After the arrival of the Ndzhenga Coalition back in 2021, a few of the older lionesses, mindful of the danger posed to their cubs by the changing dynamics, bravely left their familiar territory and ventured northward, away from the main pride. Despite the sorrowful outcome for the cubs, this split was an inevitable part of the pride’s journey, marking a new chapter in their lives. Some two years on, the Ntsevu Pride has settled into a new territory on the eastern side of the Sabi Sands in northern Mala Mala and has been quietly thriving under the watchful eyes of the Ndzhenga Males.

The Ntsevu Cubs drink from the Sand River under the watchful eye of a Lioness before crossing into the middle channel.

In the past year, there have been several thrilling updates regarding the Ntsevu Pride. After successfully mating with the Ndzhenga Males, the pride has grown to 10 members strong. The three lioness are known for their incredible size and strength as well as their hunting prowess in taking down large prey such as buffalo, giraffe and zebra. The current make up of the pride is as follows:

• One lioness has given birth to one male cub and two female cubs in November 2023. The cubs are doing well and growing rapidly. 

One of the first sightings of the new cubs of the Nstevu pride that were born in November last year.

• Another Lioness has given birth to one male cub and three female cubs in May 2024. These cubs have only recently began moving away from the den and being led to carcasses successfully caught by the adults of the pride.

The mother of four cubs drinks from a mud wallow with her cubs in tow.

• The third lioness is barren and has never been able to fall pregnant despite multiple mating bouts with the Birmingham Males and now Ndzhenga Males.

She continues to act as a godmother to the young cubs of the pride, providing protection and deterring any potentially dangerous young male lions in the area. Her contribution to raising these young cubs is monumental, given the many predatory threats in the Bushveld.

One of the Original Ntsevu Lioness that is barren.

As the pride has been in Mala Mala for the past while, there has been some exciting developments in their movements. They have been venturing further south of the river onto Londolozi, often in search of food and covering more territory. Providing some incredible viewing of which two recent sightings stand out as the more memorable sightings close to camp.

One of the young cubs glances towards its mother on the bank of the Sand River

The first sighting was on the airstrip of just the lionesses. A team of rangers and trackers found them stalking a herd of wildebeest, but the pride did not have any hunting success. But just to see these magnificent lionesses on the airstrip, out in the open while moving about on a serious hunting mission was phenomenal.

The three Ntsevu Lioness are seen crossing the Londolozi airstrip early one morning looking for prey.

Later that afternoon, to much delight, the whole pride, including the youngest cubs, was found feeding on a wildebeest just minutes out of camp near the Sand River. It was at this sighting that we got our very first view of the younger cubs. Knowing they had crossed the Sand River moments before brought a lot of joy and surprise to all present.

The whole pride, including the four youngest cubs, are seen devouring an adult wildebeest near camp

The second sighting was a few days later. Early in the morning, we drove down to the causeway and discovered the Plains Camp Males feeding on a dead hippo, which was likely killed in a fight with another territorial hippo bull. There was an air of concern as the Plains Camp Males were now deep into the territory of the Ndzhenga Males, the Ntsevu Pride had been found not too far away with all the cubs. Since the Plains Camp Males had not mated with the Ntsevu Lionesses, they have no vested interest in these cubs and would likely kill them should they come across them.

The dominant Plains Camp Males feeding on a hippo carcass near the Sand River.

Our concerns were centred around the pride being drawn in by the sight of vultures descending into the area or the smell of the carcass being blown down the river. Should the Ntsevu Pride have a run-in with the Plains Camp Males, it would not end well, and we would certainly have seen some, if not all, of the cubs being killed and possibly even a female or two as they might try protect the cubs. Fortunately this was not the case.

The Plains Camp Males fed on the carcass for a couple of hours, before deciding to head back further west along the banks of the Sand River.

The Ntsevu Lioness trails the cubs towards the Sand River

The Ntseuv Pride make their way to the waters edge before crossing the River.

There has been little sign of the pride since, just tracks of one or two of the females crossing the river in search of a meal. The team has been tracking them tirelessly and are excited to see what is in store for the growing pride. As the Ndzhenga Males continue their reign over the eastern parts of the Sabi Sands and Londolozi, there is great prospect for the newest members of the Ntsevu pride.

A young cub leaps from the river bank towards the rest of the cubs drinking from a pool in the Sand River

It has been such a privilege watching these young lions move around with their mothers recently and I look forward to sharing some more updates on the Ntsevu Pride in the future!