The Tsalala Female is back on Londolozi, and more than that—she’s been seen in the company of the Kruger Male, mating. This is thrilling news. The prospect of her having cubs in the near future has now significantly increased, and hope stirs again for the continuation of her incredible lineage.
We spent a fantastic afternoon with the pair of lions. The setting was nothing short of spectacular—look one way and the rolling hills stretched off toward Stwise Koppie, glance the other and the setting sun backlit the lions perfectly. I honestly don’t know which view I preferred.
As the light faded, we left the lions to a bit of privacy. The next morning, we returned to the same area and watched from a distance as the Makhatini Cheetah Family and the Kambula Males were on intersecting paths. The cheetahs, however, picked up the scent of the lions just in time. After smelling and then spotting them, they made a swift retreat. We were then faced with the classic dilemma: stick with the lions or follow the cheetahs. We chose the cheetahs, and we were not let down.
Watching all four cheetahs moving together in the open and even climbing trees was a treat. Moments after we left them, the mother made a successful duiker kill, a reminder of how powerful the reward can be when you commit to spending time with the same animals.
Later that afternoon, we found the Tsalala Female again—this time alone and seemingly in search of dinner. One of the highlights of the entire sighting was her stopping right next to the vehicle to claw at a tree, letting out a soft growl at the same time. It felt strangely familiar—almost like a housecat purring as it claws the couch—but this was no housecat. This was a large lioness, strong and wild.
Sit back and enjoy this week’s Virtual Safari…
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My most favorite Pride is, and has been for a very long time. I hope she raises new cubs to adulthood. The Tsalala bloodline still runs strong in the Mhangeni & Ntsevu prides, but we need Tsalala to carry one her pride name. Thank you for the wonderful blog.
I really hope she raises some cubs it will be an amazing story if she can.
Hi Sean, I am so excited to see the Tsalala female mating with the Kruger male. Let’s hope she mates as well with the other males so that she can keep the cubs safe from different males. She is such a stunning lionesses and I have a special place in my heart for her, after all the hardship she has endured. Lovely to see the Makahtini family again, they are doing well and Mom has done a good job of keeping them safe. Tsalala female being so close to your vehicle and watching her clawing the tree makes me think she just wanted some company even if it is just for a while. She is a gorgeous cat.
She is a stunning lioness and we are all rooting for her to successfully raise some cubs.
The Makhatini Female is doing a sterling job of raising these cubs.
I always keep up-to-date with news on the admirable Tsalala lioness. It always makes my day when it’s good news. I hope desperately that she continues to survive, has a second litter soon (hopefully with females in the mix) and is successful in raising them all to adulthood. She doesn’t deserve to be alone any longer. I’ve never liked the Plain Camp Males so I hope there will be no negative interference from them, especially as there has been a strong suspicion for some time that they were responsible for the death of her last litter. She needs a male(s) with a successful record of protecting their offspring and the mothers of those offspring.
Wonderful to see a cheetah family thriving. Amazing amazing amazing!!!
I hope that she is able to raise some cubs and that there be at least one female cub in mix.
Thanks for this fantastic update on the Tsalala’s whereabouts. Great news that she might have cubs in a few months. I agree with you that she certainly was very pleased about the attention that she got and her showing off next to your car. I think that animals know exactly whether they are appreciated by humans and react to our own behaviour.
Luckily the lions did not realise that the cheetah family was so close by. Otherwise the cubs might have faced the same fatal fate the Nkoveni’s female cub met a few months ago.
They are such beautiful nearly fully grown cheetahs.
Anyway, as every week really great video again.
She seemed pleased to have some company, but maybe also could have just been a really good stretch. Thank you so much, Christa.
Wow fantastic! There’s the danger of the Plain Camp males then, but maybe they are too busy elsewhere. The cheetah are superb. So uplifting to see them together and acting like all cheetah should…. fingers crossed for the Tsalala female she does deserve some happiness
I think the Plains Camp Males wont be an issue this time round, I believe that she has spent time with both of them and so hopefully they all believe that the cubs are theirs and all protect the cubs.
what an awesome safari! The cheetahs are amazing. so beautiful to see them interact. Great to see the Tsalala female mating, hopefully to successfully raise young this time. Thank you, Sean.
Thank you so much, Debra. I hope she does raise some cubs this time.
What a great virtual safari Sean! My husband and I met the Mom cheetah and her then, I am pretty sure, 4 tiny cubs last September. I am so happy to see 3 of them now About 9 months old? I did not know they could climb trees. Thankyou for the explanation of their non retractable claws and how they differ from the leopard’s claws. I am glad to know they can climb in a pinch. Have you ever seen them escape hyena or other predators that could kill them by climbing?
The female lion video is amazing! Keep the videos and beautiful pictures coming, we love them!
Thank you so much. It is great that they are all still alive and thriving. I have seen them climb to escape hyenas, but I think if it was another threat such as a lion or leopard, they would probably try run away as opposed to climb.
I missed my Sunday safari as it didn’t upload to my email but fortunately I found it on YouTube, so settled in with my coffee to see what you discovered. Needless to say this blog filled me with such excitement to see the Tsalala female mating once again, although I don’t know much about this lone Kruger male. She is looking fantastic – I love looking at her beautiful face and bone structure. Here’s hoping she falls pregnant once again and can successfully raise a cub or two. Being a single mom it isn’t easy but then I see the Makhatini female with her three yearlings and know it can be done. Speaking of which, Makhatini’s three juveniles are certainly thriving which is a testament to their mother’s brilliant ability to hunt as well as watch out for the safety of her three cubs. Fingers crossed they can continue to keep out of the crosshairs of the larger prey animals. You saved the best for last, Tsalala sharpening her claws whilst looking at you, letting you know she’s still a Londolozi lioness.
Hi Denise, I will look into why the email didn’t come through, but at least you found it on YouTube. The Tsalala Female is stunning and we are all hopeful that she will have some cubs soon. The Cheetah family are doing well and the youngsters are growing into fine young cheetahs.
What wonderful sightings you had, very different but all very special. I’m in awe of Makathini bringing 3 cubs towards independence, remind me how many males/females there are. I don’t suppose you’ve seen this happen before, it must be a rare privilege to watch.
They were some wonderful sightings indeed. The cheetah cubs are two males and one female. I have seen an adult cheetah climb a tree but not cubs before.
The Tsalala female is almost royalty and she would make a wonderful mother. I hope she raises a litter of cubs to independence and with her bloodline, I am betting she will.
We are all hoping that she raises some cubs. In terms of lions on Londolozi, she could be classified as royalty.
Awesome video Sean, and great news that Tsalala is looking to have more cubs! Hoping that she is successful and fingers crossed!