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The Mighty Mapogos
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@Majingilane fantastic post about Kinky tail, he's such an amazing male lion, alongside mr.T one of the most aggressive lion I've ever seen, when they kill that Majingilane male it's just horrific, powerful and amazing to see.
keep up this work, I really appriciate it! 
Thank you @Pantherinae .
And I think the same about that fight. And it's interesting that both Mapogo brothers, aside the roars, were silent when they were fighting the Majingilane, while he was very vocal, roaring, growling and making that horrific sound that gives you goosebumps. The same with the four Majingilane, except the victory roars, they were pretty silent and Kinky tail was all growls and defiance. Lions are such amazing creatures. And sometimes they are such a contradiction. Social but independent. Dependent from their brothers but at the same time arrogant, proud and stupidly brave on their own. Maybe this is why we male humans find them so appealing and interesting.
Thank you @vizions I'm really grateful for this. I don't know when they will air it here, so it's great to have the chance to watch it.
I think it's quite a good documentary. Maybe not extremely perfect, from a Mapogo hardcore fan point of view, but for the rest of the people that knows little about lions, it's great. Overall, it's a great watch, a must watch I would say for any lion fan, especially the fighting sequences of both fights against the Majingilane and the Selati males. So again, thank you. 
I agree with you @Majingilane. Not great for people who knows the real Mapogo story but great for all the lions lovers. That's better than nothing i guess
There's a lot of mistakes and they used a lot of non-Mapogo videos. But i understand them, making a post-mortem documentary isn't an easy task. They named Pretty Boy "Scar", Rasta "Pretty Boy" and Dreadlocks "Rasta". That's a lot of mess-up! And Mr.T was crazy, but not to the point of how he is pictured in the documentary. He killed the cubs of his brothers, but only because he wasn't with them when they took over the Xim pride and mated with the lionness. And so, he didn't recognize the cubs as family and started to wipe them out.  (06-16-2015, 03:13 AM)'vizions' Wrote: I agree with you @Majingilane. Not great for people who knows the real Mapogo story but great for all the lions lovers. That's better than nothing i guess But why didn't the other brothers attack him for killing their cubs or at least protect their own cubs? I found that most interesting? (06-16-2015, 04:00 AM)'Pckts' Wrote: But why didn't the other brothers attack him for killing their cubs or at least protect their own cubs? I wasn't here to tell the whole story but in my opinion i really doubt the killings were made in front of the others. They had a vast territory and several tribes at that time, and didn't spend 100% of their time with the Xim tribe.
the documentary was better than expected though, as said here.
some videos of east african lions now and then aswell as the names where messed up, but all in all quite desent work, one of the better documentaries of lions in the last 5 years. I liked when rangers told the storries they had witnessed. I really liked Mr.T got attention he was one of the more remarkeble lions I've witnessed, crazy and aggressive as few lions! tfs @vizions (06-16-2015, 05:46 AM)'vizions' Wrote:Makes total sense, males do usually patrol vast ranges and some individuals go off on their own, etc.(06-16-2015, 04:00 AM)'Pckts' Wrote: But why didn't the other brothers attack him for killing their cubs or at least protect their own cubs?
A short video of the two Mapogo males Kinky tail and Mr.T, dated 12 jul. 2009 in the AM drive of the wildearth safari.
Amazing cats they were.
I want to talk about the Mapogo's descendants for this post. In terms of numbers, there's a not a lot of them: there's the 3 Ottawa females, the 4 Mangheni females, and possibly the 2 Ottawa males who went into the KNP in 2012. For such a strong coalition, those numbers aren't impressive.
