The Majingilane coalition had come to the rescue of the two Tsalala lionesses in February. The panicked lionesses were on the airstrip with the aggressive Sparta pride hot on their heels. With the gap between the two prides swiftly closing, the Majingilane coalition suddenly began to roar. The ground shattering force of the four male lions echoed across Londolozi and caused the Sparta pride to bid a hasty retreat back into their territory.
Majingilane Male Lion
As the weeks drifted on into March the younger members of the Sparta pride once again pushed the northern boundaries of their territory which lay close to the airstrip. The inexperienced faaction was feasting on a giraffe when the tables turned on them. The two confident Tsalala lionesses surprised the young lions, chasing them off the carcass before claiming it for themselves.
Now, one week later, the two Tsalala lionesses were themselves halfway through a wildebeest when the Majingilane coalition arrived on the scene…
Without hesitation, the four males went straight for the carcass, pushing aside the lionesses and fighting amongst themselves for scraps. Left with nothing the lionesses lay down leaving the males to feed. Sitting quietly, the pair licked their paws, content in knowing that even though they had lost their kill, they were winning the ongoing lion warfare. With conflict and aggression around every corner, this was the offering to the males for their protection and this was the priced that needed to be paid to ensure the future of their cubs…
Filmed by: John Holley
Awesome footage John Holley! Its such an amazing dynamic – how the females KNOW that this is payment due for the protection they recieved before. Fascinating. What happens now between the females and the coalition? Do they simply go their seperate ways?
The coalition has setup quite a large territory and these two females are not the only lionesses whom the males spend time with. Owing to the fact that there are cubs, some of the males are more present, however the coalition splits up, moves around there territory and spend times with other lionesses as well.
Penny just to add on to what Rich said. Last night we had 3 members of the coalition with one injured female from the sparta pride. We think that this may have been one of the first times these males have interacted with this pride. She may have been caught by the males and was beaten! By this morning she had moved off and the males had joined up as a coalition of 4! So they spend their time moving between the prides they dominate , who in turn they protect, and then they seem to be slowly trying to add more prides under their belts! The Lion warfare continues…
Hi Adam , its sound a very important movement from Majingilane !
Please could you say which of the lionesses is ..? And how badly injured is she , how many chance to survive ?
Thanks so much for the response! Fascinating stuff 🙂
Mele we need to do a little more investigation into this lioness. More information will follow…I fear the worst !
Thank you Adam ; it is strange because I read on Mala Mala blog that in 02.04.2011 two breakaway Sparta lionesses mating with one Majingilane male . The threesome looked very content around each other, with no aggression being shown at all…
So you could understand why is a surprise , I hope not to be an other casualty from young Sparta lionesses
Fascinating – Thanks!!
The best place on earth to see lions and leopards up close.
Just to confirm the one Sparta Female was killed by these big males in early April. It can be confirmed the breakaway lionesses are okay so it means it was the older female from the core of the Sparta Pride.
Thanks Adam for your updates .
From my knowledge one of the older Sparta females is quite old , around 17 years … Do you know if this lioness was killed by Majingilanes or she is part of breakaway sparta pride , so she is alive ?