December 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 12
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 12 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 9 YEARS 1 MONTH
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 6 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEAR 5 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 5 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 CUB 8 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD
(3 sightings)
It has been a disappointing start to the summer for the Eyrefield pride. During the winter months the pride looked as if they might move back to Mala Mala but with the summer rains the bulk of the pride has once again moved west. The three sightings we did have of the pride were of them split up and on the move. Reports came to us that the Manyelethi males attacked he pride and killed two of the newest cubs. The rest of the pride split and we only got to see five members over different days. This is not the end to the year we were hoping for but lets keep in mind that if the four Manyelethi males were in charge of the pride they would have a much brighter future. Lets see what happens.
November 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 14
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 12 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 12 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 5 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS
2 CUBS 8 MONTHS
1 CUB 7 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(16 sightings)
Another very good month of sightings for this pride. The bulk of the sightings were on Flockfield, except for once when they were on the airstrip and a few consecutive days when they had killed a buffalo on Charleston around the Paradise Valley area. The fact that they spent a good portion of the month on Flockfield is not surprising as at the beginning of the report period large portions of Flockfield were burnt. With the decent rains that the reserve has received during the month these burnt areas have flourished. A herd of buffalo have been there most of the month, good quantity of rhino and loads of impala, kudu, zebra and other game. The bulk of the pride still consists of the old lioness, the Marthly male and the seven sub- adults. The two lionesses and their three cubs are still to the west of the reserve and have not been back for a few months. The chances of these lionesses bringing their cubs back into the realm of the Manyelethi males is very slim as the cubs were sired by the Mlowathi males. To our knowledge the pride did not have any interaction with Manyelethi males this month. Towards the end of the report period the pride crossed over onto the western side of the Sand River, however two of the young lionesses did not cross over and when the river swelled up with heavy rain they were caught on the eastern side. Even by themselves though they seemed to do well and always had full bellies.
October 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 14
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 12 YEARS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 11 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 4 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 3 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 5 YEARS 3 MONTHS
2 CUBS 7 MONTHS
1 CUB 6 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(15 sightings)
Amazingly we saw this pride every second day during October, something we haven’t had for over a year now. The sub adults are huge and growing every day, the young males are starting to regrow their manes after stress halted the growth. The young females are in prime condition and looking powerful. During the month we witnessed this pride kill several buffalo and found them on many more buffalo carcasses. The separated two adult females and their three new cubs were not seen this month but news is that they are doing well to our west. The only worrying thought for this pride is that they now they need some dominant males to take over so that next generation can be produced, this of course will mean the end of all the young males including the adopted male from the Marthly pride. He is a magnificent young male and is looking majestic and powerful but the time must come when he is going to be pushed out, hopefully he manages to form a coalition with the three young males.
September 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 14
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 10 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 3 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 5 YEARS 2 MONTHS
2 CUBS 6 MONTHS
1 CUB 5 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(13 sightings)
Only nine members of Eyrefield pride were seen. The two females with the three cubs have moved west off the property and weren’t seen this month. The seven sub adults, the adopted Marthly male and one of the adult females have been present more often this month, spending consecutive days on Mala Mala. For most of the month they followed the buffalo herd around central Flockfield but had very little success catching only one bull that we know of. One morning they managed to catch an impala on the airstrip but with so many lions it didn’t go very far. Many of the interactions with the buffalo herds were of a spectacular nature with lions jumping on the backs of many buffalo and getting chased all over the place. But all sightings ended in the buffalo making a clean get away and the pride going hungry. Let’s hope with practice they hone their skills and fine tune their game plan. Let’s see what next month holds.
August 2010 - (24 sightings)
This pride seems far more comfortable now that the Mlowathi males are gone. Although they are not permanently staying on Mala Mala and their old territory, they are spending far less time to our west. This month the pride spent 24 days of the month on Mala Mala and the previous two month was around the same amount of time. The bulk of the sightings were that of the 9 members, including the young male from the Marthly pride. There were only four sightings of the two females and cubs this month and they seem to be dening just to the west of us. It is good to see the pride spending long periods back on the property and with them scenting again in the area it seems they are coming back home. They have also been trailing the large herd of buffalo which have been on Mala Mala for most of the month. Towards the end of the month the pride killed two buffalo in one morning, that of a cow and calf. The pride did not waste time and both buffalo carcasses were stripped clean in 24 hours by the 9 lions. Even when going to press with this report the Eyrefield pride were still trailing the buffalo in search of more food.
July 2010 - (16 sightings)
The beginning of the month was much the same as last month, we occasionally saw the 9 members who are away from the two older females with cubs and most of the rest of the sightings were that of the two females at their den site in the Sand River. However as the month progressed the two females moved their den site out of the river and with the cubs being more agile they moved west off of Mala Mala. The second half of the month the two female and cubs were not seen at all and only the 9 members were seen on the property. All of the sightings were of the 9 members following the large herd of buffalo. It made for some very interesting sightings with lions running in on buffalo and the lions being chased around. They were not successful at all with regards to the buffalo hunting, but the pride in general is looking in better condition compared to a few months ago and is a lot more relaxed. With the Mlowathi male forced west and the 4 KNP males concentrating on the northern parts of Mala Mala, is has eased the pressure on the Eyrefield pride and hopefully this will mean they will be spending more time on Mala Mala and take up their core territory in the middle section of the property.
