December 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALES 14 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 14 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(0 sightings)
There were no sightings of this pride during the month.
November 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALE 14 YEARS 3 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 13 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(0 sightings)
October 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALE 14 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS 5 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 12 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(6 sightings)
The pride is doing very well in the south but with the traversing restriction we were not able to view them much this month. Hopefully sightings of the pride will continue but it remains unsure if they will settle on Toulon or Charleston.
September 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALE 14 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 11 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(25 sightings)
Tragedy struck the pride this month, the younger of the two cubs was killed by the Tjellahanga male on the 2nd. The Charleston’s prides nemesis has now killed both cubs from that litter but they were able to exact some revenge on him. They caught the male leopard in the act of eating the cub and severely mauled him, he succumbed a few days later to his wounds. The last remaining cub looks to be a girl which is good news for the pride and she looks to be doing exceptionally well. Hopefully more cubs will be on the way soon and with the Toulon males still in complete control this pride has got a bright future ahead of them. Other exciting viewing of this pride included them killing two Nyala on different occasions, and stealing an impala from the Jakkalsdraai female high up in a Marula tree.
August 2010 (13 sightings)
This pride is doing very well with the Toulon males, the cubs are doing well and the females are looking healthy and taking good care of each other and their cubs. The oldest lioness was seen mating with a Toulon male towards the end of the month, however due to her age it is unlikely that she will conceive. The pride was also very successful in the hunting field this month with their biggest catch being that of an adult male buffalo, which fed the pride for almost 3 days. Hopefully this pride will continue to grow and re-establish themselves as a formidable pride again in the south, with the Toulon males and their good success rate with hunting the only thing holding them back would be pressure from other prides.
July 2010 (15 sightings)
The bulk of the lion sightings in the southern part of the property have been that of the Charleston pride and Toulon males. The pride is very settled and has held this area for many generations and has been very successful. With the Toulon males successfully managing to hold this area, this should bring stability to the pride and hopefully will result in more cubs and the pride being able to build up to their former strength in numbers. As a pride they have been successful in all regards apart from numbers and hopefully with these 3 dominant males this will change. We have no seen the oldest female at all this month; there are thoughts that she has cubs to the south in the Kruger Park south of the Sabie River, while there are also rumours that she is dead. There have been no confirmed reports of either, so we wait and hope that next month she will be seen, not only alive but also with cubs and rejoining the pride she has led for so long.
June 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 6
1 ADULT FEMALE 13 YEARS 10 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 5 MONTHS
1 MALE CUB 8 MONTHS
1 CUB 5 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(16 sightings)
This pride has come back to their territory and provided great viewing this month. Most sightings were of the whole pride including the 3 Toulon males and the cubs. They have settled again and as normal seem to do most of their moving and even their hunting during the day. They killed an adult male zebra this month during the late afternoon as well as some smaller antelope. They seem to be growing in strength with the presence of the Toulon males and now that these males are well established we hope to see this pride grow back to the numbers that this pride once was. They seem to be staying close to the river but this will probably be due to the fact that the river is the only source of water and the fact that most of their prey species are also going to congregate around the river.
May 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 6
1 ADULT FEMALE 13 YEARS 9 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 6 YEARS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 MALE CUB 7 MONTHS
1 CUB 4 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(5 sightings)
The pride were very scarce this month with tracks of them going over to the western bank for most of the month. On many occasions we suspect they were living on the western bank around Trollips camp but due to driving restrictions we couldn’t view them. The two cubs are doing well and both are very relaxed in the presence of vehicles. One of the females seems to be separating herself from the pride on occasion, this might mean she is looking to give birth soon but we need them to be viewed more often to find out what happens. With the southern parts of the reserve still very green it will be some time before the prey becomes dependant on the river and draws in the predators. Let’s see what happens with this pride.
April 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 6
1 ADULT FEMALES 12 YEARS 10 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 5 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 3 MONTHS
1 MALE CUB 6 MONTHS
1 CUB 2 MONTH
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(14sightings)
This pride is still doing well with them being offered a lot of protection from the Toulon males. The cubs have survived another month and the lionesses have not left them to themselves to go off hunting, it seems they have learnt their lesson after losing their one cub to the Tjellahanga male. There has been some pressure from another pride that has come in from the south from KNP. This pride is made up of 3 females and 4 males however with the Toulon males being bigger and the Charleston pride so established we are sure that they will be able to protect themselves and their territory. This pride still seems to be flourishing and providing great viewing in the southern parts of Mala Mala and with the protection of the Toulon males and the survival of the cubs this pride should be able to grow into a strong pride.
March 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALES 12 YEARS 9 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 5 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 2 MONTH
1 MALE CUB 5 MONTHS
1 CUB 1 MONTH
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(20 sightings)
Most days throughout the month of the report period members of this pride were seen. The five month old cub is incredibly relaxed around the vehicles already, allowing great interaction between the lionesses and cub to be viewed. The lioness which was reported to have given birth was seen with two very small cubs around Pole in the road. She was walking to and fro carrying her little ones across the road. It was not until the end of the month that the cubs were seen again. This time however it was not such an idyllic sighting as one of the cubs was killed and taken away by the Tjellahanga male. Hopefully the cub still alive will be able to survive thus giving the Charleston pride a second cub.
February 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALES 12 YEARS 8 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 5 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 MALE CUB 4 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(12 sightings)
All four lionesses are in excellent health and the young cub is growing rapidly. Reports are that another of the females has given birth just inside the Kruger Park, although we haven’t seen the cubs yet but this is fantastic news for the pride. Lets hope more than one cub is introduced to the pride this time, and this will also give the current cub some playmates. The pride was seen along with the Toulon males on several buffalo kills this month; they also made numerous impala kills around the golf course. Let hope the good fortune of this pride continues.
January 2010
CHARLESTON PRIDE = 4
1 ADULT FEMALES 12 YEARS 7 MONTHS
2 ADULT FEMALES 5 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 5 YEARS
1 MALE CUB 3 MONTHS
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, TOULON
(13 sightings)
Reports coming from our southern neighbours are that another one of the Charleston females has given birth, she is denning in the Msuthu River just to the west of Toulon. The remainder of the pride were seen on most days during the month and nearly always accompanied by one if not all three Toulon males. The young cub is doing exceedingly well and has already become extremely relaxed around vehicles. The remaining two females who aren’t mothers have in the past mated with the Toulon males but must not have fallen pregnant so lets see if they don’t start mating again and add more members to the growing pride. during the month the female with the young cub was seen hunting around the golf course and was seen on three occasions to make impala kills, luckily for her on all three occasion she was on her own and so would have gotten all of the meal.
