Mlowathi Males - 2001

Archives: 2000 || 2001 || 2009 || 2010

November 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing:

Not seen this month.

October 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing :

Only one of the Mlowathi Males was seen this month and this towards the beginning and in the north of the reserve when he was mating with one of the lionesses of the Styx Pride and then temporarily joined them at a zebra kill. What has happened with these lions? They have simply vanished and left their southern territories open for occupation by the aging West Street Males, lions which should be in the process of being kicked out, but which have suddenly been given a territory on a plate. Not that the territory has many females - the Styx Pride has certainly moved out, at least on a temporary basis. But a most unusual bit of lion social dynamics witnessed over the last six or so weeks.

September 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing - Mlowathi Males:

The absence of the Mlowathi Males was noticeable during September. The only sighting of all three male lions together was towards the beginning of this game report period when they were with the lionesses of the Styx Pride. After the middle of the month they were simply not seen. What could have happened? At one time in early September an unknown male lion was seen towards the south-eastern parts of the Mlowathi Males' territory and the following day this coalition was in the area, no doubt responding to this invasion. But then later on when the West Street Males moved north and spent several days in the area thought to be the southerly part of the Mlowathi Males' domain, there was absolutely no response seen. Have the Mlowathi Males at least temporarily moved off to conquer other females now that the Styx Pride have cubs or has something else happened to them? If they have moved to conquer other prides, then hopefully they will not forget about the cubs with the Styx Pride. Paternal duties for male lions include maintenance and a continued presence in the area of their cubs is most necessary to prevent aggressive foreign male lions from moving in. On the other hand something more serious may have occurred; a buffalo may have fallen the wrong way or proved more aggressive than usual - who knows; the life and future of a lion can change in an instant. Death of one male could have severe psychological repercussions amongst the surviving members and this in turn on the entire lion dynamics of the area. Hopefully viewing in October will clarify matters. But certainly September's viewing painted an ominous picture as to what the future holds for the Mlowathi Males and the Styx Pride.

August 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing - Mlowathi Males:

Little was seen of the Mlowathi Males this month and they again appeared to be spending much of their time with the lionesses of the Styx Pride which have their babies to the north of the reserve.

July 2001

The Mlowathi Males hardly seem to go south of the Matshapiri River these days, probably due to the fact that the Styx Pride commands their attention and they have certainly been staying north. Towards the end of the month the male with the lighter coloured mane was mating with the older lioness of the Styx Pride, this a sure sign that she has lost yet another litter of cubs - the third in a year. If this carries on, as with the West Street Males, the Mlowathi Males will become old having produced no cubs which have a hope of reaching maturity. The Mlowathi Males and some of the Styx Pride lionesses spent several days during July feasting off the carcass of an approximately 3-year-old rhino which had died in a bizarre manner, having become trapped beneath a fallen tree, apparently whilst trying to scratch itself. Later on in the month they and one of the younger Styx Pride lionesses were found close to the upper reaches of the Matshapiri River. Tracks indicated that buffalo had recently been in the area and all lions were well fed.

June 2001

May 2001

The Mlowathi Males appeared to spend most of their time in the northern parts of the reserve, close to the Styx Pride lionesses which probably have a new litter of cubs in this area. Most gatherings of the lionesses of the Styx Pride encountered during May also included at least one of the males of this coalition. At the beginning of this game report period and the again in the middle of May, the blonde-maned male was seen mating with one of the two Styx Pride lionesses which do not have cubs. There was only one sighting of all three males together, this towards the end of May when they and the four lionesses of the Styx Pride were found eating an adult male warthog.

April 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing - Mlowathi Males:

These three lions had an eventful month. Towards the middle of April, the three Mlowathi Males spent at least two days chasing the large herd of buffalo. Although they were not seen to catch one, they may well have ultimately been rewarded with a calf or young buffalo, this indicated by their fat stomachs seen in the mornings after the chases. When the large herd of buffalo appeared on the reserve, the lions were following them. That night, using the cover of darkness and the confusion of a violent thunderstorm, they chased into the buffalo, but were driven off. The buffalo bunched together and fled to the safety of an open area and the lions backed off. The next day, however, the lions were again on their heels and a similar performance was witnessed. The Mlowathi Males are noted killers of buffalo and really seem to know what they area doing, including when to give up if the opposition is too strong.

Later on in the month, the Mlowathi Males were faced with a new challenge, this time in the form of three young male lions which entered the area. Two of the male lions were quite relaxed in the presence of vehicles and had the appearance of some of the young male lions which left the Styx Pride last year. The other male lion was mature and had an impressive black mane, but his disposition was quite different and he was unhappy when landrovers approached. Anyway, the lions arrived in the northern and eastern parts of the reserve, probably in search of food rather than to challenge the Mlowathi Males. On the first day of their stay, they were seen to go after some giraffe, but failed to catch one. The following day they had seized onto the large herd of buffalo and soon killed a new-born calf. This meal did not last long and the next day they were still hovering around the peripheries of the herd which by this stage was moving quite steadily away. They were not seen to catch any other buffalo. Although there was no fight witnessed between these lions and the Mlowathi Males, the latter did arrive on the scene and late-night sounds of roaring lions and the wounds of battle later seen on the males of the Mlowathi coalition indicated that the invasion had been beaten off. By all accounts the battle had not been one-sided and one of the Mlowathi Males had a noticeable limp for a few days thereafter.

