It starts with that heart-stopping moment that I see Prof’s hand twitch; his fingers splay out from the handle on the bonnet of the Land Rover, that subtle signal to stop. He’s seen something. He hops off of his perch at the front of the vehicle as soon as the engine stops. He looks up, his eyes lit up with excitement, and beckons me over.
“Look, the lion was here. Male. He was moving quickly. Running!”
The lion tracks head South!
We walk down the road as he paints the picture for me,
“They were moving quickly up this road at first. But look here. Here you can see these tracks on top of those ones; here they were running back down the road!”
We march back to the vehicle, our plan formed. We must follow these tracks and find out why this lion was in such a state, intrigued to find out why he was running, as there’s no sign of anything being chased.
As we now drive down the road, Rob’s hand sweeps through the air, motioning for me to keep going, he’s still got the tracks heading down the road. We reach a T-junction and the tracks continue into the bush. We decide to loop around to try and find them again on the other side of the block. Tracks this fresh are as clear as anything to the hawk-eyes of my partner, practically glowing in the sand (at least to him).
They cut East. We follow. They cut South. We follow.
A vehicle ahead of us has seen something and we know exactly what it is. Just as expected, lies one of the two Birmingham males. Then we spot two Ntsevu lionesses feeding on an impala ram, not 10m away from the old male. Upon examination, we note that he’s definitely not full.
But why is he not feeding then?
The answer to this question comes to us as we see the Birmingham Male stand up; he’s bleeding somewhat and limping quite badly, keeping the weight off of his back left leg. Weakened by some recent encounter, to the point of not being able to compete with these females for a portion of their kill. Bear in mind here that a male of this size will usually easily dominate a kill, especially a relatively small one like an impala ram.
The Ntsevu lionesses were feeding on the rains of an impala ram.
Throughout this whole tracking event, the radio has been very alive with three other rangers tracking a pair of male lions further North. They’d heard roaring that morning and were searching the area where the vocalisations had come from. Almost at the exact same moment that we discovered these lions after our merry chase, so did our fellow teammates find another coalition of lions in the north.
And thus the pieces all fell into place. That roaring from the north was the Northern Avoca Males, a formidable coalition of two brothers dominant in the northern parts of Londolozi. This pair has rarely been seen south of the Sand River. What we believe happened early that morning was that this Birmingham Male had heard these males roaring and advertising their presence. He marched in from deep in the south, directly toward the intruders with the single-minded determination of a dominant male lion.
A Birmingham Male charging into the sound of another lion calling. This is not from the sighting I am speaking about though.
That instinct to defend his territory against an unrelated male pushed him into a confrontation with the Avoca Males. In this instance, unlike the previous encounter with the marauding Othawa Male, it appears that this Birmingham Male came off second best, and lucky to escape with his life.
We spent a short time with this male before he stood up, stretched somewhat gingerly, and limped off out of sight, clearly injured but to what degree we were not sure.
Desperate to get closure on the whole event, we were intrigued to see the state of the Northern Avoca Males. We made that our mission for the afternoon. The one Avoca Male was barely moving, laying in the shade of a thicket, his brother, however, was sporting a severe limp showing us that the Birmingham Male managed to get at least one good shot in before he was chased off by the pair.
This male was favouring his front left leg which seemed somewhat swollen.
Lion dynamics continue to fascinate us here at Londolozi as we watch what will surely turn into a massive power shift amongst the dominant males in the area. Who knows what might happen over the next year. Theories we may have but in the end, given time, the bush will reveal all and the best thing we can do is enjoying watching it unfold. If you have theories of your own, please share them in the comments section below.
I felt for the old Birmingham; there’s nothing so melancholic as an old beaten, once-dominant lion. But then, when I read about the Avocas… well he’s a real power! Is is possible that lionesses join forces with Birmingham again if they have cubs?
What A day Kyle ‼️ I presume, from your recap on the events, that the other Birmingham male was not around to support his brother? It certainly will be intriguing to see which way this goes…it must have been incredibly exciting tracking and eventually solving the mystery. Thanks for sharing ❤️
From what we could put together, it does seem that way. There is also a chance the brother just took a different route out of there. It’s always fun trying to work it all out though!
Exciting reading to start my morning…non-fiction at that!!! Thanks for the blow by blow in the bush!
The Birmingham starts out fighting 2 avocas and you say he comes out second best! I feel he did great, he survived against the 2 avocas which tells me that he is one tough cat! He held his own and injured avoca in the process. One on one or two on two from the get go, avocas will not win. Can you post injured cats from this incident so we can see.
I would also like them to post more photos, so we can see the real situation in which each lion finds itself.
I too would not call Tinyo or Nhehna old, sure they might be older than the Avocas but Tinyo charged in and even Kyle said one of the Avocas was lying under a tree not moving. Would love to see pictures of the aftermath, I dont think Tinyo was “run off” either. Just saying
The thing of it is that we aren’t always ready with the camera. We always try to balance out capturing the moment digitally with just capturing the moment with our guests; it’s often a tough choice!!! I’m sure photos will slowly surface as everyone gets through their various edits and such.
