Our reserve is a very confusing place at the moment as far as
our lions are concerned! In this part of the Greater Kruger National Park massive
coalitions of male lions wreak havoc in the lion population creating a
forthcoming spectacle that will not be for the faint hearted.
One of these coalitions is known as the Skybeds males. They
were named after a dam in the north eastern part of the reserve where they were
sighted first about nine months ago. At this first sighting we found nine males
together but kept hearing reports that to the east as many as twelve have been
seen together. These males mostly move in the northern parts of the reserve and
into the Orpen section of the Kruger National Park. With the six Matimba males
in the south, the two Sizanani males in the central area and now these males
coming in from the north, a mega showdown is on the horizon.
With all these males around, females are finding it
increasingly difficult to raise their cubs. Males they mate with are usually
part of one of the larger coalitions. Their cubs are either killed by the other
coalitions or another male from the same coalition who doesn’t know the cubs.
As it is we regularly see eight females and as many as 22 males - a very lopsided
ratio!
There is another coalition comprising of three very large males
that also roam the north. This is now where this story gets very interesting.
We recently got a report from one of the Mpumalanga Parks Rangers that six males
and a female were not far from where we were. As this was to the north we
reckoned it could only be the Skybeds and off we went to have a look.
Alfred and I decided to walk in and track them. It was fairly windy day and the conditions weren’t the best for tracking but as it’s all in the job we decided to go off anyway. We quickly found what we were looking for when we noticed places where they had laid down and identified some tracks. After about 20 minutes of tracking we heard the unmistakable sound of a lion growling. Being windy we couldn’t pinpoint their exact location and allowed better judgement to take over. We moved in the opposite direction all the while trying to determine their location. Knowing we’ve done some very good work, we collected the guests and the vehicle, proudly told them our story and started making our way to where we heard the growling.
Upon arrival, we realised that the lioness was not growling at us, but rather at one of the males. They were clearly mating! We saw the other males lying in the thick grass, but it was the honeymoon couple that grabbed our attention. We settled down and waited.
The big male got up and meandered towards the lioness. She looked like one of the Koppies lionesses and as it was right in the middle their territory we thought it must be a Koppies girl! The male was very distinctive. It looked like there was a knot in his tail. This was clearly not one of the Skybeds males originally seen, but possibly part of another coalition we know as the Timbavati males comprising of three males! Could these three be the other three males seen to the east with the Skybeds? They’re bigger and older than the others but could very well be. They were with another three males but most were unfortunately sleeping in thick grass, so getting a picture and confirming their identity was impossible.
After about five minutes our patience was rewarded as the
male got on the top of his business. We watched these two lovebirds mate as
only lions can and after about fifteen seconds the show was over.
Only time will tell if these males will settle down and tend the
females and future cubs, protecting them from the menace in the south - The mighty
Matimba’s.
Darren Roberts-York
Photo and Video taken by Darren Roberts-York with a Nikon Coolpix P510
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