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The Mighty Mapogos
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Credits to Mitchell Krog.
"The Ghost in the Darkness" The very famous Mr T (Mohawk) from the Mapogo Lion Coalition / Mlowathi's that once ruled the Sabi Sands Reserve in South Africa. This photo was taken after sunset as Mr T and Shaka (aka Kinky Tail) awoke after a long day's sleep to head off hunting. They did indeed have a big meal that night as we found them and their cubs the next morning at a waterhole with their belly's stuffed to the brim. Lighting was from a torch on the game vehicle.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Mitchell Krog.
"King Shaka" The famous Shaka (aka Kinky Tail) from the Mapogo Lion Coalition (Mlowathi's) that once ruled the Sabi Sands Reserve. This photo taken at dusk with only pure & natural light.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Mitchell Krog.
Mr T of the Mapogo Lion Coalition with one of the young and playful cubs coming to look for trouble.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Mitchell Krog.
"Challenging Dad" One of the Mapogo lion cubs being very playful and naughty with Mr T (Mohawk).  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Joann Gould.
I saw this comment by Juliet Ong and really liked her story: i had a little story from 2010 back then. it was the first time i followed these boys of ours. my friend complained to me, "why do you like this one so much? other lions are more beautiful. look at his mane!" that time, i looked at her funnily and answered, "a knight in shining armor is someone whose metal hasn't been truly tested"  *This image is copyright of its original author
This is one of the Lioness that was with Mr T and Shaka on the morning many of my images of them were taken.
I would assume this lioness was mother to some of the cubs as she was very patient with the playful youngsters. She came down to drink from the dam and the cubs of course followed her, one learning to drink like his Mom and the others getting up to Mischief. Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author .
Setting the Scene
This wide angle photo taken shortly after we arrived with the Mapogo lions this morning. It shows Mr T lying down with his stuffed belly and many cubs all over the place. Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
When I am eventually done getting through all these Mapogo photo's from 2009 I am going to have to piece them all together into one long story.
I came across this photo however this morning which paints the scene for what we encountered or were about to encounter that morning. The sun rising, the fresh smell of the African bush and our guide pointing across towards the dam saying to the driver "Mapogo" and boy did we get a treat that morning with the Mapogo once we arrived at the dam and stopped. Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
One Day, One Day soon, I will have big teeth like my Dad.
One of Mr.T's adorable cubs showing his little teeth off for the camera. Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
Ok so Mapogo fans, let's really kick the first weekend of 2018 off with a bang.
Here's a second unreleased image of Shaka aka Kinky Tail drinking from a lake after sunset before he and T went off on another rampage into the dark bush. As I did yesterday on the Mr.T/SaTan Mapogo group, I am only posting these images today in this group (The Mapogo Lions) and will only post them elsewhere in a day or two's time so they are here only for the members of this group to enjoy today. They do not even appear on my own Facebook page yet  *This image is copyright of its original author ?This image was taken on 2009-08-13 at 17:48:23 after sunset. The lighting is entirely from a handheld torch which our guide was using to light up his face. I had to do some careful processing to bring out the true magic of this photo and I hope I succeeded in that. Hope you all enjoy this one. Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Warrior Mr T
I promised Tee Mapogo I would share any stories or experiences about the Mapogo. I was very lucky to have captured images of Mr T in 2009 both the day before and day after a big hunt. The morning after at the watering hole, T and Shaka were together with some of their females and lots of cubs. When we arrived T and Shaka were drinking at the little dam very unperturbed by any of us or the game vehicles but certainly quite aware of our presence. T had his morning drink and then stood and looked off across the dam towards where the females and cubs were playing. He then walked towards us and right by the side of the vehicle and for those who have never been to Sabi Sands the vehicles are rather open and exposed. So it's a bit spine chilling when a beast like this walks right past the vehicle and could very easily climb in if he wanted to and he was close enough you could reach out and touch him but no thank you  *This image is copyright of its original author :DHe then just walked casually past the vehicle in no rush at all but also somewhat checking us out that we were no threat to his cubs or family and then just walked to where the cubs were playing and plonked himself down. Then the fun began with the cubs starting to play with him and annoy him. Being the warrior he had come to be known as and having a somewhat grumpy face that morning and a short temper he was actually extremely good with the cubs even though they persisted to continually annoy him. It was a very interesting sighting and experience so see a serious force to be reckoned with be so gentle with his offspring. This was such a magical morning to sit and watch them and something I will never forget. You can see a very familiar tail sticking in from the left of the frame in the one photo. Writing and Photo Credits to Mitchell Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Shaka aka Kinky Tail resting after a nights hunting with Mr T. Check that fat full tummy.
Credits to Mitchelle Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
Mr.T Mapogo
Confirmation of a big meal the night before Credits to Mitchelle Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
Mlowathis Mr.T and Kinky Tail
Taken on 2009-08-14 at 06:39:13 just as the sun had risen. Credits to Mitchelle Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author
Ohhh ohhhh ohhhhhh ..... here comes trouble
For one, I cannot part with a single photo containing Mr T, no matter if he was out of focus in this photo or not it still tells a story. The cubs and their reactions to him getting angry for me are priceless. Even after this Mr T remained super calm with his cubs despite them continuing to annoy him constantly. It goes to show that a fearless Warrior like T had a soft side too. Credits to Mitchelle Krog  *This image is copyright of its original author |
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