Join us on this week’s Virtual Safari as we set out to go spend some time with two male lions that we would not expect to see where they were. The Dark Maned Northern Avoca Male and his son the Talamati Young Male were found a fair distance south of the Sand River having presumably chased the Ntsevu Sub-adults off of a buffalo carcass.
We sit and wait for them to hopefully do something, which certainly takes a long time, and eventually, we are rewarded for our patience.
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Awesome video Sean! The other Talamati male is still with the females in the north interestingly enough. The other Avoca was seen just north of Londolozi’s northern boundary at Big Dam on Arathusa Private/Shirley’s property around 500 meters or so from these two but from what I was told by the friend in the sighting, there was no interaction between the two brothers. Interesting times ahead!
Thank you so much, Michael. There are certainly some interesting times ahead.
It was great to see Dark Mane and his son together still! My favorite team, if in fact that is what they are!
It was great to see them together. I am sure at some point they will split up, but for now lets hope they stay together.
I especially enjoy the little snippets of behind-the-scenes activities, such as prepping the Rover for afternoon drive. There’s a tremendous amount of work rangers and trackers perform outside of the drives themselves.
Thank you so much, Willa. There is a little more behind the scenes to get everything ready for the game drive.
I’m enjoying the added behind the scenes process content. It’s always fun to see the logistics of such a large operation, especially after having experienced it as a guest first hand.
Thank you so much, Chelsea.
Hi, I know it’s a physiological need, to eat belly-full for lions, anyway I sympathyse so much with them they make me smile, are like people who gather for a dinner and then can’t get up! Sorry to hear that one Avoca male died, they are beautiful successful lions, anyway they have the ability to meet up with other males and be reckoned as a rising force. Let’s see what happens then…
Let’s see what happens going forward.
Your patience paid off at the end. Do you know why the other Avoca Male died? Was it a fight ?
Thankfully our patience paid off. I am not too sure why he died, I think his condition deteriorated over the last little while.
I was watching Wild Earth and they said they expect it could be TB.
Hi Sean, both of those male lions are very impressive lions. Their tummies were so full that they were sleeping it off the whole afternoon. I suppose there will be a change in the dynamics of the lions soon.
They are very impressive lions.
It looked like a fairly common well-fed lion scenario, full bellies = long naps! It was interesting to see the backstory of how the vehicles are cleaned after a game drive. I’m assuming the water used is recycled from the treatment plant. As a visitor, it’s impressive and appreciated to step into a clean vehicle for every drive, considering how much dust accumulates on every drive….
The Avocas look strong and I’m sure the dark maned father is happy to have his son with him as a companion and back-up. Any sightings of the Birmingham duo?
Thank you so much, Denise. Yes, there is recycled water being used. Sadly, no recent sightings of the Birmingham Male recently.
You’s at Londolozi must have heard of Blondie Avocas death (RIP).
Do you think there is any chance of Dark Mane and Mohawk Avoca joining up again?
I really hope it does happen as I doubt Mohawk will last long by himself, the Ndhzengas will likely expand their already vast territory otherwise.
There is a chance that they might join up but it is not a guarantee. Apparently they were seen in close proximity to each other a couple days after the video was captured and there was no interaction between them.
Lions doing what they like best: sleeping with a full belly. Interesting that they went to investigate because of the vultures.
They will often investigate vultures descending as it likely means that there is a carcass that they could steal.
Really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes process you go through! Didn’t realize how many land rovers the camp has! As fat as those lions are it’s amazing they can chase any game at all!!!
Thank you so much, Bob. I am glad you enjoy the behind-the-scenes process. We will hopefully fill you in on a few more of them going forward.
Sean, thanks for the viewing of the Avoca male and Talamati young male. It is so interesting to watch the unfolding drama of their lives.
Thank you so much, William. It is so interesting to see these animals daily and follow their lives and all the intricacies behind them.