It was a cold July morning and they were all balled up in a mass of tawny hair underneath the glorious Ximpalapala Koppie. At that stage they looked calm and peaceful; I had no idea of the fury that they would spin over the next 12 months as they swept through the northern Sabi Sands in a quest for total pride domination!
The first time I ever saw the Majingilane Brothers they looked nothing more than sleeping cats
Their reign of terror has been brutal! Slow at first but picking up steam as they gained in confidence. They broke in at our north eastern boundary and made an immediate impact on the much loved Tsalala Pride. In no time they had killed 4 of the Tsalala Youngsters (b. 2009) and sent the legendary Tailless Female running west with 4 youngsters in tow. A year later and Tailless is still going strong north and west of our boundaries; but what we see now is a split Tsalala Pride. The two adult females who gave in to the Majingilanes have both since had cubs with the marauders! One is mothering four delightful cubs and we still wait to see how many new arrivals the other lioness has stashed away in the Manyelethi Riverbed.
Mating with the Tsalala Female - by Adam Bannister
Majingilane blood pulsates into the next generation - by Adam Bannister
After they had taken control of the Tsalala Pride they began to move their boundary south, crossing the Sand River and moving into the heart of Sparta Pride Territory. This movement started putting huge pressure on all the young males in this struggling pride; especially the courageous Tsalala Young Male. The Majingilanes took their time in tracking down and killing the cubs of the ‘Breakaway Sparta 2‘ giving many a false sense of hope that maybe these cubs, fathered by the Mapogo, may just be able to slip under the radar! This was not to be…
The harsh reality...all that was left of the 'Breakaway Sparta' cubs
Tsalala Young Male has done very well to avoid conflict with this Band of Brothers, but his pride is being depleted around him. One evening we found 3 Majingilanes at Pipeline Pan; lying in their wake was the battered remains of a Sparta Lioness. Her back had been broken and by the next day was no more. Another young Sparta Male also met his demise at the claws of the Majingilanes.
Latent Power - by Adam Bannister
A new threat to total Majingilane domination arose in early 2011 when a coalition of 5 Southern Pride Males (Selati Pride) started moving north into the territory recently vacated by the depleted Sparta Pride. They were younger than the Majingilanes but in a numbers game they were superior. They looked fit, healthy and raring to explore! They moved too soon… In mid June 2011 they paid the ultimate price and one member was caught and killed! It became evident, now more than ever, that these males were not to be messed with.
A formidable presence marching to their own drum - by Adam Bannister
They are magnificent lions and are rapidly becoming real ring-leaders in the southern Kruger area. Their story is causing waves throughout and they are trying their best to ensure a rich legacy is left. Love them or hate them they are providing us with some of the most entertaining and unexpected sightings.They are still young and my gut tells me that this tale is far from over. Although I was unable to capture it on film I have watched these males chase the legendary Mapogo for kilometers across the grasslands of Londolozi. I have watched them launch full scale attacks on patrolling hyaena and have been fortunate enough to have them roaring feet away from my vehicle!
The power is sensational - by Adam Bannister
Are the Majingilane Coalition getting to0 Greedy?
So what could possibly stand in their way…Greed!
As they continue to expand their boundaries south and west so they take more land. More land equals more lionesses and ultimately more cubs sired into the next generation. But this land grab also opens them up to counter attacks from other coalitions that can move in from the Kruger area! Often we will find these males all alone or in pairs. They must be doing this in an attempt to patrol what is now a huge territory. If they proceed in this fashion then they begin to lose out in the numbers game. Already we are hearing rumours of a coalition of 6 males somewhere north of us.
It is wildly exciting to be a nature guide during this transitional time and to watch everyday as one of the most brutal, yet natural battles unfold. We are witnessing the ‘Kings of the Jungle’ fight it out for ultimate supremacy and I can tell you that it is spectacular! Those of you who have been fortunate enough to witness a part of this story will have their own thoughts on what is happening but no one can lie that we are merely spectators in this epic!
I’m appealing to all of you who have good knowledge of these lions to help out here…I am wanting to try get an idea of the size of their territory. I would love you to write comments on where you think their north, east, south and western borders are and then try and add to the list of lions who have had fatal encounters with the Majingilane in the last year…
- 1 Mapogo Male (Kinky Tail)
- 4 Tsalala Youngsters
- 1 Sparta Female
- 1 Sparta sub-adult Male
- 3 Breakaway Sparta Youngsters
- 1 Southern Pride/Selati Male
Written and photographed by Adam Bannister
With regards the numbers of lions they have killed … I think we can assume that they have killed a second male of the Mapogos (the one called “Pretty Boy” I believe) not too long after Mr.T/Satan rejoined the group of 4 in the western sector. It is still a miracle what exactly happened, but there was a fight between the 5 Mapogos and the Majingilanes close to Elephant Plains Game Lodge and one of the Mapogos vanished.
