Hi LGR. That was such a interesting and good TWIP with lots of colourful photos in it, so as usual, thank you very much indeed for putting it up for me to see and read. I know the 2 large Gajima males do seem intent and keen to get the infertile adult lioness of the Ntsevu pride pregnant, but I don’t think that either of them know that she isn’t able to have cubs of her own at all sadly. Especially the male that is pictured standing beside her. Despite been infertile and bearing in mind that we know nothing will come out of her tummy, goodness knows what they will both think of doing next. But maybe they can try the other 2 younger adult lionesses in the same small pride instead as well. They might well get something out of their tummies there. The 2 sub adult lionesses in that tiny group aren’t far of from breeding age either, but they’ve got at least another year or two to go before they can both be considered adults at the age of four. Those times will be so exciting and good as well as something to look forward to in time.

It is so good to know the 11 year old Ximungwe female leopard has still got both of her 2 tiny cubs even though they weren’t in anybody this week’s photos at all, but she’s done incredibly well to get them both to a good 4 months old now. I know she made a very successful kill in the form of a very unlucky and unfortunate adult male impala, which she quite possibly made the night before the day when the photo was taken, but when she caught him and brought him down, it can’t have felt very nice for him to have her 4 – 32mm long canine teeth sunk into and wrapped tightly around his throat to suffocate and drain the life out of him. As her two cubs are 4 months old now, I don’t know if she brought them back to the kill or if she hoisted it high up in the tree, fed for a bit and then went back to nurse and suckle them for quite a while.

As her own track record of cub raising is a half successful and half unsuccessful one, it will be nice to think that she’ll get one or both of them to independence. I know she is and has been a very good, patient and protective mother in the past and present, but we just want her to be a lot more successful and very fortunate.

She is their sole provider when it comes to food, but I know she won’t leave them if any type of unwanted danger threatened her cubs before she left them to go out hunting for food. I think she would be up a tree, if that’s where she chooses to leave them before heading out, like a shot and put herself in front of them.

But having raised cubs twice successfully in her first and second litters, and not raised anymore cubs from her third and fourth litters respectively, all we can do is just keep our fingers crossed that she will get one or both of them to hard independence so very successfully. It’ll be nice to have a update on her a.s.a.p.

Although she hasn’t been seen in a TWIP and in a video clip for quite a while now, but I do still think about the day when the 7yr old Tsalala lioness brings her new third family onto your property to show and reveal them all for the very first time. If any news on her from your busy neighbours at Singita had filtered through, it would be nice to get an update on her and her cubs as soon as possible. I’ve got no idea how many cubs she’s got altogether in total in her family.

Even though she’s been the only lioness to make up and rebuild her birth pride for four and a half years now, she’s still a firm favourite of everyone including the rest of her many fans as well. She’s also a good favourite of mine, as I admire her so much for coping and faring well for herself ever since she lost her mum at a young age. She’s taught herself how yo hunt and feed herself ever so very well.

Bearing in mind that she’s never raised any cubs to independence and adulthood very successfully, and now that she’s on her third attempt, let’s hope luck will hold up and go her way this time round. Luck has managed to get the better of her and she’s lost cubs twice, so I’m hoping that she’ll beat that luck and make sure that it all goes her way in revenge and determination to raise cubs so well.

As her cubs are sired by the 2 Gajima males as she mated with them both towards the end of last year, at least she’ll have nothing to fear from them should they pay her a visit to see how she is and also see & meet their new cubs together there as well. As a sole and lone mother, it is all down to her to rebuild her birth pride’s old numbers back up a fair bit to what they all once were before so many long gone years ago, as well as continuing the pride’s existence and dynasty. It will be good if she gets the pride to a few members strong which will be interesting to see as the months and years all fly by like a rocket. If the pride ends up with a few sub adult males and females as well as a couple of pride males, then it’ll look the strongest it’s been for a very long time. Let’s keep hopeful gor her.

I know we know the 2 new mother adult lionesses of the Kambula pride have also given birth to their own new cubs there, but as their cubs can’t be more than about 2 weeks old, it’s still a bit to early for the new mothers to bring their goodness knows how many tiny cubs out of hiding unless they’re planning to move them to a new safe densite together. Not only will I be looking forward to seeing how many cubs they will raise between them altogether in total, but also reading about them in a new blog soon one day. I hope the other two mothers with their 6 older cubs are also doing and faring well together as a stable unit family. It’ll be nice to think the 2 new mothers will be as good and successful in raising their cubs together as the other 2 mothers are and have been for quite some time. It is also fingers crossed for them as well.

Hope to hear from you shortly.

Robert 15.5.26