But then, we have to talk about the "dark" side of thoses numbers: the impact of humans. Not a lof of people know this but the Mapogos had 5 sons in the Sand River Pride in 2009, who were around 2 years old~. Early 2009, the fences of the western sector were washed away by heavy rains and the Sand river pride (2 females adults and the 5 subadults males) broke out of the Sabi Sands reserve. The authorities decided to shot down the entire pride, and the entire pride was wiped out (one male got away but didn't survive alone). Can't imagine how awesome if those 5 had make it to maturity.... Credits to Drew Abrahamson for this sad picture...  *This image is copyright of its original author For the Ximhungwe pride, there was a lot of misfortune due to humans also. 4 subadults ate a rabid dog and had to be put down by the authorities. One Xim lionness was killed by a snare; her 2 sons weren't accepted by the others lionness and died as a result. Dreadlocks was a casualty of poaching also. There could be also others things that never became public and we'll never know about it. I'm not trying to blame the Sabi Sands reserve who are doing their best to protect their wildlife, they are not the one to blame for this record.    *This image is copyright of its original author He needs no introduction, favorite as he is of many here and around the internet. His mane is the source of many of the names he was called. Mohawk mane, Short-maned male, Mr.T A mane that is usually present in young males(as the development goes from the shoulders, the chest and neck, towards finally the forehead) it sayed with him his whole life, giving him the known nickname. He had another name, SaTan and this one was earned due to his almost uncontrolled agression towards other lions, even females and cubs. This one, also, helped him gain a renown reputation among the coalition followers. Mr.T was born in 2002 in the Sparta pride, son of the West street males.With such an amoun of food hunted by his fathers, mother and aunts it was no surprise the young males grew strong and confident.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author When they were kicked out of the pride, though, they weren't alone. Makhulu, their older brother, was with them, and soon they were learning to hunt to feed themselves, and of course, Mr.T was eagerly involved in everything he could.  *This image is copyright of its original author March 2006 was the coalition's first appearence in the western sector, and the 6 strong group soon caused chaos among the local population of lions. Dead rivals, dead females who opposed them, dead cubs who wouldn't be raised by those who weren't their fathers. Of course, he was in the middle of it all the time. Mr.T was a rather small male and his low position in the hierarchy of the coalition led by the powerful Makhulu wasn't something that he liked that much. So, low to no access to females sometimes drove him to attack, injure and even kill females that were actually part of the Mapogo reign and possible mothers for future heirs. This couldn't be tolerated by the older Mapogos much more time and soon the split happened. In 2008 the two younger males, Kinky tail and Mr.T left their brothers, and moved out to the eastern sector, ironically taking for them a bigger part of the vast territory controlled by the coalition. Ah, now it was different! No older brothers bothering with mating rights, only his man Kinky tail to help him reign and conquer anyone who set foot in their land.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Now, it was the time for him to have a mate and be a father.  *This image is copyright of its original author Having a little discussion with one of the Styx females...  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The paradise wouldn't last long. They had a huge territory to cover and between 2008 and 2010 the two sets of Mapogo barely saw each other in the borders of their respective territories, so it was on the two younger Mapogos the responsibility of patrol and defend the eastern land. And then they came, the five Majingilane males. And then they found one, caught him and taught him that no one entered Mapogo land unpunished. ...How quickly everything changed... Mr.T was injured and alone, and soon he realized he couldn't keep his territory, not anymore. He had lost his closest brother, his best friend, the lion who would do anything for him.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author From cubs to adulthood they had been together and now Kinky tail was no more... This could not be. Those bloody amateurs would pay for what they did, and so Mr.T went back to his brothers and rallied them to face the Majingilane males, with a desastrous outcome. Elephant plains was the grave of Rasta and Pretty boy came out badly injured. The eastern sector was lost and they would never come back there. Time passed. Dreadlocks dissapeared and then they were three. Mr.T, Old Mak and Pretty boy. The seasoned warriors were still Mapogos and they stood in control of their land for two more years, hunting, walking and patrolling their territory as always.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author An easy retirement seemed to be the marked future for the three brothers, but of course, this were the Mapogo, and the life of a legend is anything but easy. The beginning of the end started when a new coalition of males re-appeared in the western lands. They had already kicked them out, but this time they were bigger, stronger and they were four. After a couple of minor brawls, the Selati males injured Pretty boy badly and they themselves sustained no major injury. On the morning of the 16th of March of 2012 the two rival forces met for the final time. Makhulu, who was 14 years old and Pretty boy, 12 years old and still carrying the injuries of the last fight, fled for their lives. Mr.T, 10 years old, stayed.  *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  *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 Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even. Muhammad Ali He knew what it was like to have it all. He also knew what taste defeat had. But he stayed and fought. And died. Let his life be an example of what it is to be a male lion, a legend, the one and only, Mr.T.  *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 |
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