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Kirst Joscelyne

Ranger

At less than a year old, Kirst went to her family’s hut in the Greater Kruger National Park, and has been fortunate enough to continue to go there ever since. Sharing a passion for the bush with her family, led to countless trips ...

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12 Comments

on The Rise of a New Coalition: The Nkuhuma and Talamati Male

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Hi Kirst. What exactly makes the Nkuhuma Male’s eye distinctive?

He’s had his eyelid flap cover his right eye ever since getting into a fight with the Plains Camp males.

Thank you David.

I guess it doesn’t matter how big and strong you are if you’re a male lion on your own, there’s no way you’ll be able to compete. It’s great these 2 have formed a partnership. I wonder if the Skorro male will ever be able to do the same.

This will be a dynamic to watch in the future as life in the bush of Londolozi evolves. Thanks, Kirst, for the wonderful pictures from which I can see that these two are going to be a formidable coalition.

Hi Kirst, how interesting, they are such a pair! The Nkuhuma male has that distinguished eye and the Talamati a punk crest on his head. They are handsome lions anyway with their peculiarity. I’m happy that they found each other to live in company and combine the lines… funny how so much still recalls the Mapogos. Maybe the dead lions were killed by poachers….

A very interesting coalition, the one between these two males. Exciting to watch what’s going to happen with all those coalitions around.

I hope these two males stay together for there own good. With so many other lion coalitions all around it is quite nerve racking.

Digital Tracker

I love these two males.. Nkuhuma is a symbol of survival and perseverance. I have followed both of these males since they were cubs and am happy to see them (especially the Nkuhuma 2016) find a partner. Thank you so much for the blog. The scar tissue that partially covers his eye makes him easy to recognize.

For now it seems there is no lack of two member coalitions that are controlling the prides within the Londolozi reserve as well as the neighboring reserves surrounding the property. What’s interesting is that none of these coalitions actually reside in the reserve but control or stroll in from the west, north and south. Now that the Nkuhuma and Talamati males have joined forces, it will prove to be interesting to see if any of the prides will show any interest in them, given their long and ongoing relationships with the Ndhzengas, Plains Camp and Gijimas and if these two will Scotty to base themselves within Londolozi.

Interesting blog, Kirst, especially as we only recently saw these two. Given how the Talamati lion was lying when we saw him, I never noticed his eye issue. Went back and looked at my photos and, sure enough, I saw the eye flap. Doesn’t seem to be a problem for him.

Master Tracker

Let’s hope they do well

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