Introducing: Majingilane – The Story of Lion Warfare
A male lion takeover is a hard reality of the wilderness. Since the 8th June 2010, when the Majingilane Coalition arrived in the Sabi Sands and began to take control from the Mapogo coalition, the rangers, trackers and guests of Londolozi and its surrounding properties have witnessed this reality. This film is a visual representation of how a male lion takeover takes place using the story of the Majingilane Coalition as the subject matter. This is the story of Lion Warfare.
This film would not have been possible without the contribution and permissions of the following individuals to use their footage, much of it shot at the actual events taking place during the course of the takeover. My sincere thanks goes to the following people for their footage:
Adam Bannister – Londolozi Ranger
John Varty – Londolozi Co-Founder
Brian Anderson – Nkhoro Guest
John Holley – Londolozi Ranger
David Dampier – Londolozi Ranger
David Ford – Londolozi Guest
James Weis – Eyes on Africa
Rex Miller – Londolozi Ranger
Rob Jansen – Londolozi Guest
Dawn Judd – Londolozi Guest
The Majingilane Coalition are in full force as we speak. They are a formidable yet incredible force of nature to witness from the safety of a game drive vehicle. Come to Londolozi and see these magnificent creatures living out their lives…you won’t regret it. ENQUIRE NOW
WOW Rich I was glued to the screen – fabulous film, congrats to all who contributed – AMAZING final
shots that close down the last chapter, leaving us shuddering and begging for more! Bravo!
That was freaking fantastic. Well done Rich and all the guys. That last scene at 13:45 with the four of them roaring together gave my goosebumps. The best thing I have seen in ages. Thanks heaps!!!!!
I agree, the final scene is incredible. My thanks goes to Dawn Judd for filming it so beautifully. rich
Fantastic, what a great film, thank you .
Well worth the wait. Incredible footage and narrative. Better then NatGeo! Can’t wait for the next chapter in this amazing saga.
This is just mind blowing Rich! Well done!
Amazing amazing work Rich! Well done
Excellent Rich. How you were able to narrow it down to 15 min is amazing. So much has gone on with these guys so that wasn’t an easy editing job at all. Loved this mini doc very much. The ending was especially fantastic with their territorial roars. Very nicely done. 🙂 I am sure I speak with many in saying that I would love to see more about the lions of the Sabi Sands.
Thank you Lisa, I will most certainly look into putting out more videos about the other lions in the Sabi Sands. It is big piece of wilderness with a number of prides and coalitions throughout, however lets see what happens. Thanks for your comments, rich
That was AMAZING, PHENOMENAL!!! I wish I had a bigger, better, more expansive word! Thank you and great job!
Absolutely riveting! Fantastic film footage. Thank you very much for sharing the excellent work. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thank you for this awesome video. Since today there will not be a day when I do not desire to visit Londolozi to meet the Majingis. I like specially the last footage with all the four Majingis roaring together.
Rich, fabulous piece of filming, writing, editing etc. It captures the awesome power, yet frailty of these magnificent, majestic creatures. It deserves to be viewed widely.
Great work! Looking forward to seeing more…
Fantastic !!!!
And released today – great birthday present for me 🙂
Thank you
Happy Birthday Anat, I hope it was a great day for you. rich
Congratulations Rich! Incredible filming! Look forward to many more.
This is absolutely spectacular! Thank you so much; the work you all did on this fabulous. It is moving and powerful. Especially for those that have been to Londolozi and spent time with these lions-to see their story on film runs deep.
Excellent Job to all. Thank you for sharing.
Just incredible, so powerful and moving, well done to all involved, cant wait for the next chapter…xx
Brilliant, Thank You.
Well done! Absolutely awesome visuals and footage!
Just when I thought I had seen it all! This is great. I was captivated. Well done to the team.
Rich you are a real talent.
Just superb- very powerful and spectacular – thank you to all involved
fantastic film,very well done
Rich, is it true that this bad boys killed new tailless female? I found this article…
On Nov 12th, 2010, Londolozi reported finding the Half Tail sub adult female dead near a Giraffe carcass that the four Majingilane males were on. It was apparent that the males had killed her. The Golf Course male was also found dead several days prior to this. It seems he could no longer fend for himself with his disabilities, the beatings he took from the Majingilanes while trying to encroach their kills, and the strong possibility he may have had Bovine Tuberculosis.
Just a question…
Is it all about Rich´s filming skills or is it about the lions?
I see comments about the colros, time gap, and visiting the place, but only Thelma here is pointing about the liones D:
So sorry, i´m not familiar with your job here, i may be mistaken, but, what about the lions?
Is any body taking action about those outisde males killing local ones?
Good question Shigueru and you are right..the story is about the Majingilane Coalition and has little to do with myself. I am not sure, however, that I understand your questions and what action you are wanting people to take in regard to outside males killing local ones. Perhaps you could help me further understand what you would like to know about the lions (specifically which ones) and what action you think should be taken? Forgive me in assuming that you are aware that Londolozi is in a wilderness area and we allow nature to take its course as it has done for many millennia. Look forward to your thoughts and further answering your questions.
