We are fortunate to see five different lion prides on Londolozi, although it’s unusual for them to all be on the reserve at the same time.
In fact if you were to ask which of the high-profile animals gives us the biggest headache when it comes to finding them, Lions would be it. Regularly covering big distances, there are days (although thankfully few and far between) when there simply isn’t a lion on Londolozi. They might all be at the far corners of their respective territories, and we are left staring disconsolately at tracks in the dust.
Since the current lion situation on Londolozi is one of change, we thought we’d do a brief run-through of the lion prides that form the mainstay of our viewing; their current situations and future prospects.
Ntsevu
Currently the biggest pride on Londolozi and the greater Sabi Sand Reserve as far as we know, the Ntsevu pride consists of 6 females and either 13 or 14 sub-adults and cubs. We aren’t 100% sure of this last number as the pride has been split up a lot of late and no one has made an accurate count of the full pride for some time.
Recent reports are that one of the lionesses has given birth to two cubs, and the really exciting news in that development is that it looks like it is the female we long suspected of being infertile.
If she has given birth, and we can still expect new litters soon from four other lionesses (the mother of the three youngest – excluding the newest cubs – is unlikely to birth for some time still), the pride might be having some significant additions made to it soon.
That being said, most of us suspect some sort of split in the pride when the majority of the females start raising small cubs again, although what form that takes remains to be seen.
Tsalala
This female is still successfully raising her single offspring. The young lioness is approaching 18 months old now, and her mother continues to operate along a narrow band of territory along the Manyelethi and Sand Rivers, avoiding other prides, stealing kills from leopards, and maintaining a low profile.
This tactic has worked so far, but with the Ntsevu pride encroaching in the east of her territory and the Mhangeni pride starting to squeeze in from the west, she might start feeling the territorial pinch soon.
The Birmingham males continue to maintain some sort of a buffer for her, but as they age, that might shrink both in its size and effectiveness.
Mhangeni
Two new cubs have recently been added to this pride of six lionesses. They are being stashed for the most part to the west of Londolozi but they have made at least one foray onto the western part of our reserve.
We didn’t view this pride regularly during 2019, but the last few months have seen them moving through the Sand River upstream from our camps more and more, and hunting successfully on the marula slopes to our south-west.
The Othawa male that is often with them has been very vocal of late, which might mean he senses a weakness in the Birmingham coalition to the south-East.
We expect to see a lot more of the Mhangeni pride in the coming months.
Styx
We were viewing the Styx pride quite frequently at the start of lockdown, but of late sightings have been hard to come by.
Without a dominant male accompanying them (they have apparently been joined by one of the Nkuhuma young males), this pride is now semi-vagrant, popping up all over the place and without a defined territory that we can make out.
It’s hard to make an accurate prediction about a pride that has been so inconsistent.
Nkuhuma
These lions are the latest exciting addition to our viewing, as sightings of them have been increasing of late.
A big pride of eight lionesses and nine cubs, with the two Avoca males often in tow, they are an impressive sight, ranking only behind the Ntsevu pride in size in the area.
Although not firmly established on a large chunk of Londolozi (yet), with the Avoca makes being seen further and further south, and with the Birmingham males not putting up much of a showing in the north of Londolozi anymore, we are expecting more frequent sightings of the Nkuhumas going forward…
The two northern Avoca males. We’re fairly confident we’ll be seeing a lot more from these males going forward…
This was just a brief Summary of the Who’s who of Londolozi prides. We’ll go into slightly more detail of the individual prides and coalitions in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned…
Thank you for the update James. It is interesting to see where the prides move around.
James, what a beautiful blog today. I wondered where the lions where, five different prides of lions!🤗
Hello James! I eagerly awaited news on lions especially on Tsalala female and her cub , although males should be number one in being detected I suppose as their number decrease quicker in the wild. On World Lion Day I didn’t get that much info and news generally speaking, much more about elephants. It’s a shame and you do a great job of conservation. I am glad Tsalala mum and daughters are fine although poor leopards they have been robbed by many animals it sounds as they’re having a tough time. I wonder how many mature lions like Birmingham and Avoca are around… glad to see the wonderful images they are spectacular!
