Intrigued by the prowess and stature of lions, there is something special about spending a lot of time with them. More often than not lions will be resting during the day, but after nightfall, this is their time. They become completely different animals.
In this week’s Virtual Safari we spend an afternoon and evening with the Mangheni Pride and one of the Plains Camp Males ahead of them setting off on an evening’s hunt. While we wait for them to move around we notice one of the females has suckle marks and can’t help but reminisce on the last set of cubs they moved onto Londolozi.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
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It is very exciting and heart pumping when they walk past the vehicle with a spotlight not luminating them fully! Especially the male.
It is very exciting indeed.
Sean, great video of the lions at night.
Thank you so much, William.
Our most exhilirating experience was having a pride of 12 walk right past us in the evning. Our friends are in total disbelief when we show them the video, As each walked by, they glanced into the vehicle and continued walking. Sean’s comment about the heartbeat quickening is so accurate!
I can only imagine what that must have been like.
Was there a 6th lioness in this pride, or am I mistaking them with the Ntsevu females?
The Ntsevu Pride used to be six adult females, the Mhangeni Pride was originally four, but went up to seven and is now down to only five.
Fabulous video Sean! Your nighttime shots really caught the feeling of the hunt! You are right about the male too – a massive lion for sure!
Thank you so much, Michael and Terri. The male really is an impressive lion.
That was an exciting encounter seeing the Mhagene pride with one of the Plains Camp males – he looks like such a beast. It’s an interesting marking on his nose, possibly scarring? As one of the females passed your vehicle at night, I noticed her ribs were quite prominent and I’m supposing she may be a new mother, expending a lot of calories while suckling her young. Personally I love night viewing of lions, especially listening to their quiet movements – it reminds me of the eerily silent movement of elephants passing through the bush. Thank you for #145!
Yes, that is scarring on his nose. The females were all a little hungry and yes, the mother would be expending a lot of energy while producing the milk for her cubs.
Sean that certainly is exhilarating and quite scarry at the same time. Very special footage of the lions at night. That male lion is huge and the females are all in a very good condition. Hopefully soon we will be able to see a few lion cubs.
It is such an awesome experience being amongst lions at night.
Hi Sean, thanks for this great video. There is not much in this world as thrilling and exhilarating at the same time s lions walking past your car in the dark, with the sounds of the night around you and the billions of stars above.
Lions are so amazing because they are always (well, apart from when they are eating) such social animals. The tiny cubs are just too cute with their big paws, their tiny bodies and small tales running behind the mothers.
I do hope that there will be some new cubs in the near future at Londolozi.
I agree, I love spending time with lions at night.
Lions at night is the ultimate experience. Their powerful calls are unique and raise goosebumps. Why do they pass by so close to your vehicle even if you have a torch with you? They prefer to hunt in full darkness, anyway, they surely trust you deeply. The starry sky is magical. Thank you for this emotional experience
Following lions at night is such an awesome experience. From my experience, the light has minimal effect on the lions and they continue their regular business irrespective of whether the light is on. They do prefer to hunt in darkness as that is when they have the greatest advantage, so as soon as we notice that there is something to hunt or that they see something, we will switch the lights off and listen.
Great to see the Mhangeni Pride thriving hopefully the PCMs will provide some stability for them. On the other end of that though, and I’m not sure if you all have heard or not, but the amber-eyed Nkuhuma lioness has not been seen since September and her sister and the two cubs are in the western Sabi Sands now as the Mhangeni Pride have pushed them out (Singita believes the amber-eyed lioness may have been lost during an encounter with the MP). Is the lioness with the suckle marks the female who was with the Tsalala lioness?
It is great to see the Mhangeni Pride thriving.
We had heard that the Nkuhuma Lioness had not been seen. I am sure it is likely that she sadly did not survive.
Yes, I think it is the same lioness that was with the Tsalala Lioness.
Always a treat to spend time with them at night. I think when we turn the car off and wait I find myself holding my breath in anticipation of what may happen!
Amazing footage! I’ve seen some mentions regarding the size of the “resident” lions by Londolozi, so could you tell me how this Plain Camp Male compares to the Birmingham Male and the Ndhzengas in size?
I think the Birmingham Male and the Plains Camp Males are similar sizes. The biggest Ndzhenga Male is probably a little bit smaller than these two.
So cool to see this video of the lions walking past you all at night – really majestic! Thanks Sean!
It was such a fantastic sighting.