June 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 13
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 3 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 7 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 3 YEARS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 11 MONTHS
2 CUBS 3 MONTHS
1 CUB 2 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(35 sightings)
It seems strange that in a month of 30 days that a pride can be seen 35 times, this is because the two lionesses with cubs have still not joined up or introduced the cubs to the rest of the pride and the Eyrefield pride have been on Mala Mala a lot more this month, so on some days there were two different sightings of members of the Eyrefield pride. The two lionesses have done well with regular sightings of both female s and cubs; they still seem to be using the Sand River between Main Camp and West Street as the area for their dens. The cubs are healthy and very relaxed making for very good viewing; they have also been introduced to solid food and seem to be doing well. The rest of the Eyrefield pride have been on Mala Mala more this month then for any other month for the last year. They seem far more comfortable now with the Mlowathi males’ coalition in disarray and with the rest of the pride back together they have come back into their old territory. They spent most of the time this month following a large herd of buffalo; they managed to kill a buffalo to our north before returning and eventually heading west again. They all look in good condition and the young male from the Marthly pride is starting to develop a larger presence in the pride and it is going to be interesting how he is going to fit into the pride and the area with the arrival of the new males from the KNP into the area.
May 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 13
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 6 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 11 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 10 MONTHS
2 CUBS 2 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(15 sightings)
The sightings consisted of the two separated females for much of the month, but towards the end of the month the rest of the pride was spotted once at Charleston north. The missing nine members including the young adopted Marthly male looked very skinny and in poor condition but healthy enough to be able to hunt which by the looks of them they desperately needed to do. The two separated females are both lactating and rangers have been following them any time they went close to the sand river, we suspect they are using the same den sites they did in 2007 but with the late rains in April the reed beds are still thick and un-drivable. But finally patience paid off and one afternoon early in the drive the younger more nervous of the two females was spotted going into the river just south of west street bridge rangers watched her from the bridge and then followed up carefully. The female moved into some thickets south of the bridge, milled about and came out holding a tiny little fur ball in her mouth. She dropped the cub in the open and went in and fetched another tiny fluff ball. The two tiny cubs were about six weeks in age but were completely unaware of the vehicles presence. The mother then took both cubs back into the thickets and out of sight. Two new members are welcomed to the pride, let’s hope the mother has as much success as she did with the last litter. Now we need to find out where the oldest lioness is keeping her cubs and how many there are.
April 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 11
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 5 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 9 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 10 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(23 sightings)
This pride seems to be moving back towards Mala Mal and what has halted to movement has not been the Mlowathi males but the fact that so much rain has fallen this month and the river is to high and too strong for the Eyrefield pride to cross and they are not going to come north to cross and draw the attention of the Mlowathi males. Although the whole pride did come onto Mala Mala twice this month they were not on the property for long. They came on around the airstrip and hunted killing an impala before heading west again, but they only came on in this area because two of the Eyrefield lionesses are staying in the area of Maxims Lookout and they are lactating. The pride came on and met up with the two lionesses and then moved off again. Both lionesses have not moved off and are seen nearly every day around the airstrip, they appear to have a den site in the Sand River and with both of them lactating we are hoping both have a litter of cubs. Once they are ready to be introduced to the pride it will hopefully be well into winter and this will mean the pride can cross the river and they will set up their old territory on Mala Mala.
March 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 11
1 ADULT FEMALE 16 YEARS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 5 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 4 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 8 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 9 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(24 sightings)
Most of the sightings of this pride were just of the two lionesses that have been around the airstrip, the bulk of the pride however including the Marthly male were seen several times during the month after a long absence. They were seen once at the beginning of the month around the airstrip and then were largely absent until the middle of the month and end of the month. The majority of the sightings were all on the Western Bank, but the pride did venture across the river for a day and then crossed back over again. One interesting thing is that while the pride were feeding on a carcass close to the Kikilezihash breakfast spot the two Mlowathi males were feeding with two of the Eyrefield lionesses on a buffalo carcass at Wildebeest crossing. The two lionesses that seem to have broken off from the pride were seen many times with the Mlowathi males throughout the month but did not mate at all. It is possible that these two lionesses are pregnant, time will tell.
February 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 11
1 ADULT FEMALE 15 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 3 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 7 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 8 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(13 sightings)
Only two of the pride members were seen this month. Two of the adult females have separated from the pride for sometime now and have been living on and around the airstrip. The two females are the oldest and youngest adult females and they have come due to pressure applied by the Mlowathi males. This might be a diversion tactic to keep the males from killing any more of the sub adults or they might have come to accept the males, only time will tell. One magnificent sighting rangers did have of these two females was when they went hunting one night on the airstrip. It was a cloudy night and the impala herds had gathered on the fringes of the runway, the females stalked their prey and then burst in amongst the frenzied herds. In the chaos the females managed to bring down three young impala which they then set about feeding on as vehicles watched on in amazement.
January 2010
EYREFIELD PRIDE = 11
1 ADULT FEMALE 15 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 11 YEARS 3 MONTHS
1 ADULT FEMALE 8 YEARS 2 MONTHS
3 SUB ADULTS (1 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 7 MONTHS
4 SUB ADULTS (2 MALE 2 FEMALE) 2 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 ADULT MALE (MARTHLY PRIDE) 4 YEARS 7 MONTHS
MALA MALA, FLOCKFIELD, CHARLESTON
(12 sightings)
Only three members of the pride seen during the month, two adult females and one young female. There were in the company of the two Mlowathi males for most of the sightings and most of these sightings were with the older lioness mating with one of the Mlowathi males. Whenever the Mlowathi males did come around the youngest lioness moved off, still not convinced she would be safe from the males. The younger of the adult lionesses is the most nervous of the three adults and when viewed with the others she was fine but when viewed on her own she moved into thicker bush. When the females were found on their own all three were present, most sightings of them were around the airstrip and at night they tried on several occasions to hunt the gathering impala herds but they were never successful. Reports from our neighbours are that the rest of the pride are also split with some of them mating with the golf course males while other just trying to stay out of the way.