Thanks Jamo great update especially great to see the Tsalala and her cub doing well with a sound strategy
Great photos of all those lions. I like the one with the geese in the water best.
And a very interesting account of all those lions’ whereabouts.
Hi James. Lovely to hear all about the different lions and the prides. There seem to be a LOT of lions wandering around Londolozi at present! So many – and yet sometimes when looking for them it is difficult to find them! Thank you again for the interesting article and lovely pics. Wendy M
A great summary James, thanks for that! I’m trying to read back on old posts to figure out what happened to the Manjingilane males .
Thank you, I love to get these updates
Thank you for this update!! Interesting to see that the Nkuhuma’s are moving onto Londolozi more and more now.
OH Goodness! You’ll have to forgive me for my thought, but, as a cat lover, .. You can’t help but see grown lionesses and lions cub “baby years” in their facial expressions, similar to what is seen and experienced in everyday domestic cats. – Despite what lions are in the wild, in the bush, you can’t help but sometimes see “cuteness” in them, to think and say,..”They’re just big kitties!”
Great writing James! I had no idea there were that many prides at Londolozi. Just wondering about the Tsalala female… how did she come to be on her own? I saw the footage of her being attacked and it was terrifying to watch. I am impressed that she has managed to raise a cub and survive… but if the Birmingham Males stop protecting her then what are her chances of survival? I look forward to hearing of her progress! Do you and the other Rangers have a favourite lion or Pride?
James this brings such joy to my heart. Thank you
Thanks so much for sharing! Very interesting, look forward to hearing more about it!
An interesting run down on the lion dynamics James. Seems too bad that you have no visitors right now to be able to see all these cats. I hope that they are getting a handle on controlling the virus so that everyone can get back to some normality, although I doubt that the new normal will be like our old one. Thanks for sharing with us. Take care, be well and stay safe all of you at Londolozi.
Hi James, super thanks for the update on the lion dynamics! Keeping fingers crossed/thumbs held for the Tsalala Lioness and her daughter going forward and also exciting that it is the Ntsevu female who was thought to be infertile that is the new mother. Nature always has a way surprising us! With no large prides in the southern Sabi Sands, I personally hope the Styx might be able to establish themselves there in the coming months. There is only one young Nkuhuma Male from the pride’s last set of cubs, but the current nine youngsters are six males, three females. It will be interesting to see how 2/3 of the Northern Avoca Males approach the two Birminghams, since the numbers game is even, although the Birminghams have more experience as territorial males. The big threat to the Birminghams, I feel, are the four young N’waswishaka Males down south. There’s also three young males in the western sector that are being seen more often, so it will definitely be interesting to see how things play out within the rest of 2020
Nice wider context deal there Michael. Interesting stuff!
*detail
Great reading James, feel for the Tsalala lioness and her cub, there seems to be splitting and movement amongst the ranks and prides that might endanger their future survival. 🙏💕
The image of the lion walking past the signs at the camp is thrilling.
Great shot of the lion leaping over the river!
I don’t think I truly realized how many prides you have ! It will be interesting to see how all of them play out! Hope you all continue to be safe! Thankyou Victoria
I’m so appreciative of this lion update. There seems to be fluidity within the area as other prides are showing up more regularly. It’s still amazing that the Tsalala female has managed to raise her cub to juvenile status on her own. Her perseverance and “street smarts” have truly paid off. More cubs for the Ntsevu pride! Hard to believe they’re all still together – so many mouths to feed at 20 strong! And then there’s the Mhagene pride, accompanied by the Othawa male, roaming back and forth from Singita to Londolozi……lots to track!
Completely fascinating and wonderful overview of the Londolozi loin prides, especially for this relative new comer to the community!! Thanks James!
Nice insight on the five prides of lion’s in Londolozi. I am now looking forward to all the details of the individual prides in the coming weeks.
Thanks for the update James. We are always amazed at the huge prides that we run into at Londolozi. It’s just amazing to see them come up over an opening – just moving towards you one after the other! Great to hear that Tsalala is still surviving!
thank for posting this