They have definitely killed and eaten one of the young Styx lionesses on Djuma property.
I still believe the male of the 2+1 pride was so badly injured by one of the Majingilanes that he finally starved to death.
With regards to the one young Sparta Male I thought he succumbed to severe injuries inflicted by a buffalo. The badly injured one is still alive (as per end of last week) and has rejoined his pride.
It would be interesting to get to know if still all 4 Majingilanes are alive, as it seems that the reports over the last weeks only accounted for 3.
Pretty boy was not the one who was killed by the Majingilanes. The Majins ganged up on Rasta and pretty boy and it was Rasta who was killed by the Majins, not Pretty boy. Even that is only speculation however. Rasta dissapeared after the battle, no one actually saw the fight but Rasta dissapeared because of that conflict. The conflict was quelled when the other Mapogo brothers came to their brothers’ aid and it was assumed the Majins fled from the scene. So assuming it was the Majins(likely) who killed Rasta that night, both Kinky and Rasta were killed by the Majins. Pretty boy was rescued by the other Mapogos and while he suffered a back injury he recovered. Rip Mapogos.
Hi Adam
I worked in the Sand for three years in the Western Sector and in that time compiled a lot of data on the Mapogo coalition. What would be awesome is if you can complete my data (missed the last two years) on the mapogos and then compare that to the new coalition, you would have a phenomenal data set on lion mortalities when coalitions take over. I would be happy to send you the report and data if you are interested. Drop me an email and we can chat further
Chris
i know their territory runs as far as KNP they have wiped out a huge amount of females and cubs and males at Mala Mala and that the word is they came from KNP. We were just there this passed May and June and you could see in just a year the difference… broken scattered prides, reduced to barely 3 females, and those that just had young cubs, as recent as 7 months old, known to even be theirs ( the 4 males ) the females would keep them away. I’ll repost the name of the prides from mala mala, as soon as i check my notes and contact a couple of rangers from Mala Mala. The two pride that i can recall are the Styx pride and the eyerfield pride, and the eyerfield pride seem to be damaged the most, they were 12 strong and with 8 or so cubs… now the pride has been scattered and most females dead with the cubs i know of two sub-adult males that escaped barely and one mathly (spelling is wrong sorry) male. They keep their distance and on alert at all times.
Hi Adam,
It is Most Likely that Majingilanes were Major Cause for demise of Golf Course male as According to Some Guides he had finally Succumbed to the Multiple Injuries sustained in an Altercation with 2 Majingis on a Buffalo Kill,Mapogo Rasta/Leonidus was also Killed in a Fight with 4 Majingis on 8 july in Elephant Plains .
Most Likely 5 Mapogos went East Thereafter 2 Mapogos Rasta and Bent spine Got Separated from their Brothers for a While and Also Got Tangled in a Confrontation with 4 Majingis Being Heavily Outnumbered Rasta/Leonidus was Fatally Injured and Bent Spine was Also Surrounded and Mauled Meanwhile the Sounds of the Fight Alerted Other 3 Mapogos to the Exact Location of the Territorial Clash This is when Majingis Saw 3 More Mapogos Rushing In and Fled for their Lives ,Recently Some Members of Toulon Coalition Also Went Missing from an Area and the Next Day Majingis were seen coming from that Direction Who Knows what Exactly Transpired between Majingis and Toulons in Kruger Area !!!!!!
Hey Adam,
Got in contact with Angela at Mala Mala and told her the story. Hopefully she can also give you some insight on what they know over in Mala Mala. Keep up posted please, and your writing is awesome. Can’t wait to read that Tree book your in the process of too. 🙂
Okay, well firstly thank you so much to everyone for responding. This post has been up for about 20 hours and has had already had a huge response. I have collated information from blog, facebook and emails and have established that another 5 lions need to be added to the list as seen above in the text…
So this is the list as it stands so far (please feel free to keep adding, subtracting or questioning this as this is the only way we will get a clear idea of the impact they have had.)
