“King of the Beasts” and no one can doubt that after first seeing a magnificent, mature male lion in the wild! They look so powerful, well-muscled and often scarred from years of battles over dominance and risky hunts. Pride lionesses are pretty special as well, with their beautiful golden coats and – my favourite – their white eyeliner! And little lion cubs…what can be more adorable, all full of brown-eyed energy and playful romping. It goes without saying that lions are on everyone’s ‘must see’ list when they go on safari.
When Bob and I visited Londolozi last month we saw – and heard – lions roaring in the morning, watched lions crossing the Sand River at night, saw lions mating, watched a pride dining on a young hippo and even saw two brothers of the famous Majingilane coalition as they came onto Londolozi, patrolling against intruders. Here are some of the lions we were privileged to see…
One of the Styx males in the late afternoon. Young, unscarred and looking to be fully “in charge.”
When he joined his brother, they greeted affectionately – then both rolled onto their backs for another sleep!
These two females from the Tsalala pride were with the brothers and later joined the brothers on a night hunt.
One of the brothers showing the flehmen face whereby pheromones provide clues as to the reproductive state of the females.
The young hippo likely had an injured leg, according to tracker Mike Sithole, and the Tsalala pride claimed him earlier that morning. They were in a hollow, feasting on their prize, when we drove up. Most of the images are too graphic to show here, but the faces of the pride members give you an idea of how intense the feeding frenzy was.
Most of the seven pride members were gathered around the carcass, all having their fill, some already exhausted from the effort of bringing down such a large animal.
A few, like this female, were already satiated, resting between eating sessions.
And this one was just impatient, apparently, for her turn at the optimal spot to feed!
When we visited that night they were still gathered round their meal, pushing and growling for ‘best’ position. They only left the carcass about three days later – perhaps concerned that the Fourways males had crossed the river into their territory.
The two Fourways males are young, strong and powerful-looking as they pushed their way past camp, scent-marking and checking out the territory.
Although apparently not brothers (one is a son of Majingilane), they looked like a couple of young thugs, strutting into town!
They briefly took over the airstrip that morning, but on the alert for whoever might not want them around…
When they crossed back over the river that night, it was magical.
In the sand on the other side of the river, they rested and gave us the chance to take some spectacular images.
Several days later, we encountered one of the Fourways males on the road ahead of us, early in the morning, where he was calling for his partner. At that point, no one knew for certain where the other male had gone.
I almost felt as though he was roaring at me, looking straight at me! The sound of a lion’s roar is not easily forgotten…
He never found his partner that day, but we later found them both – his buddy had found a willing lady and was mating with her. He’d never been ‘lost’ after all!
We had a brief glimpse of Scar Nose and Hip Scar who had looked as though they were on a mission to find intruders, but they seemed to lose interest and again headed off the property.
Did the Majingilane’s find the Fourways and chase them off or, more likely, are there stories yet to come? The lion ‘politics’ of Londolozi is always interesting!
Written, Photographed and Filmed by Mary Beth Wheeler, Londolozi Guest
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Awesome blog Mary Beth. Stunning images. Love the Fourways males.
Fantastic! Thank you so very much for sharing your adventure! I look forward to these every day, it brings Africa to Arizona even if only for a brief moment in time!
Great blog Mary Beth and wonderful images! It’s really spectacular to see a male Lion in the wild…definitely a moment you will never forget.
awesome thank u for this update and beautiful pictures
The Fourways males do indeed look like “two young thugs” as you said. What great lion viewing you had. Thanks for the great photos!
How fortunate that you saw so many of the well-known lions! Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos!
Great blog Mary Beth! Loved the photos and video 🙂
Wow that is a great blog Mary Beth! The first picture of the Styx Male is rather intimidating, but he is a magnificent guy! It looks like there is going to be lots of fun & fireworks with all the different Lion dynamics.
So many incredible lion sightings. I loved the Tsalala photos as well as pictures of the new up & coming males. The Styx and Fourways males are looking impressive. What a wonderful trip!
What an amazing experience you had! Your photos are superb.
Great job auntie I always enjoy your amazing photography skills. I really liked the females with their food, very graphic and puts you right there with them.
Thanks, Nick!!
Mary-Beth, what WONDERFUL photos! I am so proud of you 🙂 Well done on the superb editing and beautiful photos!
Fantastic photos and blog. It looks like you hit the lion jackpot. The picture of the Styx male is amazing. He is one stunning cat. I wonder who the other Fourways male is related to and if the boys will eventually take over. I’d give almost anything to see all of those males in one trip. Thank you for sharing this!