Lions Discussion Area

[Karen-inVA (Admin)]

This is where you can ask your questions and share information amongst each other about the lions we have seen or heard about on the Cam.

[Frances]

Thanks for the info. Certainly a lot of changes going on.

[Mwananchi]

There have been some great sightings at Nkhoro lodge the last few nights, Aug 16 - young male lion, Aug 18 - large, male lion. Does anyone know the identity of these two animals?

[Aquila (Admin)]

Hi Mwananchi, The adult male was one of the 4 Majingilanes. The young male it is not known for sure but suspected to be either one of the Nkuhuma sub males or the young Styx male.

Mwananchi said:

There have been some great sightings at Nkhoro lodge the last few nights, Aug 16 - young male lion, Aug 18 - large, male lion. Does anyone know the identity of these two animals?

[Mwananchi]

Thx Aquila.
One more question...
there have been references made to "Gijima" males, who are they? are they known by another name?

Aquila (Admin) said:

Hi Mwananchi, The adult male was one of the 4 Majingilanes. The young male it is not known for sure but suspected to be either one of the Nkuhuma sub males or the young Styx male.

Mwananchi said:

There have been some great sightings at Nkhoro lodge the last few nights, Aug 16 - young male lion, Aug 18 - large, male lion. Does anyone know the identity of these two animals?

[Aquila (Admin)]

The Gijima males (2) came in from Manyeleti or Kruger. Some called them the Manyeleti/Kruger males at first. They are mature male lions that first appeared around mid 2009 and were very aggressive. Charging the vehicles if they came within 40 meters of them. They finally settled down after several months of viewing by the lodge vehicles. They were seen several times in the company of three of the Nkuhuma adult females. We haven't seen them lately with the presence of the Majingilanes in the area. Possibly they have moved back into Buffelshoek/Manyeleti/Kruger areas.

Mwananchi said:

Thx Aquila.
One more question...
there have been references made to "Gijima" males, who are they? are they known by another name?

Aquila (Admin) said:

Hi Mwananchi, The adult male was one of the 4 Majingilanes. The young male it is not known for sure but suspected to be either one of the Nkuhuma sub males or the young Styx male.

Mwananchi said:

There have been some great sightings at Nkhoro lodge the last few nights, Aug 16 - young male lion, Aug 18 - large, male lion. Does anyone know the identity of these two animals?

[Mwananchi]

Does anyone know the identity of the lions (2 females and one injured male) who were at Nkhoro a few nights ago?
Any idea how the male got injured? Poor guy the females took off, like they were trying to ditch him!

[Aquila (Admin)]

Some say they are called the 2 plus 1 pride. Speculation is they are a Nkuhuma break away pride but with the age the male is said to be, I find that confusing as their subs are not that old. It is thought the male may have been injured while hunting buffalo or it is possible he tangled with the Majingilanes.

Mwananchi said:

Does anyone know the identity of the lions (2 females and one injured male) who were at Nkhoro a few nights ago?
Any idea how the male got injured? Poor guy the females took off, like they were trying to ditch him!

[Aquila (Admin)]

News Flash! Dozie the Nkuhuma dominant male that left the area after the Mapogo attacks in 2007/2008 has been confirmed to be Mandevu a male lion that has been in Manyeleti for the past two years. Recently he was attacked by other males and has now started venturing back into Djuma/Nkorho areas. He may have been the male lion that was seen Oct 3rd at Gowrie dam. It has been confirmed he was the lion seen the next day at Nkorho.

[Mwananchi]

There have been no lion sightings for a while.  Is this a seasonal thing, have the prides moved out because of weather? Or is this a continuation of the prides re-settling after the chaos.

[melissa]

Aquila (Admin) said:

Exeter Lodges Report for March 29th. Though he is not called the Sand River cub, I am pretty sure the youngster in this sighting is indeed him. Also, the Mapogo male is most likely the oldest male and sire of the Sand River youngster as well as the sire of the Ottawa pride cubs.

http://www.wildwatch.com/sightings/against-all-odds-2

"Against all odds

We had just set out from River Lodge to see if we could find the Ottawa Pride of lions that were left lying up near a dam approximately half a kilometer away from the lodge, called Shauna-Leigh dam. Within a few minutes Chris my tracker found fresh tracks leading to a nearby river, he suggested we check an area they had been visiting where there was a lot of shade; he thought they might have lay up there during the heat of the day. Chris was right; they were there, all 9 of them fast asleep. After about twenty minutes the two adult females decided it was time to move, with all 6 juveniles in tow and one of the six members of the coalition as a tag along, they set off down the road like a street gang. Every few hundred meters they would stop and listen, the male would scent mark and follow at a distance, amazingly they passed right by a huge buffalo bull fast asleep in a mud wallow that had no idea the lions were watching. We sat anxiously wondering if there would be a chase. Unfortunately the females decided it was probably too dangerous with the 6 one and half year olds around, the chances of an injury was way too high. After a few hundred meters the pride decided to rest until nightfall. Sitting under a star filled African sky we sat listening to the many beautiful sounds, Fiery-necked and Square-tailed nightjar calls dominated the night sounds. All of a sudden out of the peace and calm came the gut wrenching sound of lions fighting. A young male lion left over from a pride which recently perished in the area. He is approximately one and a half years old and is struggling to stay alive. He unfortunately wondered into the pride and now faced the challenge of his life. Both the adult females and some of the juveniles attacked him; amazingly the dominant male stepped in and chased the pride off him. We could not believe what we were seeing, Chris and I both thought he would be killed. Even more amazing was that he would not run away, instead he lay on his back in submission. The tactic worked, the pride with the adult male following close by left the area. The young male followed behind them and was periodically attacked by the pride that was again chased away by the male. We followed the pride for well over two hours and watched several more interactions. The two adult females then hunted and killed an adult male Impala. Unfortunately for them they were chased away by the dominant male who would not let any of the lions near him, except, the young sick male. We never saw if he had a chance to feed, but tracks the following morning indicate that he at least got the left overs. The pride later killed a Wildebeest where the young male was again seen nearby. Keep an eye out for updates."

Written by Craig Paulsen

any updates on the skinny male? is he the male that went to the styx pride?

[melissa]

Aquila (Admin) said:

The Gijima males (2) came in from Manyeleti or Kruger. Some called them the Manyeleti/Kruger males at first. They are mature male lions that first appeared around mid 2009 and were very aggressive. Charging the vehicles if they came within 40 meters of them. They finally settled down after several months of viewing by the lodge vehicles. They were seen several times in the company of three of the Nkuhuma adult females. We haven't seen them lately with the presence of the Majingilanes in the area. Possibly they have moved back into Buffelshoek/Manyeleti/Kruger areas.

Mwananchi said:

Thx Aquila.
One more question...
there have been references made to "Gijima" males, who are they? are they known by another name?

Aquila (Admin) said:

Hi Mwananchi, The adult male was one of the 4 Majingilanes. The young male it is not known for sure but suspected to be either one of the Nkuhuma sub males or the young Styx male.

Mwananchi said:

There have been some great sightings at Nkhoro lodge the last few nights, Aug 16 - young male lion, Aug 18 - large, male lion. Does anyone know the identity of these two animals?

just curious... what do the rangers do when a lion charges the vehicles?

[Aquila (Admin)]

Hi Melissa, sadly the young skinny male did not make it.   :(     Without his pride he just couldn't make it on his own.   The Gijima males have both recently been shot and killed when they escaped the Manyeleti reserve to the North of Djuma our traversing area.  Very sad.  One of their 6 month old cubs was also with them and was killed.