Trouble is brewing in eastern Londolozi. Whilst over the past few months the Styx males looked set to inherit the kingdom from their fathers, there is a new threat pressing in from the south.
Looking back to December, although a few coalitions had been seen making incursions onto Londolozi soil, none of them apart from the Styx males had had any interaction with the local prides (at least not that we knew of). Now all of a sudden, the coalition of two Fourways males has been pressing further and further north, and the Sparta pride is fragmented and in disarray as a result. What adds spice to the mix is the fact that the Fourways duo are apparently the first cubs sired by the Majingilane.
The conflict we have been predicting for a year now, ever since the Majingilane started vacating the area, is starting to materialise, as the vacuum left by the all-powerful coalition of four starts to fill in.
Last week, on the first truly winter-like day of the year (clear, crisp morning, golden light), the roars of at least six different individuals or groups of lions were heard reverberating through the still air. We had been heading out to look for leopards but the vocalisations of multiple lions had us unanimously deciding to change our plans.
First to be found were the Fourways coalition, tracked down by Lucien Beaumont, moving south from where the Styx males had been seen the previous evening. We found the adult Sparta lionesses next, and within minutes they had met up with the Styx males themselves. More roaring came from the deep south, north east and the far north east, from unknown coalitions or prides. With the Majingilane having been absent for so long, I can’t begin to describe the thrill it is to once more have lions roaring regularly on the property.
The Styx males and two of the Sparta lionesses immediately upon re-finding each other on a crisp Autumn morning. Will the Sparta lionesses be the first to birth new cubs on Londolozi?
There was some mating between one of the Sparta females and the Styx males, but the real action came when Simon Smit was seeing if he could re-find the Fourways males a half hour later, and rounded a corner to see them charging across a clearing in pursuit of one of the young Sparta males, separated from the pride and now running for his life. The Fourways coalition failed to catch him luckily, and settled down to sleep for the morning.
The Fourways males look for some shade to snooze in as the morning begins to warm up.
Then two days ago the Styx males were very close to the Sand River. They were much further north and west than they have been before, and made contact with the young Tsalala lioness, but apparently both parties were very confused by the encounter. The Tsalala lioness ran back north across the river and the Styx males simply stared after her, contact calling.
This morning two of the young Sparta males were found on the Londolozi airstrip. The Styx males were again with some of the adult Sparta lionesses, and the Fourways males were nearby, although Werner Breedt reported that when the Styx coalition hove into view of the Fourways males, the Fourways lions fled immediately. This, despite being over half a year older than the Styx males.
Confidence is a huge factor when it comes to an encounter between male lions. Knowing they are new to the area could have led the older Fourways males into being a bit reluctant to enter into an aggressive encounter with an as-yet unknown adversary in the form of the Styx pair.
I know a lot of this is difficult to follow, but that to me is the real fascination of the whole thing. The unknown. The fact that we have no control over any of it. The fact that all we can do is wait and see what happens.
Essentially what we have here is a prime territory, recently vacated by a large coalition, with two coalitionss of their sons vying for control, forcing out another coalition of sons. And that’s the simplified version!
What of the Matimba males to the north or the Sand River males to the south? Another big question mark.
The stage is set.
I think this winter is going to be nothing short of phenomenal in terms of lion viewing!
Written and Photographed by James Tyrrell
Interesting lion dynamics developing.
James won’t the styx male taking over be a bad thing seeing as how they are majingilanes sons and when the sub adult daughters of the majingilanes reach mating age which some of them will soon it will cause Inbreeding?
Hi Blair,
It’s a good point you make, and inbreeding in lion populations is certainly not unheard of. The genetics are not too badly affected, however, if the inbreeding occurs for only one or two generations. It’s when you get three or four generations or more of inbreeding that the chances of genetic anomalies cropping up increases dramatically. By the time we are a couple of generations down the line, it is likely that the Styx males will be pushed out by new blood. That’s the real beauty of the enormous reserve we are part of; genetic dispersal.
James
Awesome! Thanks for the update. I would love to read a post with an update on the Majingilane dynasty. How many known sons do they have, and what are the coalitions named? Where are they? Maybe this would take too much coordination between other reserves…
Anyway, I appreciate the update and look forward to receiving more.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for your comments and a good suggestion to run a blog on the Majingilane’s history.
A blog like this would not be too difficult to do. As the Majingilane’s time winds to a close it is certainly something that we will probably post. Look out for it in the future…
James
Great update James, thanks! I hope the Sparta young males stay safe. Where have the Majingilane gone and why would they just abandon the prides and leave their cubs in danger? It should be interesting to watch and see what unfolds next.
Hi Jill,
The Majingilane have moved into the Western Sector of the Sabi Sands where they currently control the Ximungwe, Otawa and Mhangeni prides.
Yes, doing this does place the young lions of the prides they have abandoned in more danger, but the Sparta young males are now old enough to survive by themselves, and look what’s happened to the Fourways and Styx males; they are set to take over new territory when they haven’t enjoyed the protection of the Majingilane for many years.
James
Thanks James, I’m happy to hear that the Sparta young males could survive on their own if they had to. Hopefully they will manage to stay safe and regroup. It’s really interesting hearing about the lion dynamics…can’t wait to hear what happens next!
What do you think happens to the 3 sparta young males? Did the separated male re-unite with his brothers?
Hi Mike,
He hasn’t been seen in a day or two.
There is always the possibility that he has been killed, but most likely the sub-adults have just been scattered, and they will attempt to regroup in the forthcoming days. We will post an update as soon as we know.
James
Thanks James! Coming back to Londolozi in July, cant wait to see what is going to happen with the lion dynamics.
Seems like lots of uncertainty amongst the lions. Good write up! However this ends, it is going to be very interesting. And what is going on with the Styx pride? The two young adult lionesses have split from the pride also and are hanging around the Matimba males. I am really wondering about the future of the Styx, Sparta and Tsalalas.
Hi Brian,
I’m not too sure about what is happening with the whole Styx pride. We have only been seeing a part of the pride on our side over the last few months. The next few months are going to be very interesting!
James
In the north, not only the Matimba males but also the Birmingham males (a young coalition of 4) …I believe they will be the future main threat to the lions in northern and central Sabi Sand.
That’s a good point Bader,
The Birminghams are definitely a coalition to watch in the future. At the moment they are probably just a bit too young to pose a serious threat, but who knows?
James
Hi James.
With all of this going on what are your thoughts of the 5 Bermingham males that have been seen in the northern parts of the sabi sands coming across. Would they pose a threat to any of the prides and they recently killed a female from another pride in the north. They have apparently moved back into the Manyaleti area. Your thoughts on them will be great.
Sweet
We were there last July, when the 4-brothers lion coalition was still in power. What happened? Could you point me to a blog entry that describes the transition?
Hi James
What do you think would happen if the majingilane lions and matimba coalition got into a fight?
Who would win