The Tsalala Female has defied all odds and has now become a formidable huntress and although living a solitary life she appears to be thriving. However, I am sure that this lifestyle can be somewhat lonely for a social cat such as a lioness. Her typical behaviour sees her roaming through the dense riverine vegetation, keeping a low profile and almost mimicking the behaviour of a leopard and it is working. Now just over the age of four years old, she is fully sexually mature. We would expect her at some point in the near future if not already to seek out some of the dominant males moving around and hopefully try and mate. If successful this could see the Tsalala Pride grow once more with her very first litter of cubs.
Hearing the distant roars of what sounded like a lioness throughout the night and early morning, we set off with the hopes of trying to find the Tsalala Female in the northern parts of the reserve. The guests had seen this female three years prior when she was only a small cub. It was a misty morning and our view over the crests was limited so we would stop every few minutes or so to try and listen out for her roars. This would help us narrow in on where she was and help us find her.
The Tsalala Female scanning the open crest on a misty morning in the northern stretches of the reserve
As we turned towards the Manyelethi River, there in the road walking directly towards us was the gorgeous Tsalala Female. We were ecstatic as our search was fruitful. Within moments of finding her, she began to roar again while continuing her approach towards the vehicle. We were all in awe and could not believe how magically the morning game drive had begun, firstly, finding exactly what we had set out in search of and secondly, to have a lioness walk straight down the road towards you roaring.
The Tsalala Lioness began to roar. This was an interesting turn of events and we can only infer that she is trying to inform any males in the area that she is in Oestrus and ready to mate – very exciting times!
She then headed down the banks of the Manyelthi River and settled in the river sand but something in the distance seemed to have caught her attention, both ears pointed in that direction. She got up and made a bee-line towards it. At this point, we could not make out what it was.
The Tsalala Female settled in the Manyelethi River until something caught her attention.
As we moved forward we could see a very large rhino bull resting in the riverbed. This is what she had seen and was set on trying to stalk as close as she could. Now bearing in mind she is a decent-sized lioness, probably weighing 120-130kg (260-290lbs) her target is probably about 2 000kgs (4500lbs). There was no way she was hunting this in the hopes of securing a meal. It was simply a game for her and possibly her seeking out some company. Thankfully for the soft river sand, she was able to stalk relatively quickly directly at the large bull. At this stage, the large ungulate was oblivious to her presence as she got closer and closer. When she reached about 20m from him, he lifted his head aware that something else was around. However, he settled again, allowing her to continue her approach.
Moments before she got too close the Tsalala Female gazed back towards us.
Watch this video to see what unfolded next, it was truly astounding…
Curiosity certainly got the better of her as she stalked right into within centimetres of him. She is still a young and inquisitive lion that is probably desperate for some company and so I am sure she has many more encounters similar to this that we are simply not around to witness. I also have a sense that once she had managed to stalk all the way in, she was then unsure of her next step and what the repercussions would be. And as soon as she touched his rump it was incredible to see how quick he was to his feet and could spin around on a dime. This sent her scuttling back only to then settle. What also amazed me was that after this whole interaction, he still settled down in the same spot to rest further and this allowed her to then loop around and stalk again. Eventually, she presumably had better ideas and moved on leaving her new friend to rest in peace. What a phenomenal morning it was watching a lonely lioness attempting to make some new friends.
Oh my, what a sighting! The whole story of the Tsalala female has the makings of a wonderful children’s book about resilience. I’m glad she was able to “play” with this rhino without either of them getting hurt. Must be nice to be so large you can have a lion sniff your bum without worrying if it’ll take a bite. 😂
This is precisely why we chose to get a very tall greyhound when we introduced a dog into our single-cat family. We knew she’d try to hunt a small dog. All’s well that ends well.
Kirst, What a unique encounter. We are sure that Tsalala was looking for a friend! She must be lonely! Great video!
I feel so sad for the Tsalala lioness, wish she had a friend
AWWWW! Poor girl’s just looking for a friend! He didn’t seem to mind much thankfully! So his horn is sawed off for his safety I imagine, but wonder if they know it…like the bigger the horn, the greater the bull kinda thing??
The most memorable moment for us at Londolozi … this encounter with the Tsalala female adult … thanks to Kirst
What an amazing sighting to see especially to see her again where you had seen her as a young cub all those years ago!
What a curious interaction between these two! Just as someone said, it’s almost as if she wants some company. Let’s hope the Skorro male finds her soon!
Amazing as usual!
This is really the most amazing video! She seems to be a bit lonely indeed trying to make friends with rhino.
I love this lioness and do hope for her to be able to mate with one of the lions. However, it will certainly not be easy to bring up lion cubs in the middle of all those other prides.
What a hilarious, super, fantastic video! I giggled at the persistent wish of the Tsalala female to make friendship, she acts more like a cub, so naive and sweet! She reminds me of Lady Liuwa, who was the only lioness left in Liuwa plains, and had targeted the researcher as her friend, sleeping close to his tent. When they tried to reintroduce more lions she wasn’t happy at all! In the end she adapted to the situation. It would be really great if the lonely Skorro young male could approach her, but it seems she’s quite scared of male lions… never say never. Thanks Kirst!
My goodness Kirst she is really feeling lonely to be so brave and even touch the rhino on it’s back. She is looking for company and I loved the way that she kept on lying down near the rhino seeking friendship. She is a formidable lioness and I hope that she can mate with one of the males and have cubs of her own. Starting her own family will bring lots of joy to hear and us who know what she has been through these 4 years.
I love this dear lioness – as I did her mother. She’s had such a difficult life to-date. It was the saddest day when she lost her mum. I pray good fortune comes her way. She deserves it and more. God bless her. Any recent sightings?
Thank Lisa, we have been seeing her quite regularly in the Sand River in front of the camps and in the northern parts of the reserve.
Kirst, your story today and video were especially poignant. You know how much I love the Tsalala female and seeing her look strong and healthy is a testament to her survival skills as a single lioness. Whilst we can’t anthropomorphize, it would seem she is lonely and just looking for a friend to hang out with. Unfortunately, a rhino bull is not a good choice, although he wasn’t especially aggressive towards her. Hopefully she will meet up with a male (Skorro would be an excellent choice but his long term chances of remaining in the area are not that great) and have cubs to nurture as her mother did. I am looking forward to further reports on Tsalala, especially the one that announces she’s pregnant!
Thank you for this lovely update on the Tsalala female, she certainly is a beautiful lioness and proving to be very resilient. I hope she finds a companion soon.
Wow Kirst, that was a crazy encounter! I really love this lioness, and she continues to be such a brave and interesting animal. And such a character!!
Thank you for the update on the lonely Tsalala female. Will she know how much we care and love her? We eagerly await her updates and are excited to see her every time. Probably only emptiness and loneliness were her friends. Be patient and strong, one day it will be your day.
Fabulous footage! So endearing and heartbreaking at the same time. She has an amazing soul. We are going to learn a great deal from this lady. Love this girl so much.