Hi Thelma, can you point me in the direction of where you found this information and which ‘New Tailless female’ you are referring too? As it stands, there is the original Tailless female from the Tsalala pride and the New Tailless female (who lost her tail quite recently – http://blog.londolozi.com/2011/11/wildlife-story-adam/
As for the male who passed away in Oct/Nov 2010 you can read about him here: http://blog.londolozi.com/2010/11/lion-warfare-the-demise-of-a-king/
Look forward to your response and helping you understand the complex dynamics of these lions further. rich
Thelma, let me see if I can help you out here. I am a ranger here at Londolozi. Okay so the incident that I think you are referring to is when a clan of hyena caught the sub adult lioness from the tsalala Pride. This was a female who was fathered by Mapogo and NOT by Majingilane. She survived the hyena attack loosing half her tail in the incident. She continued to struggle forward surviving for a month after the incident. Eventually she was killed by the Majingilane Males very close to the scene where they had been feeding on a giraffe. As for the Golf Course Male, if that is who he was…yes he died but was not actually killed by a lion. Perhaps he was sick and died of TB, we will never know. We watched him deteriorate over about 10 months and this coincided perfectly with the entire Mapogo-Majingilane takeover. I hope this answers your question. Adam
You can read about the incident with the Hyena and Lioness here: http://blog.londolozi.com/2010/10/the-demise-of-the-tsalala-pride/
I am confused…so the new ‘Tailless Female’ WAS killed? Did her 1 remaining cub servive or waas she killed as well? So, that leaves the 1 sister and her 4 cubs (who are approaching their firsts birthday) correct?
Hi Geri, the old Tailless female and the new tailless female are still around forming the Tsalala pride with one other female. There are four cubs from the other female and 1 cub from the new tailless female.
The incident we are referring to has been confused by the labeling of the sub-adult lioness from the Tsalala pride (in October 2010) as a tailless female.
Rich – very cool stuff. Makes me want to come back for more.
Also great job on the video – I like the color cast – makes it a bit more dramatic for sure.
James
Thanks James and thank you for your contribution to the Sparta pride scenes. Good to hear you liked the color cast – most definitely gave it a unique feeling of drama. rich
Thank you again for bringing me back to Londolozi & the magnificent beasts.
Pleasure Arden, I hope to see you back here at Londolozi soon. rich
This is breathtaking, the conservation of these animals is so vital.
Wow Rich, this is incredible. Massive kudos to you all!
We can’t quite believe we were lucky enough to witness what we think may have been the start of this back in August & now have pictures of Scarface proudly on a frame in our home from that early morning drive when Adam & Solly found the coalition & the cubs…….just incredible.
We need to get booking our next trip to Londolozi now!!!!!
Thats fantastic that you were able to witness such an interesting moment back in August and have the images as a souvenier. I hope that the picture of him looks good on your wall! And YES! you most definitely need to get booking with your next trip to Londolozi. Look forward to seeing you back here soon. rich
fist thank you to rich for sharing . i like the part all 4 roaring together i can’t wait to see them.and what happen to mopogo? and thank you all at londolozi
Great pleasure Kanadid. The 4 males roaring is a fantastic scene isn’t it! You can read the story of the Mapogos passing as a result of the conflict with the Majingilane here: http://blog.londolozi.com/2010/06/a-moment-of-sadness/ .
What a truly amazing video! I absolutely loved the scene with all four lions roaring together, so powerful. I’m sure this question has been previously asked, but it is common for adult male lions to stay together like these four? I guess I always assumed that the went their own ways!! Wonderful job!!!!
It’s a great scene isn’t it Meghann! You ask a good question and the answer to it is by no means set in stone. Each and every male lion leads a different life and as such each and every male lion coalition is unique. It is usually common for nomadic young males to form a coalition as a means to protect themselves and to increase their chances of holding a territory as they grow bigger. Once a takeover has taken place, this does not always happen – sometimes all the males in the coalition will be killed by the dominant males, the coalition might splinter depending on territory size, number of available prides, prey density, etc. The Mapogo coalition saw this split a number of years ago, wherein the two members of the Mapogos stayed in the central Sabi Sands, whilst the remaining members set up their territory in the Western Sabi Sands. A coalition might stay together if there are two or three males who can be dominant in a pride without competing to heavily with one another, however any bigger and a split might occur. Does that answer your question? If anyone has anything else to add, I would love to discuss this dynamic further as I am sure that different regions have experience different behaviors amongst male lion coalitions… rich
Very good video, Rich. Thank you for posting it.
In the video, you commented that the hierarchy of the Majingilanes was clear and that Golden Boy was at the bottom. Which is the dominant male?
In response to Kanadid’s question, three of the Mapogos (Makula, Pretty Boy and Mr. T) are known to be alive and living together in Western Sabi Sands. Kinky Tail was killed by the Majingilanes. Rasta hasn’t been seen in a while and is presumed to have been killed. I was in Sabi in 2007 and was lucky enough to see all 6 of the Mapogos together mating with one of the females. The roaring and scrapping was amazing, but having Mr. T make eye contact with me while walking next to the rover was terrifying. I couldn’t stop looking at him, he just walked by the rover, turning his head to keep eye contact — I didn’t dare raise my camera to take a picture…..
