The Mhangeni pride of lions is, at this point, one of the most viewed prides in the Sabi Sand Reserve.
The adult females are eleven years old and were born on the reserve. It’s hard to say how many times they’ve been viewed and photographed (although a collation of sightings data from different lodges could actually tell us!), but pictures of them must number in the hundreds of thousands!
I have spent quite a bit of time with these lions over the last few years. I have seen thirteen of the then sixteen lions drinking side by side ; I have seen them hunting buffalo… on one occasion, when the pride was as big as I previously mentioned, they hunted, killed and ate both a female and juvenile buffalo in one day! The adult lionesses – of which there are now three – are formidable.
One of the adult females in the pride… born in 2008.
Many of you reading this may know about or have even seen these lions. Even though at Londolozi, on any given day, we could see a host of different prides, lions are territorial meaning they usually move around a given area. Hence, the lion sightings we have at present are dominated by the Mhangeni and Ntsevu prides.
A youngster yawns amidst the rest of the pride as they start to move around, preparing for a night of hunting.
However, something changed just over a six weeks ago and the Mhangeni pride moved, during the night, much further south than normal. We went out looking for them the next morning and followed their tracks all the way to the grassland area at the southern tip of Londolozi where the tracks disappeared.
Mother and offspring.
For about three weeks trackers, rangers and their guests went out looking for this pride and to no avail… they were gone. It turns out other rangers had seen the pride far into the south of the Sabi Sand Reserve, way out of their typical home range or territory. Were they following their prey movements? We didn’t notice any pressure on them from other lions in the area so why else would they move?
Most likely they were tailing a big herd of buffalo, picking off victims as they could. A large herd had been spending time south of our boundary and may well have drawn the pride out of their normal range.
The Ottawa male, about seven years old, has joined the Mhangeni pride. Most of his days are spent with the pride.A male lion like this can add significant value to the effectiveness of the pride when hunting larger game.
We had very few sightings of the Mhangeni pride for weeks… if any at all. On a good day lions can be hard to find, and now we were less one pride!
A snarl is received after the Ottawa male approaches the lioness.
Then one morning, about two weeks ago, the Mhangeni pride was found again central Londolozi. Would they stick around? Or was this a visit that would last a day, and would they be gone again in the evening? I was not sure so I did what most of us guides did; try to see them that evening before they would potentially up and leave. I did see them that evening. In fact, all the photographs in this post are from that evening. It was a windy, overcast afternoon… perfect for hunting. That night we followed them for some time; they did not hunt while we were with them, but were found the next morning with full bellies. Most importantly they were found the next morning, and again that evening, and the following morning after that! They had returned.
Getting active… for the young lions in the pride this often means playtime.
A head shake by one of the lionesses; a sure sign that she is starting to get active.
The Mhangeni pride are still being viewed every few days on Londolozi, totally unaware of their role as ambassadors for conservation. With so many viewings of this pride and so many photographs taken of them over the years, imagine how many conversations have been had about them and their dynamics, how many photographs of them lions are now circulating on social media platforms, and how much joy these lions have brought people.
Can you can understand why we were happy to see them again?
Wonderful news that they returned. We were fortunate to view the pride, consisting of 4 lionesses, and the first litter of cubs, from which six are now the Ntsevu pride several times.
Bruce , enjoyed this story. I was thinking perhaps those Buffalo were particularly tasty so they followed after them out of their typical hunting grounds. Perhaps they needed the nourishment that a large Buffalo would provide at a critical time in their life cycle. Regardless I am happy to hear they are back “home” at Londolozi.
Bruce thanks for the update. At the moment how many cubs/offspring are with the 3 adult lionesses? And do you have an estimate as to how old the youngsters are?
Bruce, I think we saw them in 2018 – there were a few small cubs! There was a small leopard peering down at them, luckily he left before lions came.
The Othawa male is actually 4 yrs old and will be 5 in feb
Also glad the Ottawa male has found a temporary home
What an amazing compilation of pictures, complimenting an engaging story showing resolve and hope for the Mhangeni pride.
Such a beautiful story of gratitude and love for these sentient and wonderful souls. Thank you!
The Ottawa male was born in 2015, so he is four years old, not seven years old.
Could you please tell me why the Mhangeni pride allowed other male lions in their pride but not one of their own, Big Boy? 💔💔💔
Super news Bruce! I first viewed this 16 strong pride in February, 2017- impressive is not a strong enough adjective to describe th encounter. Lately I’ve read news from SabiSabi that they’ve been spending time there with the Ottawa male. Seems they’re stretching their legs and boundaries in search of prime game…. skirting the territory occupied by the Ntsevu pride and Birmingham males. Thanks so much for the update and I hope you can continue to view these lovely ladies for days to come.
Do the Birmingham males allow the Ottawa male stay in their territory or does he stay out of their way?
Hi Bruce, great update on the original breakaway Pride from the Tsalala Pride! Was wondering if you have an exact age on the youngster of the Pride (the lone surviving cub sired by the Birminghams)? Also, do you have any idea as to what exactly happened to the fourth older lioness some time back?
How great that this magnificent group has returned. They would have been sorely missed. Victoria
I would imagine that the group merely left instinctively the Londolozi territory for easy food. So glad they are back and appear well and successfully hunting! Also happy there apparently wasn’t any conflict with another group whether inside or outside if Londolozi.
Great article, thanks. I’m intrigued as to when they haven’t had more Cubs for so long? Since the Othawa Male joined them they have had one litter which didn’t make it, but nothing since. Any thoughts as to why? Perhaps at only 4 years old and on his own the pride don’t feel secure with this big young Male?
Great stuff Bruce, but the age of Othawa Male is not correct, he is getting to 5 years old
Miss big boy so much
Great story. It is nice to read that the Othawa male is doing well!
Out of curiosity, why did these lioness expel their 12 cubs? It seems to me that they are raising other cubs without any problem so, why did they simply abandon them and let them all die? I don’t buy the theory that there wasn’t enough food because it is known that lioness are good hunters. It just all doesn’t make any sense unless they were just bad moms.