The Tailless female, known by some as BB, must be one of the most well known lions in the Sabi Sands. Identified simply as the Lioness without a tail she is the leader of the renowned Tsalala Pride.
Her tragedy dates back to a hot December in 2005 when she was defiantly trying to protect a carcass from marauding hyenas. Outnumbered, the hyenas caught her and proceeded to rip off her tail just above the base.
Past rangers speculate that she went into hiding and as her condition deteriorated she proceeded to bite the remaining stump off of her tail to prevent further infection. In an amazing show of strength and resilience she pulled through the incident but 3 months later, in March 2006, her litter was down to two males. The Shaw’s Male would later kill one cub and the other would become another legend in his own right, the Tsalala Young Male a.k.a. Solo.
The Tailless female is an elderly lioness born in 1998. She is one lioness who steals the hearts of everyone who comes to know her story. What is striking about her is how much she has gone through in her life. She has witnessed the poaching of her brother by local villagers, the arrival and seemingly evident demise of the Mapogo, and the purging of predators, both lion and leopard, by the intimidating Majingilane brothers.
She is a die-hard, a lioness who is willing to dig deep to ensure the survival of her pride. She has currently taken on the role of a grandmother and teacher, looking after the four sub-adult females born around Feb/March 2009. The other four youngsters, born at the same time, have already succumbed to the onslaught of the Majingilanes.
The Tailless female’s two daughters from 2002 are currently separated from the remainder of the pride. One of these females is believed to have two cubs denned up on Stweiss Koppies, whilst the other has been seen repeatedly mating with the Majingilane brothers.
Written by: Adam Bannister
Hope you all enjoy this. This is the first of what will be a weekly blog series titled THE LIONS. We will dig deep into the coalitions, prides and individual lions that call Londolozi home. Feel free to comment so we can debate and grow the profiles of these magnificent cats! Enjoy
Thanks Adam, looking forward to unpacking the different characters and dynamics of these special cats that move through the wilderness of the Sabi Sands and Kruger National Park.
The Tale of BB is Very Amazing Because as Things Stand Today the Survival of Last 4 Tsalala Offspring of Legendary Mapogo Kinky Tail Depends on Her Skills,I Still Remember in Year 2006 BB and Solo were deep into Styx Pride Territory When they Bumped into Split Rock Male Lion(Father of Solo) and There was a Lot of Roaring and Chaos by the Male which turned out to be a Spectacular Sighting,Another Most Amazing thing is That the Rollercoaster/Shaw Coalition Killed Solo’s Brother Whereas Solo was Later Accepted By Both Rollercoaster/Shaw Male and Sparta Pride.
Sometimes out of every species there is one that shines above the rest, I feel this lady is one of those a legend in her own right. After reading all the blogs I think she has a hard road ahead of her getting those sub adult females to adult hood and I really hope she can do so as with the demise of lions in the wild losing them would be a great loss.
Just a query what age do these females need to be before the Majingilanes look at them as potential mating partners and not something that they feel needs to be disposed off.
Kerry, at about the age of 4 years, most lionesses will begin to come into oestrus and will be receptive to mating. The Majingilanes might decide to let a sub-adult lioness live if they view her as a potential mating partner, however if they come across other males, young or old, they will more than likely want to kill them. Does that answer you question?
Very unique individual. It does make you wonder if lions are like us-some cunning and others stupid? While other prides have been vanquished-she not only managed to raise two daughters to adulthood, but one son as well-Solo. Now she is raising the four daughters/grand daughters by herself too. All on her own-pretty amazing!
Kk, I do believe that there are varying degrees of intellect amongst all animals and that their intellectual quotient plays a role in determining the success. Of course, their upbringing and life experiences all play a role in how smart, cunning or thoughtful they have to be about their survival. The Tailless female has suffered huge degrees of adversity and I am sure that this has led her to develop the tenacious attitude of survive and protect at all costs. I sadly wonder if she knows anything else….?
Really fun we saw Tailless female on our visit! But I don’t get who the “Majingilanes” are?
The Majingilanes are 4 young male lions who have become the dominant males in most of Londolozi and the surrounding areas. You can find out more about them on the following links:
http://blog.londolozi.com/2010/12/majingilane-murder/
http://blog.londolozi.com/2011/01/lion-warfare-an-update-part-6/
http://blog.londolozi.com/2011/01/the-demise-of-the-tsalala-pride-an-update/
http://blog.londolozi.com/2010/09/lion-warfare-an-update-part-5/
But shé a beauty! What a pitty she lost her tail…glad she made it, a lions lifeis not the Royal one people seem to think….
Thank you. And I have another question too. The Majingilanes enemies (´the three younger brothers+a bit older male that ran away when the Majingilanes came´), who are waiting to grow up, to beat the Majinglanes. What are they called? Have they some kind of name together (such as the Majingilanes or Mapogos)? Thanks again.
BB was our first lion upon arrival in South Africa. She had a male cub and a young male with her in May, 2008. Do you know where they might be now?
Hi Jo
I started working at Londolozi in January 2009 and at that stage the tsalala Pride where on the verge of having the 8 cubs between the 3 mothers. 4 of these cubs have been killed by the majingilanes and 4 are alive and kicking, staying close to the supportive tail-less female. As for your question I am not sure but if they were small in May 2008 then they must have been killed as they certainly were never around when I arrived on the scene. I will check with some of the rangers who have been here a bit longer to find out what happened to that litter!
Jo if the lion you are talking about was a sub-adult male then it may well be the Tsalala Young Male. Have a look at the blog post dedicated to this magnificent male and see if his story rings any bells. enjoy!
Indeed Adam ; I saw a photo With BB , Solo as young male and a very young male cub from the next litter , all togheter . The young cub was killed by 2 Mlowathi males and Solo escaped and became member of Sparta pride . So Jo could still see BB and Solo alive !!
I loved these Lion series! Shame that they stopped or did you run out of lions? 😉
At the moment we have profile all of the lions that move in and around Londolozi, however we will get another series going in the near future. Thanks for your comments and interest.
Gosh! Londolozi does such great blogs; thank you for this one
Pleasure Jody, glad you found it interesting. Rich
Hi Rich saw her last week when we visited Londolozi and she look in really great shape…… Stong as a lion!! How is the other lioness doing who has just lost her tail to Hyenas?
She is also doing much better since the incident. The wound on the tail seems to be healing slowly and when I saw her this morning, it looked better than I have seen it in a long time.
I am very pleased to finally see a photo of this persevering female lion. I am presently reading the older blogs in order to learn more about Londolozi. And finally, I see her.