After a refreshing two week break from work I am delighted to be back at Londolozi Game Reserve. Ready for another enchanting six weeks behind the wheel. Ready, to head out into the magnificent bushveld every day to find and observe Africa’s wildlife. Ready, to try convey some of the stories, photographs, video and magic to all of you loyal blog followers and nature lovers.
Tsalala Pride with Stwise koppies in the background
As I sit down to write this, the thunderous call of the a male lion echos around the camp; a restless Woodland Kingfisher trills away and a camp manger giggles beside the staff pool. Summer is here and it is wonderful to be home!
Sadly, I start off with a rather alarming update. In the two weeks I have been away from Londolozi a number of lions from my favourite pride have not been seen.
The lions unaccounted for are all from the Tsalala Pride:
The single daughter of the legendary Tailless Female.
Born back in July 2012 this little lion cub looked to be in good shape. Having overcome the initial obstacles of early cubhood, she was of the age where she had left the various den-sites and was actively following her little family. This cub was very special as it was the 6th litter of the old female and was thought by many to be Tailless’ last. The Tailless female has been seen numerous times but her daughter was last seen at the end of October!
The Tailless Female’s cub sits on the rocks at Plaque Rock
The newest litter from the Tailed Female.
The litter of three that was born in mid October have not been seen. Now we are all still holding thumbs that the mother has just moved them to a den-site that we have not been able to find. However, the thing that makes us all nervous is that this female has been seen mating numerous times throughout November. Is she mating to keep the Majingilane happy, or has she lost her 4th litter?
So potentially the pride have lost four cubs in the last few weeks. Now, I am the first person to admit that lions continue to surprise us and that a three week absence by no means confirms death, but it is worrying nonetheless. Those regular readers will remember the remarkable story of the 5 month old lion cub that survived 5 weeks alone…anything is possible.
So, this pride continues to endure and continues to allow us unprecedented access into the roller coaster lives that they lead.The highs and the lows! We will continue to bring you the latest developments from all the animals at Londolozi, not just the lions, as the christmas season reaches a climax.
Eyes into the soul
Written and photographed by Adam Bannister
Probably all the cubs are dead…
Are those eyes from an old male?
OH NO!!!! PLEASE PLEASE I PRAY THIS CUB IS SAFE!!!!! OUR B.B. too!!!!!! I just can’t imagine this cub being gone!! I WILL BE WAITING to hear!!!! ADAM~ thank-you so much!!!!!
Thank you for the updates.. Hope at least some of the little ones survived.
Love the eyes of the lion!
I am so sad to hear of the (possible) loss of the Tailless cub. She was quite adorable when we saw her in October, and she seemed to have her mother’s determination. Thanks for your post on this new development, Adam, and glad to have your voice back on the blog!
Adam, this female is not surviving sister of the 5-week temporary miracle male, right? I have been longing to see a picture of her. Have you seen her lately? Or am I confused? I thought there was one remaining cub from his litter of 4.
Times are tough for the little lions of Londolozi (even with the awesome Tsalala females protecting them). Lovely blog Adam. Glad you are back and looking forward to more updates.
Here is to hoping they surprise us again. Welcome back Adam
Adam,
Glad you had a restful break – I can only imagine how wonderful it is to return to Londolozi (we hope to someday but it will be a while!). Thank goodness for this blog that allows us to remain connected.
We check the blog daily and are so hoping to see that the cub of the original tailless has been found!
Best wishes,
Amy
Adam, is this the same cub we saw at the Buffalo kill on October 26th? We have a few photos of her from that day, and I think Rich may have downloaded the videos we took that day with her playing. So sad.
Honestly, this is too sad. I know one can’t anthropomorphize these animals, but when one looks into their eyes, as seen through your lenses, it is difficult not to see a soul. It is hard to acknowledge another life lost, even as animals across S. Africa are disappearing…so, it’s difficult to say good bye to some so young. Some circles of life are smaller than others, yes?
Thanks for showing us life through your lenses, even if at times they are hard to watch.
Adam, The first thing I do every morning is to look for a new post from you. The photographs, the captions, your write-ups and the way it is organized is really special.
The cub looks so adorable. While male lions killing cubs during takeovers is well documented, wonder if their drive to mate is so great that there could exist a tendency to kill small cubs, even if it is their own, to get the females into heat again(?).
Thanks for all the update…you will find her!! Welcome back Adam!!
Thank you Adam for updating us. I feel very sad about the cubs, especially the cub from the tailles female. I had hope she would have made it to adulthood. This year only sadness about all the cubs. Did the male lions killed their own offspring?
Thank you for the update Adam. Hope the cubs are safe and sound somewhere and will turn up alive. Nature is always full of surprises
Here’s hoping for another surprise/miracle. Some how, I don’t think they will show up. 🙁
The lion prides could all do with a period of trouble free cub raising that would swell the population , as far as I am aware they are still in decline generally , so all all additions would be welcome ,thanks for the up date Adam .
We hope the cubs somehow survived. This is horrible news we got a hint of while we were there. We hope they surprise us and show up somewhere.
thanks for the updates. Karen and Neal