Assume nothing and expect the unexpected!
On a recent morning game drive, these two phrases held true once again. A lioness… in a marula tree… feeding on an ostrich – and it still sounds absurd every time I say it. After a long morning of tracking lions, ranger Robyn Morrison and I got the call over the radio from tracker Jerry Sibiya, he had found the lions. He could see two lions in the distance, under a marula tree. Excited that the tracking mission had come to fruition, we scurried across to see the lions.
Upon arriving at what Jerry had seen, you can only imagine my utter bewilderment when we saw a third lion up in the marula tree feeding on the remains of a carcass!
Not as comfortable feeding on a carcass in the limbs of a marula tree as a leopard would be, this Mhangeni Lioness had her claws splayed and gripping tightly, and her tail curled around the branches to maintain her balance while feeding on the remains of the ostrich.
First of all, although lions aren’t built to gracefully climb trees, it would be wrong to assume that they don’t. Ranger Nick Tennick has recently discussed the tree-climbing abilities of lions and the reasons they are willing to do so. The second assumption that nearly caught me out was thinking that the lioness was feeding on the remains of an impala carcass. The simple fact that the carcass was hoisted into a tree points to it being stored there by a leopard, and impalas are the most common prey species of leopards. The fact that it was an ostrich was rather unexpected and got us wondering which leopard would have gone after an ostrich. There was later evidence, in the form of a female and a young male leopard’s tracks found nearby, to back this assumption; in other words, we believe the Ximungwe Female and the Ntomi Male were the culprits.
Using the marula tree as a vantage point to scan over the vast grass plains surrounding us.
Already blown away by this unique sighting of a lioness reaching towards the higher branches of the marula tree, I had to assure myself, tracker Geshom Mathebula, and my guests that the very little remains that we could still make out of the kill were, in fact, those of an ostrich. Put all of this together, and it was certainly a reminder that one can always expect the unexpected in the wild!
Aside from the claws extended from the sheath, you can notice the feather to the right of her paws and the unique foot structure of the ostrich above the lion’s head.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most unique sightings I have witnessed, so if you haven’t already, make sure you watch this virtual safari, as Sean Zeederberg tells the story from his side. As Sean mentions, I am happy to report that I did have my camera with me that morning, and I trust you will enjoy the results…
Another lioness from the Mhangeni Pride and one of the Plains Camp Males gaze up into the marula tree and wait for any scraps to fall to the ground.
Not only did we get to see this lioness feeding up in the marula tree, but we watched her explore and navigate around the branches with a lot more ease and grace than one would have expected!
She even managed to find a comfortable spot to groom herself and soak up the morning sunshine.
It has been a while since I last saw the Plains Camp Males so it was great to see this brother looking as impressive as ever.
The lioness on the ground looked awful thin, makes me so sad
Lions do tend to look a bit thinner in between gorging themselves when they have successfully hunted a big meal, but this lioness is still in very good condition!
wonderful shots. Its hard to pick a favorite!
Thank you Mark! Glad you enjoyed the shots.
what amazing pictures!
Thank you Sandra
Hey Kelsey, that was an awesome sighting and I’m so happy you were able to capture so many images of the lioness up in the tree. The one on the ground looks like an older lioness, perhaps not as agile so just watched. Thinking about the ostrich kill, I would think it would be exhausting to pick all those feathers off to get to the meat. I’m betting Ximungwe caught it and not her son!!
It was so much fun meeting you and going out star-gazing. Cheers to many more extraordinary sightings!!
Hi Denise, thank you! I was also glad I had my camera ready and the morning light was just perfect! Yes, I think she was one of the older lionesses in the pride and I definitely think the Ximungwe female and even the Ntomi male did most of the plucking of the feathers!
It really was a great evening! I will definitely cheers to that 🙂
Hi Kelsey, big thank you for this update on climbing lionesses! I watched cheetah running after ostriches, never a lionesses. They will presumably pass on the climbing habit to their offspring, so, a brighter (hopefully, ) future for lions, having more chances to eat in peace, but an even tougher one for leopards. Have you got any news on the ostrich family? The Plain Camps males are superb, although their name makes me think of the Tsalala mother. Maybe they will mate to her daughter?
My pleasure Francesca, very exciting to see tree-climbing lions and to hopefully see more in the future. We believe a leopard actually caught the ostrich but I have heard stories of lions catching ostriches too! The Ostrich family is doing well and the female looked like she was soon to lay her next clutch of eggs when I last saw her. Time will only tell if the Tsalala female ends up mating with the Plains Camp Males – she is definitely at the right age now.
What an incredible sighting, Kelsey! Triple so, in that (1) it was an ostrich, (2) the Mhangeni lioness was up a tree, and (3) the Ximungwe female & her son were involved. Plus, photo #1 is priceless. Huzzah!
Thank you Willa! It really was an incredible combination 🙂
Kelsey that certainly was a sight not to be missed seeing the lioness in the tree eating on an ostrich carcass. Lioness must of been very hungry to climb a tree to get to the carcass. Plain Camps male is a stunning male lion.
I agree Valmai, luckily our timing was just right! She was very opportunistic indeed and they are all in such great condition.
Just the kind of thing that would get anyone who loves safari out of warm beds on chilly early mornings to go and find…..the anticipation of the unusual, or fascinating, or wonderful is such good motivation!
I couldn’t agree more Lisa! Always something new and exciting to see every day 🙂
Well, wasn’t THAT a surprising and exciting sighting! Good you had your camera to document it. That lioness in the tree truly looks like she’s getting pretty comfortable with this new skill. I wonder if she will attempt to hoist a smaller kill on her own to keep it from hyena (and not having to share).
She did look fairly comfortable in the tree. I think it will still be a long way off before she tries to hoist a carcass into a tree. but you never know, stranger things have happened.
I must say, if I had to eat dinner in a tree I’d probably look just as awkward as that lioness!😂 Glad she was able to find a spot to soak in the sunshine and take advantage of her vantage point. When in Rome… 😉
Londolozi has some really talented lions.
I hope I will seen one of them
How many ostriches are there now (obviously one less)
Kelsey, what beautiful pictures of the lions. Thank you for sharing.
Kelsey, What an amazing sighting! Sad to see that the kill was one of the Ostriches! We remember the days when there was only one!