We are incredibly excited to announce the addition of another 3 lions to the Tsalala Pride! These tiny cubs are now just 3 weeks old and are the very first litter of the younger Tsalala female, a lioness with an incredible legacy. This pride has been through so much turmoil of late and as such, it is fantastic to be able to announce this heart-warming news.
One of the tiny, new additions to the Tsalala Pride being carried by its mother at just a week old. Photograph by Don Heyneke
The lioness is denning these cubs in the Manyaleti River, close to Marthly Pools, an area she has spent much of her life. What is strange about her behaviour though is how she has given birth to these cubs whilst staying with the rest of the pride. Typically lionesses will move off on their own, give birth and only re-introduce their youngsters when their eyes open and they are more capable of fending for themselves. This lioness however never left the pride, which is one of the reasons we became aware of these youngsters from such a young age. Strangely she allows the slightly older cubs of about three months to rough and tumble with the tiny newborns and seems rather oblivious to their calls for help. Being the sole survivor of a litter of 8 and having had a difficult upbringing, one is left to wonder if she is trying to toughen them up?
This female has given birth to a litter of 3, meaning the pride now has 5 youngsters in it. Photograph by Don Heyneke
Prior to her sexual maturity this lioness spent much of her time running from male lions. Although she was fathered by the Majingilane, we believe some of them did not recognise their paternity of her, which meant that whenever they saw her, they attempted to kill her. Some of her siblings and cousins met their fate this way, whilst others were killed by buffalo or swept away in a raging Sand River. What this meant for this lioness was that whenever the Majingilane made an appearance, she would have to run from the pride, fend for herself for days at a time and only re-join once the males had moved on.
Since the Majingilane have moved west, the Matimba males have come south to replace them, forcing the Tsalala tailless lioness to break away from the pride and raise the 4 sub adults alone. Finally though, a bit of stability seems to have been restored to this pride in the form of these tiny, new, spotted additions.
The first video below shows the cubs being carried by their mother at just one week old! The second is at 3 weeks and shows these short-legged, uncoordinated, barrel-bellied babies being groomed and attempting to play with their mother and each other.
It really has been the greatest privilege and joy to be exposed to such incredibly young lions, certainly the youngest lions I have ever seen. We are so grateful that these lionesses are relaxed enough to show them to us and we hope you enjoy meeting them as much as we have.
First Video by Don Heyneke
Second Video by Amy Attenborough
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It’s incredible to see them out and about at such a young age. Lets just hope it isn’t just moms in-experience showing and that she has a grand plan for them!
Ag toggie, my heart is melting …. they are so cute!
Thank you for sharing those amazing videos of mother and Cubs, beautiful lioness seems very relaxed.
A truly beautiful bush story, how special it must have and is for you to experience first hand.
Having followed her story from the beginning, I’m so happy for her! She is a true survivor and hopefully they can inherit some of her will to live.
thank you so much for this story and videos! I was there the time they were born, so am of course very curious what life has in mind for them. They are uber cute! Can imagine the two older girls are quite rough with them.
Amazing!
Was this wonderful mother born around November 2010? If so, could it be possible that her now, 14 year-old mother was pregnant from either Kinky Tail, or Mr. T? So the reason the Majingilanes tried kill her, her siblings and cousins, is that they knew she was sired by the Mapogos? Love your blog.
Hi Lawrence,
Thanks for your question. This lioness was born in early 2011, to the tailed female.
As the Majingilane had been in control over northern Londolozi for a good 6 months or more by then, it is very unlikely that she was sired by the Mapogo, although we cannot rule out that possibility. Her mother was seen mating with the Majingilane, and it is almost certain they are the fathers. Paternity can be confused in big coalitions, and we think that may be the reason for some of the Majingilane’s aggression towards her.
Is this the daughter of Tailless #2 who had cubs in 2011? I believe there were 8 cubs born that year to her and her sister, some in February and some in May and most were killed or lost.
Hi Sandy. Yes you are correct about those litters and what happened to them but this female was born to the tailed female; the sister of the tailless #2.
Wow, that was fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
great pics Amy, they are just so cute….
I remember her cousins from 2011, and I certainly hope she can keep these babes safe and see them grow. I love the Tsalalas…they were the first experience we had at Londolozi. These are lovely pictures and thank you for sharing them.
….and this is why you go to South Africa! Wonderful videos.
Thankyou Amy, they are so beautiful, I do hope mum is toughening them up for survival.
We want to keep track of these tiny guys and hope the whole pride keeps safe. We will wait eagerly for their updates.
Aw. Thank you so much. Made my day.
So excited to see them Amy.
who killed those cubs? or how did they get lost?
Some were killed by the Majingilane males Jason, while others were killed by buffalo and a flooding of the Sand River.
So adorable! Hoping they are kept safe and we can see them in August when we come!
She probably feels relaxed in that sanctuary. Must feel comfortable around the people also, Not sure if that’s good or bad, but it is what it is, and the cubs are charming.
It’s so great to see the new little cubs, they’re so cute!! Fantastic pictures and videos!
Wow! Amy, don’t you have an amazing life? They are so lovely and this is a great post. Emma xx
Great photos and wonderful video… really amazing to watch. The cubs a very cute. 🙂
Mine too so so small
How amazing to see these new little additions, and what a back story on their mom. The Tsalala lionesses are tough gals. It is wonderful to see this pride growing.
nice videos