This shift of power from the Birmingham coalition to younger males is surely very interesting. It’s the course of nature, of course. Still, I am a bit sorry for the older lions and also admire their stamina. They do not give in easily.
Fascinating indeed to read the blogs about lion dynamics at Londolozi. Living in Europe it is even more fascinating. I can hardly wait to book a trip and these majestic boys myself. ( But …I will wait a bit until Covid contaminations are not rising so drastically again). In the meantime I will check your stories – they were “lifesavers” during lockdown and still make my day.
I’m so glad you have enjoyed the blogs, Ella!! Can’t wait to have you here once the dust settles.
Major changes in the lion dynamics–beware the Avoca males.
So, tinyo only fought against avocas? Where was Nhenha?
Tinyo is very aggressive, but nhenha is a tank, the BBoys cannot be underestimated, despite their age they are in good shape and are giants. nhenha needs a rematch with mowhak.
We believe so but have not hard evidence apart from the injuries on the two. I am sure there will be more to come in the future.
If the lions with injuries have been sighted, why are there no pictures of these cats? Words are easy but I like many people like to see for myself. This is not the first time Tinyo has taken on 2 other male lions himself. September 2017 wild earth video the presenter was Allie and she informed watches what had happened, one lion had died from this fight. Allie found Tinyo cleaning himself after which he got up and walk down the road then laid down again.
We will share images as and when we get some.
Shame I can’t believe it is happened, although it was inevitable. I feel sorry for both the male lions on each side, the Birmingham and the Avoca males. Hope they both recover and stay within their boundaries to prevent another fight, maybe even death. The Ntsevu females have got something to do with this, as the males go after the females for mating rights. Your tracker is an exceptional tracker.
It does seem that all lions involved have made it through with relatively little permanent damage!! I think the males are just doing what they are “programmed” to do and trying to establish a bigger territory and mate with more females. And yes, Prof is an amazing tracker, I’m very lucky!
Great storytelling Kyle, especially grabbing our attention with your opening paragraph!
It sounds like the one Avoca male may have had his old injury reinjured if you saw it swollen. I know I got my answer that the Avocas are willing to fight for a territory now. Before on Djuma, they just walked in on it since the Birmingham’s had moved off. What an exciting drive that was for you. Thanks for sharing that with us.
I would love to know how an older Tinyo escaped with an injured back left leg from 2 Avocas in their prime, trying to take over their territory? Did Nhenha appear and scare the Avocas back north? Secrets of the bush.
Your last line nails it, Lawrence. Secrets of the bush indeed!!
Great account Kyle! How do you think the Avocas will affect the developments and ultimate settling of the Ntsevu Pride as the younger lionesses reach sexual maturity and the males disperse?
Can any of the guides and trackers offer a theory why the Birmingham male could survive a battle with less than fatal wounds and even inflict wounds on an Avoca male, but the Othawa male in his prime did not survive in his battle with the Birmingham males and did not inflict any damage to either one of them?
really, this is a point I hadn’t thought of, but it makes sense
If I’m not mistaken, the one Birmingham did seem to be injured in this encounter. Seemed to be injured on his back left leg and was keeping his weight off of it.
Oh my, the BBoys seem to be under fire from all borders. So far, they’ve both survived with minor injuries, but I fear their age inability to heal quickly could be their downfall. I encountered them during my first visit in 2018 and was mesmerized by their strength and stately movements throughout the property. This time, just a couple months ago, I was shocked by how old and tired one looked, walking carefully due to his shoulder tumor. I will be sad to see them defeated, most likely within the next year, but know they will fight for their pride and territory until their last breath or forced to leave. I appreciate the update!
I really appreciate your perspective especially since you have been there and can give an eye witness view. Thank you
As in boxing Youth Must Be Served,
Can please tell us if this is the same skirmish that was spoken before where the female was the Avocas or is this a whole different one. Kinda of confusing,
Morning Kimberly, yes this is the same skirmish.
Here is a link to the other blog post:
https://blog.londolozi.com/2021/06/22/the-northern-avoca-coalition-step-into-a-power-vacuum/
@Sean Zeederberg, I was hoping it was. thank you so much.
Interesting but we’ll never know if Tinyo met blonde or both Avoca . Maybe Mohawk turned up and turned the tables forcing Tinyo to leave . Tinyo. looking fine now but could be a flashpoint at anytime with Avoca encroaching into the kambulas more often.
Thanks for an exciting story Kyle! Lion warfare is certainly exciting and these two coalitions are definitely in the thick of seeing who is going to take control!
I wonder where Nhehna was.. I’m sure this won’t be the last time there is a confrontation.
I am sure it won’t be!!