The first time I saw the Sparta Pride they were lying prone on the Southern end of the Londolozi airstrip. There were 10 of them there, including the Tsalala young male and the two Sparta males. This was in late 2010, just as the Majingilane were tightening their grip on the central Sabi Sands, and the Sparta Pride as we knew them then was about to undergo a massive upheaval.
Over the next few months, the three sub-adult males would be forced to leave by the new Majingilane coalition, cubs would be killed and even some of the adult females would fall under the teeth and claws of the Majingilane. I remember so well the tragedy of the passing of one of the older Sparta lionesses in early 2011. Defending a zebra kill about 2km south of the Londolozi camps, buying precious time for some of the other lionesses to get the cubs to safety, she had her back broken by the big males. With incredible courage, she managed to drag herself a long, long way to Pipeline Pan, following the trail of the pride, but succumbed to her wounds 48 hours later.
Thinking about it now, the Sparta pride has not been seen close to the Londolozi Camps in almost two years. This area has fallen increasingly under the control of the big Tsalala lionesses. Conflicts between the two groups have inevitably resulted in a Sparta Pride retreat, and one clash over a wildbeest kill last year resulted in the death of one of the Sparta cubs.
The Sparta cubs almost a year ago. Are these youngsters going to help the pride reclaim some of it’s former glory?
As the fortunes of prides ebb and flow, as they increase in size and strength (both the individual lions and the prides themselves), so to do their territories shift, as the balance of power changes hands.
The Styx pride used to be seen South of the Sand River to the East of Camp, whereas now you’ll be unlikely to catch a sighting of them anywhere outside North-East Marthly (Londolozi’s northern section). The Sparta pride were regular visitors to the airstrip when I arrived at the reserve, yet now the strip and the hills around camp is the almost-exclusive domain of the Tsalala Pride, lions who generally didn’t show themselves too far South of the river a few years ago.
The new lions on the scene, the Mhangeni pride, have been seen moving further south in recent weeks, operating in the shady border area between the Tsalala and Sparta territories. A risky move, especially considering they had all 9 cubs with them during the few days they spent there.
The Mhangeni females lie near their mothers at LTA Dam. We had hoped that this interaction between the two prides, many months ago when the Mhangeni females were still the Tsalala Breakaways, would be the first step towards the prides rejoining, but it seems that it is not to be…
I am of the opinion that the Sparta pride is on the rise. With 6 young lions all over a year-and-a-half, some of them approaching two years in fact (5 of them males), they are starting to look more and more like a formidable pride rather than three lionesses and their cubs.
The males are growing in stature everyday, and it won’t be too long before they are as large as their mothers. Although they will eventually leave the pride, whether forced out by the Majingilane or new males, they will still have a year or two in which to add serious firepower to the pride when on the hunt. Successful hunting and more lions in the pride may well equate to a higher cub survival rate, and if the next few litters contain more females that survive to adulthood, the pride will grow.
Time will tell whether I’m right or wrong, but they are truly an awesome pride to behold these days. Will they reclaim lost territory as their increasing numbers begin to outmuscle the Tsalala pride? Who knows. I’m very excited for the forthcoming months.
Speculation and theorising are part and parcel of working in the bush. While we can interpret behaviour on a day-to-day basis, there are way too many variables at play to accurately predict what the status of the various prides will be 6 months from now.
All we can do is head out in the morning, find their tracks, and follow where they may lead…
Written and Photographed by James Tyrrell
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Thanks James for the insight on prides’ changing territories and activites. Long time I wonder about the Sparta-pride, and their cubs resp. subadults, and how they look like. Photos have been scarce recently. When I saw them in January, they were still cubs. It would be nice to see some actual photos, showing their growing stature and manes. Best regards to Londolozi!
Hi, thanks for this update, it is just when i start to follow the londolozi blog, the sparta pride was the center of this reserve, but lately all is about the tsalalas and the breakaways.
Thank you James. I wonder what will happen in the next 10 months before I return to witness the magnificence of Londolozi!
Sparta is my favorite pride right now, although the Tsalala pride holds a special place in our hearts now that we’ve seen them three years in a row. I will be glued to the blog until our next visit to see what takes place over the next 11 months.
THanks James. Great to hear the Sparta pride are on the rise again. Those five males shall lead to many interesting blogs in the future I am sure.
Thank you for this wonderful story about lion prides. I love every single lion: the adult males for their majectic strength, the lionesses for their hunting prowess, the cubs for their cuteness, and especially the young males for their sexiness. I hate to see lions fighting and killing each other. I wish they have vast territories with abundant preys, so they don’t have to fight over land and preys. When the Sparta pride expand and regain their territories, they would fight and injure the Tsalala pride. There will always be one pride expanding to the detriment of another. Please have videos of the Sparta young males. Greetings from Irvine, California, USA.
And those 5 young males come from the same pride the Mapogos originated from !
Thanks for sharing James. Lets hope all the youngster’s survive. Who are the fathers to these young males and other cups?
Hi Brandon,
the Majingilane are the fathers
James
Thank you James – all very exciting!
Thank you for sharing James! I truly LOVE S. Africa and Londolozi…..
Today it was reported that 2 male lions attacked and killed a lioness in a zoo in Texas. On lookers were horrified. One male grabbed her around the throat and suffocated her while another seemingly pinned he down.
I am not horrified by this. Saddened yes, because they were brought up in captivity. But, horrified? No. They were actually doing what they do…and she actually died a normal death IF she were in the wild. I am saddened by what may happen to the males. Who knows why they attacked her, but they were just being lions. I wouldn’t have known any of this behavior had it not been for our experiences and interactions with the teams @ Londolozi and others in S. Africa.
I LOVE them all and hope they live their lives freely, there.
Thanks for sharing~
Hi James, great story. Sometimes I forget that Lions are so territorial….