2 Mapogo Males
4 Tsalala Youngsters
1 Sparta Female
1 Sparta sub-adult Male
3 Breakaway Sparta Youngsters
1 Southern Pride/Selati Male
1 Male from the 2 + 1 Pride
1 Styx adult Female
2 Styx sub-adult Females
= 16 lions
Can anyone give clarity about whether they have had any impact on the Toulon Males. In terms of the Golf Course Male, we basically watched him deteriorate and die. The Majingilane may have influenced his death but I don’t think his death came as a result of a Majingi tooth or claw
Thanks, Adam for all the info. As for Peter’s comment about all the majingilane lions being alive. Can u confirm that the male with the dark male with an inured leg, if he’s still alive. I’ve been reading the malamala blogs, and there hasn’t been a mention of him in past few weeks or so. Thanks!
Hi Frank. As far as I’m aware he is fine. We often see him by himself in Marthly
I always wondered what happened to the fifth Mapogo, when the 5 males moved East to confront the Majingilanes. It’s pretty clear by now, that the Rasta Mapogo did get killed after being separated, while Bent Spine was badly wounded. It’s strange that Rasta seems to have been forgotten on the Facebook page, with no pics in memory of him. Sure Kinky-Tail was the most loved, but it was Rasta and Bent Spine that were the advanced guard offensive against the Majingilanes. Although Rich discussed the attack last year on Lion Warfare, I seemed to have forgotten the fifth Mapogo that never returned after the battle. He sure deserves his place and respect, along with Kinky for having confronted the Majings with sheer courage. It would be fitting and deserving, if those in the know, could post more pics of Rasta/Leonidus on their FB page.
Cheers
Adam,
with regards to the Toulon Males the speculation was that one of them might have been killed by 2 new males taking over their territory in the far south of Sabi Sands already back in December last year. Others think that still all 3 of them are still alive. So there is no clue on what the status is of this male coalition as far as I am aware.
With regards to the other 2 Styx lionesses on the list. Well I do not think that the Majingilanes have killed an adult female of this pride. Based on bits and pieces of the puzzle what might happened to the 2 missing adult females (down from 7 to 5 before the M’s arrived, now only 3 left) I think that both may have fallen victim to lionesses from other prides at different times while denning … probably the Tsalala females. The second young Styx lioness that vanished (aside from the one being killed and eaten by the Majingilanes) was in a very bad state as a result of severe injuries sustained from the Mapogos, it seemed the poor girl was on her last legs. May be the Majingilanes gave her the last blow, may be not.
As mentioned already I think (and hope) the young Sparta Male is still alive, so it might be too early to write him off?
When it comes to the destructive impact of large male lion coalitions it is surely important to distinguish between direct killings and indirect casualties. The latter ones are often causing more damage to the lion population. As a result of the turmoil prides start sort of a nomadic life trying to avoid the new males, running into other prides, leaving the youngest cubs behind, loosing condition following reduced hunting success etc.. The larger male coalitions are impacting more prides resulting in more turmoil and higher mortality rates.
Compared to the first year of the Mapogo Wars the Majingilane are nice and reasonable males. The Mapogos managed in their first year to wipe out 2 lion prides in the western sector, while reducing one pride from 20+ to just 7 and another one from 12 to 2. At the same time they have not sired a single cub as far as I know (score Majingilanes = 12+).
In the last 12 month Mr.T/Satan killed between 14-17 cubs from the Ximungwe Pride (sired by his brothers) in the western sector … just for reference.
I have recently become very interested in the Mapago coalition after watching the brothers in blood such a great documentary. I dont understand how the Mapago coalition with complete dominance has nothing to show for? And also why the hell did Makulu and pretty boy let Mr. t kill there cubs when he rejoined them?was it because he was the dominant younger? His brothers should have shut the doors on him i loved and hated him.
Peter, thanks so much for the insight. I have had people confirm that the Styx Female was killed by majingis. In terms of the Sparta Pride I am aware that the one with the broken tail is still alive but there was another young male who was killed. The Toulon Male situation is unknown to me as I have only seen them once in the southern tip of Londolozi. if someone who is familliar with these lions could shed some light please. Your comment about direct and indirect killings is very true although hard to sometimes put ones finger on the actual cause. If you had to put a score on the Majingi count what would you settle for. then I would also be interested in hearing your ‘score; for Mapogo! But lets not forget that this is still early days for Majingi and that im sure many more heads will roll. Thanks Peter!
It is interesting to watch you guys…creating histoy . And yes Viper – history is not always right , maybe because is the man who create the image we use to name history … Sometimes a photo or video help a lion to became famous more then others , is indeed the case with Rasta/mapogo.
For me Majingis are quite normal lions – the key to understand them is to understand what it means lion’s life in a coalition . And male lions wich are part of coalitions have a different behavior from male lions who are singles or in pairs .
Adam I agree with you – Majingis killed one Styx adult female.
About Sparta sub-adult , he died from buffalo injuries ; but in this moment there is an other who try to recover from injuries delivered by Majingilane.
