There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
I missed the Makhulu discussion but he wasn't born into the Sparta pride unless MalaMala failed to properly recognize the missing Sparta subadult of the same age ( which is a possibility MalaMala mentions IIRC ), he had a hard time joining the pride and wasn't seen being accepted by his supposed mother or littermate sister which I think he'd easily be if he was the missing Sparta subadult.
He isn't from the Tsalala pride either.
The most obvious guess would be the Charleston pride. Charlestons were neighbors to the Spartas with overlapping territory so it'd be easy for Makhulu to wonder a bit and meet the Spartas.
Ximunghwes were very far away in the West, he'd have to venture very far from his natal area to find the Sparta pride, very unlikely for a 1,5yo subadult to do.
His age also matches up perfectly well for being a second generation of WSM offspring in the Charleston pride. Rollercoasters were born in 1996 and MalaMala estimates Makhulu was born in late 1998.
If this is true, what probably happened was that Makhulu was too young to follow his RC brothers and with the Charleston pride abandoned, he was forced to leave under pressure of the 2 new dominant males of the Charleston prde ( I forgot their name ), he moved off a little bit north and joined the Sparta pride.