2 July – Reports on the web suggest that Mohawk is not just with his three brothers but with the 4. This makes it 5 males in the west. A massive force and potentially enough to fight off the new coalition. Have also noted that areas have started calling the new males the Majingilane Males but still waiting for clarification as to the origins and meaning of the name.
3 July – The two breakaway Sparta Pride females are seen wandering around the causeway in the Sand River; they begin contact calling and out of no-where come two tiny cubs. Possibly just over 2 months old these youngsters have been born into a torrid time.
4 July– 1 sub adult female was seen alone but in good health in the centre of Marthly
5 July– In the early hours of the night a lot of roaring could be heard north of the river in Marthly. A couple of guys went out at around 5am to investigate and were amazed to watch the 5 Mapogo moving through the clearings calling as they walked. They had come from the west and had moved onto Londolozi, the first time the brothers have been together as a unite at Londolozi for many many months. The excitement continued as they proceeded to run into the bush just south of Ximpalapala Koppie and catch a sub-adult Buffalo. It was amazing to watch this incredible coalition act as a group again. Having had few experiences with the four brothers (besides from Mohawk) I was amazed to see how big they were. They are incredible and size wise they dwarf Mohawk, something which I never thought possible. I also couldn’t help but notice that Mohawk was somewhat sidelined from the rest at the feeding frenzy. Could it be that he had gone west to summon the help of his brothers and in the process now takes on a slightly more submissive role? I guess we will have to watch this dynamic unfold as well.
5 July– All the commotion and roaring in the early hours must have caused mayhem with the other lions as we saw the Tsalala Pride’s Tail-less female (yes she is still alive) with 3 sub-adults (2 females and 1 male) running south across the causeway possibly trying to get as far away from the action as possible. We followed them for a short while and were astounded to see them walk a mere 20 m away from where, the previous afternoon, we had sat in joy watching the two breakaway Sparta Lionesses feeding on a kudu with two tiny cubs. I’m certain that with the sudden arrival of now 2 coalitions of males they will be keeping a very low profile. The cubs are fathered by Mohawk and the deceased Kinky-Tail, but as for how the re-formed Mapogo coalition would react to these youngsters we are not sure.
Written by & Photographed by: Adam Bannister
Thanks for the updates Adam. It will be quite interesting what the next days and weeks will hold.
Thank you so much for all the updates
Do you ever feel like you are holding your breath until the next time the two groups face each other, and what you may experience with these powerful lions? Thank you for the update Adam.
Hi Lea, it is hugely exciting to watch this unfold and yes all the rangers here hold there breath when they drive out every morning to see what has happened during the night.
5 strong and they dwarf Mohawk!! What a force they will be. I agree Karen…the next days and weeks should be very interesting indeed…
I am really enjoying the updates of the Lion Warfare thank you please keep it comi.ng
Its Good that the Legendary Mapogo Coalition is Back, These Lion updates are really great to read and eagerly awaited by many,It seems that the new young males are heading for some rough time as they are battling the Dreaded Mapogo Coalition and perhaps they are not aware of the Mapogos Power ,In 2008 the Mapogos Completely destroyed the Four Skukuza Males and this time also if they catch the intruding young males they are going to Destroy these Four Young males as well. I feel someone should make a Wildlife documentary on the Amazing life of Legendary Mapogos.
Hi Ravi, that’s interesting to hear about the Skukuza males in 2008, it appears that the Mapogos are used to defending there prime territory. I agree that it would be remarkable to put together a documentary detailing the history and lives of these lions. In the meantime we can hopefully continue to bring you footage from Londolozi.