We set out from camp in the morning with a fairly simple plan: head down into the southeastern parts of Londolozi and see what we could find. Lions were on the agenda, but exactly which lions we would find was certainly not something we could have predicted.
Around 45 minutes into the drive, we finally reached a clearing close to our eastern boundary. As we rounded a corner, two lionesses appeared in front of us. At first glance, excitement quickly took over. We had recently been hearing about the Southern Kambula Lionesses and their eight young cubs, so naturally, the thought was that this could be them.
A Kambula lioness resting in the clearing. What a fantastic surprise coming across these two.
We edged a little closer, only to realise that these were not the lionesses we had been expecting. Instead, we had stumbled across their sisters, the two northern lionesses that had raised the four and two cubs born earlier last year. It was a fantastic surprise.
What made the sighting even more interesting was where we had found them. These lionesses had been spending a considerable amount of time far north in Londolozi, even beyond our northern boundary, and we had no recent record of them moving through the reserve towards the southeast. To suddenly find them back in an area they know so well, almost as if they had appeared out of nowhere, was quite something.
One of the young male cubs rests with two of the young female cubs in the background. Looking healthy, well fed and injury-free, it was a privilege seeing them again.
These cubs were originally born into two separate litters. One of the lionesses gave birth to four cubs, while her sister had a litter of two, giving the pair a combined total of six youngsters. A few months ago, we received the unfortunate news that one of the youngsters had been killed by the Plains Camp Males, leaving five cubs. Seeing only four on this occasion naturally raised a few questions.
A look back at the cubs when all six of them were together. This photo was taken shortly after the rush into the northern parts of Londolozi in search of their fathers that had been chased out of their territory.
After speaking with a guide from further north, we were able to piece together what had most likely happened. It appears that another of the cubs was also killed by lions. That leaves four cubs remaining, seemingly two males and two females. Fortunately, all four looked to be doing exceptionally well. At around 20 months old, they are well past the most vulnerable stage of their lives, and the two lionesses have done an incredible job keeping them alive through a period of considerable pressure.
That pressure has not only come from other lions. The two Ndzhenga Males, the fathers of these cubs, have been facing increasing challenges further north. It is possible that this pressure has encouraged the lionesses to move back towards more familiar territory.
Another look at the other young male cub. As I said earlier, it is so good seeing them so healthy despite the loss of two of their littermates.
After all, this is home.
These lionesses were born and raised here on Londolozi. They know the landscape, the waterholes and the safest areas to move through. Bringing their growing cubs back into familiar territory may simply have been a way of finding some security while pressures further north increased. Interestingly, they did not stay for long. Shortly after our sighting, they disappeared again, either continuing to wander through the reserve or perhaps heading back north towards the Ndzhenga Males.
And lastly, one of the young females stares at a herd of impala in the distance while the rest of the cubs start to sleep their way through the day.
Whatever the reason, it was a wonderful reminder that lion movements are rarely predictable. After spending months far from where they were born, the Kambula Lionesses and their four remaining cubs had quietly returned home – and, for one morning at least, allowed us to be there to welcome them back.
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on A Surprise In The South: The Kambula Cubs Come Home