It’s not a hard and fast rule, but most guides leave Londolozi having made a connection with a specific animal and that invariably turns out to be a leopard. Stoff watched 3:4 from the moment she was born, Alex Van Den Heever loved the Tugwaan Female, Rich Ferrier is always hunting for the Nottens Female and Mike Miller is still carousing the north for the Nyaleti young Male… I love the Leopards of Londolozi but truthfully I’d swop every leopard sighting I’ve ever had for the time I’ve spent with the Tsalala tailess lioness.
The Tsalala lioness has intrigued me since the moment I first encountered her in 2004 as a single lioness with her two 18 month old cubs. She stood out then because she was a single mother surrounded by booming big prides. She was in her prime and she was capable of hunting wildebeest and zebra single handedly. As a result her two daughters were never short of a meal and the three of them were always in immaculate condition; it is not unusual to see prides looking thin and in poor condition from time to time, but not these lions.
Time has marched on since I first met the 3 of them at Ximpalapala koppie almost 8 years ago… When I think back over the years I realise I have seen her at some of her strongest and weakest moments. I watched her temporarily abandon both daughters when her litter in April 2005 was born. The two young girls, confused as they had never known a life without their mother sat in the Albizia tree overlooking Marthly Pools and roared their heads off desperately calling for her. She hadn’t permanently abandoned them but had other pressing needs and had raised her two daughters to be able to cope with such a moment. When she found them again they were adults: confident and capable.
It was 6 months later when a clan of hyena caught her at her most vulnerable moment. She had caught a zebra and the clan found her at the carcass alone save for her 4 cubs. She was able to get her cubs to safety but not before she received a mauling that resulted in the loss of her tail and made her instantly recognisable and virtually a global star! 5 years on and those two little females who waited at the Albizia are now the veteran tsalala mothers with 8 cubs and the tail-less lioness is raising 4 young females to adulthood on and off of Londolozi. They have been re-united many times over the years, but sadly the Male lion dynamic has driven this pride apart and we can only hope that they permanently find each other again. Even on leave I find myself getting onto the blog to find out if, where and with whom she has been seen. Quite possibly we need that re-union more than they do!
Ultimately the connection I share with the Tail-less lioness is that of motherhood: we have both used Londolozi as a place to raise our young. Beyond her determination, dedication and triumph against the odds I have especially admired her no nonsense approach to raising cubs and have tried to adopt her philosophy to raising my two children at home: Have fun and explore but this is the line and you are not to cross it! Challenge this boundary and there are consequences- but we’ll swiftly move on.
This might seem bizarre to take parenting advice from a wild lioness but all females on this planet probably share the same maternal instincts to a certain degree. I suspect that human instincts are being muddled up by over analysis and I believe that the Tail-less female has led me back to a simpler set of truths.
If you do come to Londolozi – arrive with an open mind: you may just discover a life lesson in the wilderness like I have.
Written by: Kate Imrie
Katie, it can be so difficult to transcribe our connection with these special animals, but you have done it beautifully. This piece is brilliant!
This is so beautifully written!
May I ditto Talley’s comments – beautifully written.
What an amazing lioness, so resilient, a true survivor, admirable.
“A simpler set of truths” are wise words indeed.
I am sure your guests come with an open mind, and I’m also sure that they leave equipped with a new life lesson and a fuller heart.
Enjoy your motherhood Kate …
Very nice. Having just finished my research and booked my trip I am now a faithfull follower of this blog. While on vacation I had time to go back to 2009 in the archives. My cub (daughter) and I will see you Ausgust 2nd 2012. Patsy
Being a mother of two ‘young adult’ females, I appreciate your insight. Being allowed the unique opportunity to share Londolozi with them, as a family, and watch so many mothers ‘mother’ their offspring…well, it’s very special. Every ONE has a set of circumstances, cards they are dealt, in life. It’s certainly lovely to share strong female role models, beyond the human world.
I, too, feel the tailless lioness is a special lion. She is brave,wise, and takes her responsibilities as a mother very seriously. I first saw her after the hyena attack when her wound was very raw and sore looking. She was with her two immature males at that time(one of which I believe is called Solo and the other killed by the Mapogo pride). Two years later I observed her healed and with her two daughters and four of the Mapogo pride. I appreciate the blog so much in its ongoing saga of the lions and leopards of Londolozi.
Nancy Armitage
Nancy, how revealing is that, to stay connected with the pride that killed your son? To forgive and forget, move on and make something more than what was before? Yes, humans have a lot to learn from these connections. Thank you for the history.
Is there any way you all could put together a comprhensive family tree, of the lions/lioness and leopards to whom you refer. Our family have only just become acquainted to some of them this last June and it is difficult to follow for us, especially from the U.S. Just a time line…who begat whom if you will? And where the generations have scattered…
Hi Geri, the family tress of the lions can be quite tricky as often females will mate with more than one male and thus it is unclear who the actual father is. For an indication of the family lineages with regards to the leopards, please go and take a look at the Leopards of Londolozi website where you will be able to view some of the primary family lineages. As with lions, these animals can be somewhat of a moving target to keep accurate records of. http://www.londolozi.com/leopards/leopards-of-londolozi/
Thanks Rich! I have been trying to trace the leopards through the website. I am very interested. As I am for the lions…harder to figure, but very interesting and I cheer for them all! I will follow as best I can, thanks!
Do you know which of the leopard’s family tree the old female who was blind in one eye because of a spitting cobra belongs to? She has died since we saw her many years ago?
Kate,
The tailess female was the first lion I saw in the wild in May, 2008. Unforgettable to this day was watching her come out of the bush into a clearing followed by a sub adult male and a cub. She approached the Rover and laid down and the two younger lions (for lack of better word) snuggled up to her. This proximity was astonishing to me at the time. The cub got restless and put on a show jumping on her, pushing her, licking her. She remained cool, calm and collected.
Her story has fascinated me and I was sorry she had moved out of the territory when we were in Londolozi this May. We had many sightings of her daughters and the first 4 of the Tsalala cubs.
I met your Emma and was charmed by her in 08. We hope to meet young Tom on our next visit.What fortunate children you have to be raised by you and Tom at Londolozi!
And, if anyone knows what happened to the two of her offspring we saw, I would love to have an update.
Wonderful blog, I love BB, she’s an amazing lioness. To Gerri Potter, there are numerous Facebook pages for some of the lions and leopards of the Sabi Sands which have been put together by some that have connections with a lot of the reserves and rangers of the Sabi Sands, check out info for BB under Tsalala/Marthly Pride of Lions, here is a link for the notes page which has a lot of the info on it, just click on “view full notes” when this page comes up (assuming you are on Facebook that is, lol).
oh heck, the link seems to have been taken out, I’ll try again. http://www.facebook.com/pages/TsalalaMarthly-Pride-of-Lions/126207022558?sk=notes