Cheers,
Jay
Pleasure Jay, I am pleased that you enjoyed it. With regards to the dominant male, it is tough question to ask as I have witness both the male with the Scar Nose and the Black Maned male demonstrating dominant behavior around the rest of the coalition. Yet in the movie you will also see that the male with the hip scar actually mates with the Tsalala Lioness. So to answer your question, I do not think that there is a dominant male, not yet anyway.
Thanks for you input on the Mapogo coalition, I am sure that if anyone reading this with information about the Mapogos has something to add, they will do so in the comments section. Good to hear that you have had the experience of seeing them in the wilderness. I hope to see you back in the Sabi Sands soon.
rich
Phenomenal. Superb. Breathtaking. These lions are a force to be reckoned with. Thank you so so much!
Always a pleasure Penny, very pleased that you enjoyed it and I hope you will come and visit these lion in person sometime soon. rich
Hi Rich: Thanks a lot for the nice footage. I have a question for you regarding the number of cubs (male and female) fathered by mapogos that reached adult hood. Did mapogos manage to leave strong legacy (genes) to the next generation? How successful are the mapogos in raising cubs into adult hood? From the many readings about mapogos, I am afraid these warriors seem to be poor in that department. I appreciate insights on this. Thanks
This was beautiful footage…thankful that some footage must have been left out….the story needs to be told. A Mapogo fan, but certainly can respect and appreciate the Majingilane. Thank you for all your hard work, much appreciated.
Thats a great pleasure Sandra, great to hear that you enjoyed and are a fan of male lions. Thanks for watching and please share it around if you feel fit. rich
Have been to Londolozi with the family.Have seen lots of perks in Africa.
This is a really amazing footage.Knowing what Lions are,it was not a surprise.
The last shot of 4 Roaring lions was great.
Thanks
Rich, Adam, John, Brian, John, David, David, James, Rex, Rob, Steven, Phil….BRILLIANT guys. no special effect can match this. watching this for real must be bone chilling scary as hell. only aliens could be brutal than that.
Rich and the Londolozi rangers are the best. i loved it.
Lions are the ultimate.
A very interesting story and well documented.I only saw a little footage of kinky tail and mr.T killing one of the malingalane males and then the killing of kinky tail at night,but after coming across other blogs I’m simply hooked and very keen on following the past and present of all the prides/coalitions involved,I was so sad to see the footage I seen of kinky tail getting mauled by the 4 remaining malingalane males I’ve never heard a lion squeal in pain like K.T,and mr T coming back but unable to help his brother,then I was reading some blogs last night and came across the footage of mr.T getting mauled by the malingis and yet again was very sad to see such brutality,however I then came to understand that the K.T and mr T,s pride(mapogos) were much more ruthless and killed each others cubs to assert dominance as well as causing mayhem on neighbouring prides,but at the end of the day you don’t get anymore natural than a take over in the lion kingdom it’s just hard to watch,exciting and thrilling nonetheless.So anyway keep up the good work Rich and Adam as this is the best documented animal story I have come across and can anyone know where I can learn more about the history of all the prides involved.ie.how did the Mapogos come about is it 4 brothers or 2 and 2 that met up,who did they take over,is the KNP males still alive or is it true the lame hip one dead and by who,who’s left of the southern pride….etc etc you get the idea,like I said I’ve just came across all this and want to follow this very intriguing story of lion warfare.Thank you again.
Craig
From Scotland.
Thank you for your interest and kind words Craig. we will be sure to keep you updated on the blog and hope that you continue to enjoy the stories.
rich
Thanks for this great video. However, I watch it with sadness when one of the Mapogo lions was killed. I love the lions (males, females, and cubs) so much and I am addicted to watching them everyday. I feel sad that lion population is declining dramatically and are on the brink of extinction in the wild. Human espansion is encroaching upon lion habitat. Those monstruous humans that kill lions for hunting pleasure and for poaching must be severely executed. And rangers must be very diligent in protecting lions against those monstruous humans. I keep wishing that lions behave a little more than the decent humans: keep all the male and female younsters in the prides to help protect the prides and to help with hunting. Any lions of any prides can join any other prides peacefully. Pride dominance is determined by consent rather than by fierce fighting. And there is no forceful pride takeovers and cubs killings. Lions are the most magnificent creatures on earth; I just wish their population will recover and flourish.
I wish you make a full featured theatrical wide releases of the life of different bigger lion prides throughout sub saharan Africa.
Riveting story. Absolutely amazing. These coalitions are large in number as you would think a coalition of 4or 5 would be unstoppable. It also chronicles the lion-hyena rivalry. Sad to see the lioness that was mauled and died. This could be a full length feature movie or at least an hour documentary. Great work
Hey was wondering what ever game of this coalition?