until they have an idea of what's happening with all the males. The good thing is that we don't think the intruder lions saw them, so they won't be searching for them right now. Unfortunately for the little lost cub, they're about 5km away from him/her. The little thing is going to have to sit tight and hopefully they'll go back when or if it is safe. It's hard but when they are all at risk, they can't hang around and persuade a reluctant, scared cub. We can't stop hearing those tiny calls though... We're going to go and see if we can find Romeo and see what is happening with the males.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
We've had a number of conversations with passing guides. Everyone is trying to figure out who these two new males are. Some think that they come from the Naboisho conservancy and others think they are a pair called Blackie and Lipstick. We're not sure who called a lion Lipstick, but that's not important now. Our guide refuses to believe that these are those two. Everyone seems to be in a slight state of shock. We're still searching for Romeo. In one of the comments by Umar Ali, there was the mention that the intruder males are called Offbeat males, Frank and Jesse. Offbeat Mara Camp: Frank catching a scent in the air Photo credits: Sam Wilson  *This image is copyright of its original author Frank got stuck in, whilst Jesse was left to watch on the side lines  *This image is copyright of its original author Here's a video of one of them:
Great Plains Conservation:
The plot thickens. We've just found one of the intruders on his own out on the plains. If the intruders have been split up and Romeo only has to fight one of them, then there's still a good chance for this pride. The intruders don't know this territory and won't know how many lions are in it. They will be careful that they don't bite off more than they can chew. With everyone split up and potentially at risk, they won't be calling either so as not to bring unwanted attention. It doesn't make finding an ally easy though.  *This image is copyright of its original author We have found Romeo! This was not an easy spot. He's in a very uncomfortable position up a tree that is far too small for him. Maasai Mara lions are definitely not known for their tree-climbing abilities. For a lion this big to take refuge here must have meant that the threat was extreme. From what we can see he looks completely unharmed but highly uncomfortable. We have to admit that it looks like the new males may well take this territory. If so there will be tough times ahead for Romeo. Wild spaces aren't as big as they used to be. There are few places that he can go. The territories around this one are all occupied and then people become more prevalent. This drama is certainly bringing home this fact to us. We need many more protected wild areas.  *This image is copyright of its original author We've sat with Romeo for a while but he's staying put. He's so uncomfortable and keeps shifting around but seems to feel that he's safer where he is. We've just heard though that there are two more lions on the scene! There had been earlier speculation that a pair called Blackie and Lipstick were the intruders. We've discounted that but it now seems that the true Blackie and Lipstick, having heard all the commotion have come to this same stretch of forest to investigate what is happening. This is unbelievable. 6 male lions in one area? How on earth is this going to end? We're going to see if we can find them.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
Because things needed to be more dramatic, a storm has hit us. We've temporarily abandoned the search for Blackie and Lipstick and have rejoined the intruder waiting on his own out on the plains. We're told he might be one of the Offbeat males called Frank. We still haven't seen any sign of the second intruder. We're all getting pretty wet. The rain might push these cats to do something though. We'll just have to wait and see.  *This image is copyright of its original author The other intruder has just turned up. We've been informed that he is known as Jesse and is one of the Offbeat males. It's really strange but he's just standing staring at the other intruder as if he's not sure this is his lion. The intruder we've been waiting with is not even aware of Jesse. It's still raining hard and he has his head dipped down against it.  *This image is copyright of its original author We don't really know how to explain what just happened with the two intruders. Frank finally saw Jesse and they stared at each other for a minute. Frank then got up and let out a roar. Jesse immediately turned tail and ran with Frank in hot pursuit. We have absolutely no idea why. Perhaps they have heard Blackie and Lipstick and think that there are more lions defending this territory. The problem for them is that they have just run directly into the next territory and where we hear that Blackie and Lipstick are. We have a feeling there's a lot more to this story to come. Especially as we can hear roaring! We'd better follow.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
We found who was making all that roaring. Let us introduce you to Lipstick and Blackie. Our guide John is over the moon to see them as its been a long time since they've been here. They're not far from where we saw the lost cub and Mohican and must be on the edge of their territory. The good news for Romeo and the rest of the pride is that they are now between the pride and the intruders and they are heading towards the intruders, scent marking and roaring loudly. These are not the slightly tentative roars we heard earlier when all the lions were unsure of themselves. These lions are completely confidant and they are running towards where the intruders disappeared into the forest edge. Apparently they are not going to tolerate strange males in their territory. The tables have suddenly turned yet again!  *This image is copyright of its original author The intruders are running from Blackie and Lipstick! And away from Romeo and Mohican's pride!  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Plains Conservation:
Well, would you look at that! Please excuse the quality of the photo but it's almost completely dark. We decided that we weren't going to find any of the male lions in the dark so are heading back slowly. We thought we'd quickly check on the females and look what we've found. One of the lionesses leading a very small, scared cub back to the others! This is the little lost scrap who obviously did an excellent job of remaining hidden all day. The lionesses would have heard all the roaring and decided that there was enough distraction that they could go in search of their lost cub. We can't quite believe this. We certainly didn't think today would turn out so well. What a relief. Who knew fairy tales happened in real life?  *This image is copyright of its original author Reunited. Again, please excuse the photo. We shall have to practice some night photography. The cub is back with the others and being fussed over hugely by all the others. We feel quite emotional after such a tense day when we certainly didn't think things would end like this. We'll leave them now and catch up with them in the morning. It's (hopefully) unlikely that anything else will happen tonight. It's time for a stiff drink and some dry clothes. Thanks for all your comments and sorry to flood your social feeds. We did not envisage things getting so out of hand! What a day.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Earless, credits to NiStar Photography.
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Mara Lion Project
Tatu and Red, who have separated from the Marsh pride, are currently in Mara North Conservancy trying their luck with a few Cheli pride females. The boys have caused some disruption in the Cheli pride forcing a sub-group of 4 Cheli females to leave their 8, 2-year-old offspring. This way, the females can occupy the males in order to protect the 8 youngsters.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author A few weeks ago we posted that we found Red and Tatu in the northern part of Mara North Conservancy. A few days ago we saw them again but this time a younger male, also a disperser from the Marsh pride, called Topknot, had joined forces with Red and Tatu.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Blackie today
Photo Credit- Rekero/Onesmus  *This image is copyright of its original author
Roaring Rongai Lion
He is a great leader and always kind to his family. He eats with the little ones and the females, without differences with them. I had a great time with the big pride. Credits to Maggy Meyer  *This image is copyright of its original author Credits to Kyle de Nobrega  *This image is copyright of its original author
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