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Barry Bath

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Barry grew up in Johannesburg and knew from a young age that he had a true love for the African bush yet it was only after spending several years in the corporate world in Europe, followed by a two year sabbatical of traveling ...

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on The Ntsevu Breakaways: On the Brink of Dominance

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Very exciting times, indeed. It will be interesting to follow the story of this new coalition, ready to conquer. Lots of action to follow. I’m sure!!

Wow. After the Tsalala female and her unbelievable complex life, this is the coalition I was eagerly waiting to get news about. The dangerous flight their brave mother and close relatives and the such a difficult,tough time through, in the end these marvellous lions and lioness showed that, even in the raw, cruelty of the natural world, lions can beat it all. I see the Birmingham males in them. So handsome. I also like the Styx male a lot, he’s a good partner for the Breakaway Female. Usually, lions don’t tend to mix up with their strict relatives if there is enough room. I hope this will be the case… they would be an excellent protection for the Tsalala female instead. I was moved by the way the injured, larger male has been trying to reconnect with his brother. I wish he will do! Fantastic animals

Barry, this continues to be a fascinating story. Following the lion dynamics at Londolozi is getting to br s full time job. Keep up the pictures and information, it is enjoyable to see and read.

The injured male has been with his brothers all week and travelled a fair distance with too so it would seem he is doing very well. They have gone back to the north now where they spend a lot of time so I wonder if this is where they will claim dominance, with the nkhuma pride their prize. Whatever they do, they need to get on with it, they should be dominant by now!

Hi Barry. Thanks for this interesting update on this formidable lions. I love the first photo you are showing of them as very young cubs in 2019 because I saw them at that time as well. What wonderful fully grown lions they have become by now.
I am looking forward to hearing more about them, hopefully good news. It would be a bit of a loss for Londolozi if they move away, on the other hand it would probably be the best they could do in terms of siring cubs themselves with females of completely different prides. For the lineage it would be perfect.

Lion dynamics are so complicated but always fascinating! We’ve followed these 5 since their cubs days and can only hope that they’ll all find their “long-life” places.

Hi Barry, I am glad the Breakaway female and the Styx male are together, good companion for her. There is going to be huge altercation for dominance, which is going to be brutual. I like all the lions and respect all of them, time will tell.

The good news is that one or two days ago all 4 were seen roaring together just north of Londolozi’s borders.
If I’m not mistaken, the three older Ntsevu brothers were born around September 2018, while the younger brother and sister were born around May 2019, so they should be at an age where, with their numbers, they shouldn’t struggle taking over a territory.

It’s a bit puzzling how they haven’t done it already, most males, even in smaller coalitions, generally become dominant at 5 years of age, 3/4 of these males are 6,5yo, well into their prime, the other one will be 6 soon, but they have been chased and beaten by duos of dominant males countless times at this point.

The bigger male and the younger one with the darker mane and more greenish eyes seems to be the most territorial of the bunch, the younger brother was recently beaten up as well while mating alone with the Nkuhuma pride, but his injuries weren’t as serious as that of the bigger male. The other 2 brothers, especially the one with the more distinct, grumpy face, loves to wander around, he never sticks to the territory the other 2 are trying to take over, and I’ve never seen him mating.

Bigger Ntsevu male and the younger brother are always the ones seen mating in the North with Nkuhuma or Imbali lionesses, while the other 2 are more nomadic, they don’t seem to be on the same page.

Given these four are the off-spring of the Birmingham males, and certainly look like them, their behavior belies their genetics. It would seem at their ages, they would be ready to take on a territory and pride but instead, injuries and separations prevent this from happening. It makes me wonder why. But then, if the lion dynamics were static, we would miss these updates.

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