GOLF COURSE MALES - 2008
Golf Course Males - Photograph taken by ranger Anthony Harding
| GOLF COURSE MALES - 2008
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| December 2008 (5 years 8 months) (5 sightings) Only seen a handful of times, the males busied themselves with extending their territory. On three occasions they were with the Selati pride and the other two they were on their own. Many times rangers followed tracks only to watch the them cross a boundary off the property.
November 2008 (5 years 7 months) ( 2 sightings) Unlike their ageing father (we don’t know if he’s their actual father but the Rollercoaster coalition did sire these males), these two lions seem to be going from strength to strength and make for an imposing sight whenever found wandering their territories. Still very accepting of their cubs, and without the incursion pressures found in the North of Mala mala, these lions look set to dominate the South for some time to come.
October 2008 (5 years 6 months) These two brothers continue to control the southern part of Mala Mala with an iron fist. Their two prides are both with cubs and life couldn’t look any brighter. They were seen to be roaring on many nights and hopped between the Selati pride and Charleston pride. They also spent a lot of time on their own patrolling their territory and were even seen to make a kill in the sand river, catching a kudu unawares.
September 2008 (males from Selati pride). (5 years 6 months) These two lions are maturing nicely into the dominant males of the south. They are large and in excellent condition. They are very watcfhful over their cubs with the Selati pride and will hopefully be the same with those of the Charleston pride.
July 2008 (males from Selati pride). (5 years 4 months): These powerful young males are really starting to make a name for themselves in the south with a total of 13 sightings this month. They did not spent much time with either southern pride as much this month as in previous months. This is an indication of their growing maturity and search for power and territory. It will be interesting to see over the next year or so if they follow in the footsteps of their fathers and move north or if they stay south and remain to be the dominant southern force. The only thing which will really determine this is the presence of the older and more mature Kruger male. These two strong forces did have a meeting this month and it ended with the golf course male staying and the Kruger male moving south back towards Kruger. May 2008 April 2008 (males from Selati pride). (5 years 4months) This young but strong coalition is beginning to really stamp its mark on the southern parts of the reserve. They are now starting to move out of their traditional area to the west of the Sand River and into Charleston, the domain of the Charleston pride. This month they were seen at least once to mate with a Charleston pride lioness. As they grow and become stronger still, they will expand this territory until they are content or until a new challenger arrives to stop them.
January 2008 Golf Course males: (males from Selati pride). (5 years 2 months) These lions were seen fairly frequently, mostly with the members of the Selati pride. They are looking in great condition and are stacking up to be the dominant force in the western Toulon area. They were seen nine times in the last report period. December 2007 Golf Course males: (males from Selati pride - 5 years 1 month) These males are the cubs of the Selati pride, they are now five years old and haven’t been kicked out by the pride and so they have taken over the pride. They have now been named the Golf Course males and look to be territorial over the Selati pride and their territory. MalaMala
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