Remembering the past often helps to explain current events. Hence, I feel it useful to wind back the clock a few years and write about a great lion of the past.
The Shaw’s Male (aka Rollercoaster Male) was born into the Castleton Pride in 1996. The same pride which ultimately gave us the Tsalala Pride. Once a coalition of 6, the Shaw’s Males looked, at times, to be en-route to greatness. This was cut short, however, by impeding lion attacks. Between 2001 and 2006 these 6 males had been whittled down to just 2. Although they did suffer numerous setbacks this did not stop them from becoming dominant over the Selati (2003), Sparta (2006) and then Styx (2007) Prides. Sadly, in June 2007, a crocodile at Londolozi killed one of the remaining two brothers. A harsh reminder of the ingenuity of these reptiles and the vulnerability of even the great ‘Kings of the Jungle’.
Shaws Male by Lee Ann Heringer
The lone Shaw’s Male continued to control the Sparta and Styx pride well into his old age but the loss of his brother was telling on his physical condition. Daily scraps and hunts left him ragged and without a coalition to fall back on, he started struggling. It was during this time, mid 2008, that the Tsalala Young Male (see previous blog post) had ventured off by himself into Sparta and Dudley. After a short while he would meet up with the Sparta Pride and the aging Shaw’s Male. Textbooks will tell you that the Shaw’s Male should have killed this new male. He was of a new blood line and was young, aspiring and a direct threat to the Shaw’s Male’s position and rank. Yet age soon started catching up with the Shaw’s Male and the slow downward spiral began. He shocked us all by accepting the Tsalala Young Male into the Sparta Pride: a move interpreted by many as a form of ‘adoption’.
The repercussions were huge as he suddenly had the backing of a young, strong, creative and ambitious male. An understudy and sidekick! This would help him hunt buffalo and protect his pride. This move proved crucial in the lengthening of his tenure of the crown. But by May 2009 he started loosing control, first of the Styx Pride and then of the Sparta Pride. We would often find him wondering around like a battle-scarred warrior, but he fought nobly and became an expert at scavenging food. People’s hearts warmed to a lion destined for doom and gloom, but not ready to concede defeat to neither old age nor the marauding Mapogo Males in the north.
Shaws Male by Lee Ann Heringer
By late 2009 he was in a very poor state and on the 1st January 2010 the Shaw’s Males was no more. He had lived an amazing life. He had left an incredible legacy.
This sudden death would change the lion dynamics in the Sabi Sands, especially with regard to the Sparta Pride. The Breakaway Sparta Pride would form and mate with the Mapogo (see previous blog post). It would also leave the Tsalala Young Male, then aged about 4,5 in a very difficult position. He was still not sexually mature but had almost, by default, been handed the power to the throne.
The understanding of the context in which the Tsalala Young Male now finds himself make for an interesting conjecture. The question we are all asking is what will become of the Tsalala Young Male? Will he take on the role of being the dominant Sparta Pride male, a position made all the more difficult by the fearsome Majingilane coalition (see previous blog post) or will he club together with the other sub-adult males in the pride and move away as a coalition in their own right? Perhaps then they can buy their time, put on some weight and strength and come back to claim their stake. We look on intrigued as Lion Warfare continues!
Images by: Lee Ann Heringer
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Unfortunately i remember watching his brother get taken out by a crocodile at LTA
And its amazing he accepted the tsalala young male into the pride, as we watched the 2 shaws male kill the other tsalala male a few years before that at Taylors crossing
If Solo clubs together with the other males of the pride and forms a coalition, that would be exactly how the Mapogos started when Makulu Mapogo latched on to the Sparta pride and eventually formed a coalition with its five brothers…indeed it will be interesting to see if this exact scenario repeats itself…and with the same pride too.
Gav,
I assume that his brother was drinking water from a river with a crododile there just below the surface? And the croc quickly leaped up at him? Is that what happened?
Yes Bader I was also aware about that similarity and as probably you know there were initialy 5 young Sparta males exactly like in 2002 when Makulu arrive in Sparta pride . Unfortunately from these 5 remaind only 2…but I still think Solo will be the future Makulu for Sabi Sands reserve
Exciting news from last night is that the Sparta 3 and Sparta 4 have joined…so we now have Sparta 7 (consists of Solo, 2 sub adult males, and 4 females)…sleeping about 1km away were the Breakaway Sparta 2 (remember the 2 that have lost all three Mapogo cubs)…we are all hoping that in the not too distant future the 2 will rejoin the 7 and we will have a unified Sparta 9. It has been a long time since this pride has been complete. We will keep you posted if and when this unification occurs
That will be a great event Adam ,especially if will be catched on movie…
Sparta is one of the most beautiful lions pride and I hope to be reunited and strong as never !
Thanks for the story. A quick quesion… what happened to the Selati pride? Did the shaw’s male no longer have control over them?
Have a GREAT weekend!
Hi Penny, the Selati Pride (known to us as the South Pride) is a pride which we, at Londolozi, do not see very often. The truth is that there is defiantly a lot happening with them but due to their territory being south of our southern boundary a lot of what they do goes un-noticed by us. I am however planning on doing a little piece on the little we know about the current state of the Selati Pride…keep checking the blog to see it when it is up!
I never for one moment thought that a croc can kill a fully grown male lion. I mean, king of the jungle, just wish i can see the footage so as to really believe it. It shows that no animal in the African wild is invincible. In addition. lions kill leopards, hyenas, cheetahs and wild dogs. Am not happy about it, Indeed nature does have noble justice.
Thanks for that great narrative about the Shaws Males.Just been reading other comments ,and have been told that hyenas ,can kill lions ,and a croc killing a lion is not uncommon ,as the croc in his own habitat ,taking the lion out of his .A recipe,for disaster .
What a sad unfortunate story.