The last 10 days have provided some fascinating developments for Londolozi’s Tsalala Pride. I need to wind back the clock to the night of the 1 November. That night the 2 sisters managed to kill a zebra in a region that historically is some distance south of their territory. At this stage the Tailless Female was not with them as she was still mating with the Scar-Nosed Majingilane Male.
The next morning one of the Rangers went to follow up on the pride to see if they were still feeding on their prize. Their was no trace of the pride; instead a couple of very fat and content looking hyena were sleeping nearby. After a little bit of investigating Alfred and Bennett managed to get onto some fresh tracks and began tracing the steps of the 2 sisters and their cubs. The tracks headed north back into the heart of Tsalala territory. Some time later and the tracks cut into the Sand River… a horrific site was to be had as they found the pride lying in the shade on the banks of the river.
One of the smaller cubs was missing and the mother had been brutally wounded. It looked painful as her back left leg was very obviously bitten and still oozing blood. The big damage however came in the form of her backside…her tail had been bitten and ripped off and it looked terrible. She lay motionless in the shade…the pride was in tatters.
A decision was made to leave the pride alone for a couple of days to let them recuperate and reduce their stress levels. The question on everyone’s mind was what had happened that night. We contacted our neighbours to find out about male lion movements. Through a process of elimination and by the fact that no other lion tracks were seen in the vicinity, we put the encounter down to the actions of a severe lion-hyena encounter.
It was only some 4 days later that the injured lioness was seen. Her leg does not seem too badly injured and she was able to walk. Her backside on the other hand is not a pretty site. Who would have thought that we would have yet another Tailless Female in the Tsalala Pride? Ironic that a very similar incident occurred some 6 years ago to her mother; involving a clan of hyena, a zebra carcass and a litter of lion cubs. So we are all holding thumbs that this special lioness can pull through and that the pride rallies around her in support. Sadly there has been no sighting of the missing little cub so it’s fate seems sealed…I hope I eat my words!
The story is however not all doom and gloom. The Tsalala Pride has thrown us yet another wonderful break…the original Tailless Female has been seen with the pride and has even been seen nestling up to her daughter…the new Tailless Female. Maybe it is the support of a true mother that this lioness needs to pull through this difficult time.
Despite how terrible the wound looks, she seems to be alright otherwise and can walk with little noticeable discomfort
Written by Adam Bannister
Photograph by David Dampier
wow, what a terrifying story. Lion-Hyena encounters can be so brutal – and it is absolutely fascinating that the story seems almost duplicated since 6 years back. So unfortunate for the little cub, but this may just be an event that brings the pride together. Its always darkest before dawn…
It is truly incredible indeed that we are seeing nearly a direct repetition of 2005 and the ‘Original Tailless Female”
Ditto to Penny’s comments – and …OUCH…..!!
its good to see BB has come to console her daughter.Im at a loss for words
Thank you for your update. I hope she’ll be ok. so sad another cub appears to be gone.
Awwww poor baby~So ironic how this has happened twice,same way! It is a rough world in the wild but there are many good stories on the other hand! I am AMAZED the care that these cat families show there love for one another. Whether a new cub or an older one!!!! GET WELL BIG CAT!!! WE ARE OULLING FOR YOU!
so heartbreaking…nature can be so cruel!!!
So sad for this lioness. This is a resilient pride though and I am sure with wise BB next to her she will pull through.
So, did her mum get her wound the same way? Defending a cub? I assume that’s the only thing that would cause a lioness to engage in such a battle, yes? Is this one of the older cubs that was lost, or the last of the younger? They have had a rough go of it, this group. Any idea how they heal these apparent horrific wounds? I assume the tail is mostly cartilege? Looks awful…I hope they can all pull through. They need each other…they are such a beautiful family.
Horrific. Didn’t one of the younger lionesses also get similar wound and then die? Strange that they get the same type of wound? Are there other prides that have tailless lionesses?? I wonder if it is this pride’s way of defending themselves?
Kk you are correct. I think it was mid way through last year the one sub-adult lioness was caught by a clan of hyena and mauled. We thought she had been killed…she showed amazing resilience and pulled through for a while, she had very similar injuries with her tail ripped off too. Il never forget a very moving momment of watching her mother, the original Tailless Female join up with her and lick her wounds for her. Sadly that lioness never made it…her death came at the claws of the Majingilane Males at a giraffe kill and not due to her tail and wounds…had she made it through that ordeal we may have now had a pride of 3 Tailless Females! If anyone else has heard of prides without tails I would love to hear the stories.
That really looks bad….!!!!!Won’t she be susceptible to some form of infection if the wound is not treated? I wonder if being tail less can impare her ability to hunt…
That’s not correct. The Mother Tsalala Lionesses tail was bitten off in a fight with a nomadic male lion!
I remember most of the nomadic males that have wandered through Londolozi and can’t seem to remember any tail biting going on. i do however remember the night the tailless lost her tail. She was with both daughters and her 4 (6-ish month old) youngsters on a zebra kill just before christmas in 2005. We heard the hyena fight from camp in the early hours of the morning and when myself and Melvin followed tracks the next morning they led straight North through the river and towards an old track that runs up to Ximpalapala. She was there with the rest of the pride and seen to chew off what remained of the tail. She was lucky to survive the wound as i guess will her daughter be…
Thanks for the update Adam. We had been holding our breath- waiting to hear what was going on since it was posted in the weekly sightings that another cub was missing. We were hoping for the best, but it is again sad news of another lost cub, and an injured lioness. This pride has had some very difficult moments in the past months. The plight of this pride continues to astonish me.
Just to make sure I have this right – the older cubs and their mother are all healthy and together and it’s the younger cubs (two of which are still with the pride) and their mother who have been having the tough times?
Ed, it is confusing yes…as it stands there are 3 adult females. The 4 older cubs and their mother are fine. The mother of the younger cubs is the injured lioness…we have only been seeing one small cub with the pride since the hyena incident nearly 2 weeks ago…so it is now the Tsalala 8!
Adam, is there one of the youngest cubs left or are they all gone? I’m so sad about this news. They were the Tsalala 10 when I saw them in August on my first game drive. I feel so connected to them.
Hi Adam – as promised I have to follow up on this saga having seen the injured lioness on Saturday night and overhearing the breaking news of the missing cub being found alive. Any updates on its survival and reuniting with its mother? Will hopefully hear some good news from you to pass on to Thalia …
OMG. It is hard to see this photo even though I know how brutal predator interactions can be sometimes.
I know intervening to help that tail heal is not an option in the Parks but how I wish we could. lori
So sad to hear of her injuries and the loss of one of her cubs. Thanks for the updates. I have so many pictures from my last day at Varty Camp October 30, 2011 with both cubs-one with brown eyes and one with lighter blue colored eyes
Hey Adam,
Hope we will see you in August 2012 and we will be able to see this lioness in the flesh! Can’t wait to see you and the rest of the gang. Hi to all.
Fiona and Richard
Hello Fiona and Richard
Great to hear from you… we have missed you at Londolozi. But im glad to hear that you will be returning in the not too distant future. Who knows what the state of our beloved Tsalala Pride will be? We are holding thumbs. Look forward to seeing you, Adam
Adam..is there any updates from new tailless lioness?….