A couple of days ago we wrote about the Ntsevu pride starting to splinter as the lionesses start giving birth to new litters, and the Othawa male was thrown into the mix, much further east than we’ve seen him before.
Last night he had moved even further downstream in the Sand River, and his calls as the sun started to set initiated a bellowing match between him and one of the Birmingham males in east-central Londolozi, about four kilometres away (see map).
Often when big territorial males hear an intruder, they are immediately up and running in his direction, intent on committing grievous bodily harm to the interloper.
Not this time though. The Birmingham male simply lay there, often roaring from a fully reclined position. He seemed quite content to erect that vocal boundary rather than initiating a physical confrontation. The theory was that being alone, he was reluctant to engage in a fight. If his coalition-mate had been there, it may well have been a different story.
Red Dot: Othawa male 26th Oct. Blue Dot: Birmingham male 26th Oct. iInk Arrow: tracks of second Birmingham male 26th Oct. Green dot: both Birmingham males and Ntsevu Pride 27th Oct.
Although we could not hear the second Birmingham male calling from where we were (with the first Birmingham), we figured it likely that at some point during the night the pair might meet up to at least roar in a united front, in an attempt to drive the Othawa male away. The lioness the Othawa male was with was, after all, an Ntsevu female, and the Birmingham coalition should certainly feel their proprietary rights were being infringed upon.
Lo and behold, this morning at around 05:10, before the sun had risen, we found the Birmingham males with the bulk of the Ntsevu pride, only a few hundred metres from where the Othawa male had been roaring. The second Birmingham male had come from the deep south to join his brother, and together they had moved north.
Shortly after sunrise. The Ntsevu pride had just walked past our vehicle, and the males were following. Or at least one was, the second was about to.
I’ll be perfectly honest here and say that I don’t – nor can I – know the exact motives of these two males for being where we found them. Truth be told, it’s more often the pride that dictates the direction and pace, and the male(s) simply tag along behind. It does seem highly coincidental though that the morning after an intruding male was roaring from their territory, the dominant pair showed up at almost the same spot and their rival was nowhere to be seen.
This theory pretty much falls apart if the Othawa male was still close by (we didn’t find him). Or it can hold, but it means the approach of the Birmingham males didn’t have the desired effect and the intruder wasn’t to be deterred.
One of the Birmingham males approaches a Guarrie bush to rub and spray his scent onto it.
I don’t know how much info is conveyed in a lion’s roar; whether or not males can ascertain the threat level of a foreign male just from his voice. They can certainly tell the difference between roars (people can do it too, but it’s tricky and you need to have heard individuals roar a good many times before you start recognising their specific call) and know when a roar is not made by a lion they know, but beyond that, I’m not sure.
I think tonight will be when we find out more. If we hear the Othawa male roaring from close by, the intimidation tactics of the Birmingham males have failed and they’ll have to come up with another plan.
If the Ntsevu female is still with the Othawa male and he’s still close by, this may be the tiniest shift in the male lion power struggle that we’re witnessing…
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Interesting. Is the Othawa male part of a coalition or is he single?
Hi Marinda, he’s single.
Hi James! Is the Othawa male a single lion or is there a relative male to team up with? That would certainly change the dynamics. … How old are the Birmingham males? And Othawa? They surely can guess there’s a powerful intruder not an adolescent or an old one…
Nguvu (othawa) does not have a coalition. I believe that birmingham males are 10 to 11 years old, and Nguvu is 5 or 6 years old.
The Othawa make is by himself. He is currently in his prime while the remaining 2 Birminghams (there were originally 6 brothers but 4 have since passed away). are quite old,
Hi Francesca, the Othawa male is a solo roller and the Birmingham males are around 11 years old I believe. He’s coming into his prime while they are ageing. It’s about to get interesting.
And this morning we had two unknown males in central Londolozi, possibly two of the N’waswishaka males or maybe the Mhangeni and Styx males.
Thank you James and everybody for your detailed answers and update!
I saw on a channel on you tube that they were the avocas of the south. Is this information James?
James, I loved all the photos, and I saved Birgmingham Male🤗
Your hypotheses have the makings of a great short story–maybe a soap opera!
On pins and needles awaiting your next update!
James, Sounds like things might be heating up again!
This is a tricky one… stay tuned!
Interesting that the Birmingham didn’t confront him. Which of the 2 Birminghams roared against him, the bigger or smaller of the 2? And do you think they eventually chased him off or at least tried to confront him after reuniting. Also haven’t the Birminghams chased this male countless times.
You may have answered this before James, but concerning the Male lions progeny lines…do the Birmingham Males operating together mate with the same lionesses as its brother? It seems like once the mating begins the mating pair stays together for several days so is there any rivalry between brother?
Ah the Lion politics are going to get interesting soon!
keep us up to date James, the male othawa is big, but if he fights two at once he won’t be able to take it, he will have to back down. The males from birmingham are giants, I hope they will not meet, because it will be an unequal fight against the lonely male othawa.
Fascinating, the Othawa male must be vulnerable as a single lion to any coalition
Interesting what is going to happen in the future with these lions. Whether the big pride will split up or not?
The Othawa male is by himself. He is currently in his prime while the remaining 2 Birminghams (there were originally 6 brothers but 4 have since passed away). are quite old,
Correct
Isn’t the Othawa male a member of the Mhagene pride or at least has fathered cubs? Perhaps he’s spreading himself a bit thin, moving in to assert his prowess in another territory.
Many thanks James, for this update in these pride dynamics!….Prince Othawa needs to tread lightly crossing into the Birmingham males’ territory particularly as they have cubs to protect….he could end up becoming cornered by them so hope he goes back to his own pride… he’s got cubs to protect as well….Wow…..don’t want any of these beautiful “boys” to end up injured or worse, but it’s a pretty unrealistic “notion” in a lion’s world, that’s for sure!…..hoping for the best…. definitely looking forward to the next update….
Intriguing developments here. Certainly will be discussed and debated at great length over the table at Londolozi ! Looking forward to hearing where the Ntsevu pride move on from here🙏💕
Lion soap operas! love them. Lion politics is always interesting. Victoria