Toulon males were all 3 alive in April 2011 , nobady knows for sure how are now because use to stay in Kruger.
Glad to see many names wich I am from now familiar writing here .
Adam,
of course you are right, it is difficult to dedicate all casualties to specific males given the direct & indirect forces. If we have a look at YEAR I of the Mapogos and Majingilanes, I would probably take the 16 on your list for the Majingilanes as NEGATIVE SCORE.
For the Mapogos in YEAR I I would take the following number. I remember that Paddy from Savanna proudly announced at the end of 2005 that 56 lions are roaming their traversing area (the western sector). Pretty much one year later (the 6 Mapogos intruded the western sector beginning of 2006) there was little left, 5 breeding females (1 Ximungwe, 2 Sand River and 2 Ottawa), 5 sub adults (1 male & 4 females all from Ximungwe) and 1 male (Castleton/Ximungwe Male). So the population was down from 56 to 11 making it a NEGATIVE SCORE of 45. I do not know if they have killed more lions in YEAR I in other areas of the Sabi Sands (e.g. the 5 Tsalala cubs and their pride male/Serengeti Male).
It will be interesting to see how the things will further develop and how the SCORING will be after YEAR II.
Thank you very much for bringing together the “Lions of Sabi Sands Story” and for keeping everybody updated, this is way better than any National Geographic or Animal Planet programm!
Hi Adam,
In March 3 Toulon males followed a Buffalo Herd into Kruger one day later 2 Toulon Males returned from Kruger and they were Restless as Some Lions were Issuing Vocal Challenges to them from KNP and their 3rd Brother was Missing A Little while Later 2 Majingilanes(Extremely Well Fed) were seen Coming from the Direction from where Roaring had been Heard,Later in April during the Last Sighting of Toulon Coalition Just One Male was Seen on his Own with No Sign of his 2 Brothers !!!!!
I think they took a big chunk out of the Sohebele Pride too and killed both the adult lioness’ of the pride.
Kk , I’m not sure about what coalition you refer . But I can assure that neither Majingilane, Mapogo or Toulon coalitions were involved in killing Sohobele’ lionesses . That coalition is Mahlathini and it happened in 2009 , today are still alive 2 Sohobele males as nomads…
Saw a couple of pictures of the Matimba lions. They look like young mapogo’s. Scary.
Beats the hell out of me as to why documentaries are not done on large male lion coalitions. But supposedly, I hear its extremely difficult and downright dangerous following them, not to mention cost and health hazards associated with being exposed in the open for so long. But it would be an absolute, or the ultimate adventure to follow and document those awesome coalitions in the KNP and Londolozi. I’m gearing up for a visit next year and hope for spectacular documentation of the large coalitions. Yeah Peter, way better than NGC and AP.
Im glad to see you are all enjoying the unfolding story of this formidable coalition. Update this side is yesterday 3/7/11 We had 1 Majinilane sleeping at Shingi Dam; one male with a Sparta Female about 1km away and then the remaining 2 brothers on our break with MM. So they are defiantly all alive and in good health!
Thanks for all the updates, Adam! Im addicted to this blog. I check it everyday!!
I’m guessing the Matimba/Sava coalition of six will probably be the next Mapogos, if they manage to say together into maturity. They’ll probably move nearer towards Majingilanes territory and try to take them out if opportunities present themselves. Someone should start detailing the largest upcoming coalition, which is the Matimbas. Wonder if they will have the same drive and disposition like the Mapogos.
Viper
Seems like the Majingilanes and Matimbas had round one. And as mentioned, the Matimbas have just had a FB page dedicated to them. Next few days, weeks and months will probably spell out the inevitable, without in any way undermining the victors of the Mapogo downfall.
V
Hi Viper, so do you think that the Matimbas will move in here and take out the Majingilanes? Im not so sure it will be that easy! If Majingilanes just start to readjust their territory a little I feel that there may be space for both coalitions…that is if they occupy the Manyaleti and Sabi Sands! What you think? The Majingilanes have already proved that they are capable of a big fight!
I’m with you Adam. The majingi’s are very smart, or it seems like it. They only go on the offensive when they have the strength in number.
Hi Adam, 🙁 now we have their latest killing to add to the list.
R.I.P little one.
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“Although I was unable to capture it on film I have watched these males chase the legendary Mapogo for kilometers across the grasslands of Londolozi.”
Dear Adam, do you refer to the legendary Mapogo lion Mr. T (after the Kinky Tail’s death)? Because I don’t know other Mapogo living in Londolozi when they arrived there.
Wildly exciting indeed.