Yesterday morning had a slow start to it. It was a grey day in the Lowveld with the clouds scudding across the sky and a chilly wind blowing. Mike Sithole had heard lions roaring as he pulled the Land Rover into the car park at dawn and was convinced it was the two Styx males that had been hanging around the centre of the property.
We headed in that direction, and when we were nearly at Pipeline Pan, where Mike thought the roars had been emanating from, he spotted tracks of a pride crossing the road. As it turned out, the tracks were a red herring, and after an hour’s fruitless effort in which we had yet to find any lions (we believe the tracks were of the Styx pride moving through), ranger Ntsako Sibuyi found the two Styx males exactly where Mike had guessed they would be. Slightly annoyed with ourselves for being distracted by the tracks of the pride, we nevertheless joined Ntsako and still enjoyed a great sighting of the two male lions in the open.
The pretenders to the throne. With Majingilane blood flowing through them, will it be these young Styx males that inherit the kingdom, or another of the numerous coalitions popping up along Londolozi’s eastern edge?
Barely thirty minutes later, Greg Pingo made the surprising discovery of three of the Majingilane males, rare visitors to Londolozi these days, lying barely 400m from the Styx males as the crow flies.
We presumed the Majingilane had moved south in response to the Styx males’ roaring, and we anticipated some action that night. We made sure we were on the scene early in order to be there should anything develop.
It was not to be however, and despite some early signs that the Majingilane looked likely to move, they decided to fall asleep instead. The Styx males, for reasons initially unknown, began moving back east quite early in the evening, and quietly, not roaring into the gathering dusk, which would have been a sure invitation for the Majingilane to bring down swift retribution on them.
We found out later that the missing Majingilane (Dark maned male) had been calling to the west of Londolozi, and it was most likely his calls that prompted a retreat by the Styx males.
Despite the proximity of the two coalitions to each other through the whole day, neither was aware of exactly how close the other was, and what could have developed into some kind of exciting interaction instead ended up in both coalitions walking silently off into the darkness in opposite directions.
The scar-nosed Majingilane. He and his coalition are showing the signs of age more and more. Scarred, tatty, but still enormously impressive specimens.
Something did happen during the night, however, as ranger Melvin Sambo discovered two unknown male lions on our eastern boundary this morning, and with reports from our east indicating that only a single Styx male was found, and the fact that he and the unknown pair were both roaring, it seems likely that some kind of interaction took place during the hours of darkness. The Styx males moved away from the Majingilane only to bump into an unknown entity encroaching from the opposite direction. Ironic.
Things are heating up for the lions here on Londolozi…
Written and Photographed by James Tyrrell
Wow! Those 2 Styx males are powerful looking. Were they litter mates? I wonder if the one with the full mane is older.
Hi Leslie,
As far as we know, yes they are litter mates. The male with the smaller mane also bears many scars, apparently from an attack from another lion. When male lions are stressed or in poor condition, their mane often follows suit, and we believe it was during the recovery period from this attack that his mane may have lost condition, resulting in him not being quite as impressive as his brother.
James
Thanks for the update James, please keep us informed, I believe the Majingilane are slow movers however will react to these two new males in their territory.
Interesting. The unknown males must have come from Kruger?
Hi Marinda,
I’m not too sure. With the Majingilane not roaring or scent marking in the area, it could develop into a bit of a free-for-all as male lions move in from all sides.
When are you and Des coming back for a visit to see some of the action for yourself?
James
Great update James, I love hearing about the Lion dynamics! Would the Majingilane actually fight their own sons (stupid question, I know)? The poor young Styx males, trying to give the Majingilane some room and walk straight into two other male lions…they just can’t get a break. Do you know what happened to the other Styx male James…was he injured in the interaction? I hope they all manage to work it out and survive into old age. Your photographs are beautiful as always.
Hi Jill,
As the Majingilane are still significantly bigger than their sons, I think any confrontation would result in the Styx males retreating. But yes if they stood up to the Majingilane I’m sure there would be a fight, sons or not. Not sure what happened after the event; the males have moved off our property. The Sparta pride was found on a wildebeest kill in the deep south today with all members of the pride, although on the day the Majingilane visited only the four sub-adults were found, making it likely that the pride had an encounter with at least one of the two coalitions at hand. Judging by the tracks, we think it was probably the Majingilane.
James
James
Thanks for the response James. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Jill
Hey guys. Any chance of getting a lion warfare update. Basically since everything is at a standstill, can we get a summary of who might be posing a threat in the near future. There were some band of males but what happened to their chances now. Are the Majingilane still covering most of the territory they won years ago, or are they starting to become vulnerable. Would be interesting to read about any threat perception on the current dynamics. Where it might come from, which group, their numbers. Anyways, a great read and captivating methods used in all your blogs.
The Majingilane coalition maybe old, but they are still magnificent lions. ¡¡Long live the kings!!
James, great stuff. Also thanks for working a sparta update into the comment section. Glad those subs are doing well. And word on whether the other Styx male was found? Great work as always!
Hi Kevin,
They were both found later on, seemingly healthy. They were seen on Londolozi’s eastern boundary this morning again…
James
Loved our safari with you and our daughter Emily and son-in-law jon. Great honeymoon for them in one of their favorite places. Enjoying your blog immensely. Many thanks. Patty
see you last week of April