The oldest of the trio of males which was beaten off apparently split off from the other two and headed south. A day after he was seen wandering away, an adult male lion was seen with the some of the Windmill Pride lionesses which in turn were not looking too happy about him being around. It is quite likely that this male lion was the same one which had been sent packing by the Mlowathi Males a few days earlier and many kilometres further north. A sighting of two young male lions a day or two after this fracas was probably of the same two young males from the above-mentioned trio. They had returned to the area where they and their older companion had originally been found, perhaps in an effort to relocate him. For the Mlowathi Males, April continued along more accepted lines. There were two occasions when mating was observed between the blonde-maned male and one of the Styx Pride lionesses, the first in early April, the second two-and-a-half weeks later. Although the black-maned Mlowathi Male definitely appears larger in size and certainly appeared the more dominant a year ago, that now seems to have changed and the blonde-maned male has assumed number one position in the hierarchy.

March 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing - Mlowathi Males:

There were many sightings of the Mlowathi Males this month, several of these together with the lionesses of the Styx Pride. Several matings were also witnessed over this game report period between one of the lionesses of the Styx Pride and both the dark and light-maned members of the Mlowathi Males. As has been indicated by their behaviour in the recent past, it does not appear as if either of these two males is clearly dominant over the other and an uneasy truce reigns. Unlike past behaviour, the Mlowathi Males did not appear as cohesive in behaviour as has been witnessed in the past, with most sightings of members of this coalition being of an incomplete compliment. As confident as they may be in their youthful stage, too great a degree of separation could make them vulnerable to a take-over by another territory-hungry group of males.

February 2001

There were some fine encounters with of the Mlowathi Males this month, both with them in association with the lionesses of the Styx Pride and on their own. Towards the beginning of the month there were several sightings of them mating with the at least two of the lionesses of the Styx Pride. Following on from one of the matings between the dark-maned lion and one of the younger Styx lionesses (this involving several days of aggression between the two when it appeared as if the lioness was most reluctant to mate) the trio of males separated for several days and subsequently the various individuals spent some time looking for each other. Later on in the month there were a few days of mating with perhaps the same young lioness. For two days the dark-maned male dominated the mating, sending clear signs to the other males of the coalition and lionesses of the pride which were in close proximity, that he was to be left alone. On the third day, however, when the youngest male approached the mating pair and was sent packing by the dark-maned male, the third lion, the blonde-maned male, slipped around the squabbling pair and positioned himself with the lioness. When the dark-maned male saw what had happened, he came snarling back, but the blonde-maned male held his ground and the lioness had a new partner. So although the dark-maned male is probably the most dominant, his position is not unassailable. Whilst all of this was happening, all lions - Styx Pride and Mlowathi Males set about with a tremendous roaring display, perhaps in response to some other distant lions. Once the mating was over, the males were then seen together on a more frequent basis, on one such occasion again putting on an earth-trembling performance of roaring. The finest hour for the Mlowathi Males, however, was reserved for later in the month when they were found lean and hungry and on the hunt. This time there was no roaring and all males were moving with steady intent. The target of this exercise was the large herd of buffalo, in this instance a group numbering in excess of perhaps five hundred animals. The lions seemed well aware of the buffaloes' position from several kilometres away and proceeded unerringly towards them. As they came closer and closer to the buffalo, the lions became more cautious and moved towards their prey with some well-deserved respect. However, luck was with the lions and before they could approach the bunched up buffalo which at that stage were totally unaware of the presence of the lions, a lone cow and calf, the latter only a few hours old, came stumbling towards them. By all accounts the female buffalo had stopped to give birth and none of the others had bothered to wait behind. This was a fatal piece of bad fortune for the buffalo. The lions hardly hesitated and hurled themselves upon the cow. In spite of a brave fight, the three lions knew what they were doing and within 10 minutes the two buffalo were dead. Surprisingly and luckily for the lions, the rest of the buffalo herd did not respond to the distress calls. Anyway, the lions had four days of eating ahead of them.

January 2001

Three adult males - one with a dark mane, one light maned, the third with a mane still developing - Mlowathi Males: There were frequent sightings of the Mlowathi Males this month, several of these of them accompanying various lionesses of the Styx Pride. The oldest lioness of this pride appears to have lost yet another litter of cubs, her second in 6 months, but was again mating with the blonde-maned male of the trio. The lionesses showed almost zero enthusiasm for the mating, scarcely moving when the male mated with her. A few days later the dark-maned lion of this coalition was courting one of the younger Styx Pride females and although some matings took place, the lioness appeared more eager to escape from him than to mate. Most sightings of the Mlowathi Males were of them away from the lionesses. At one stage part of the large herd of buffalo encountered these three and chased them off. However, tracks indicated that the lions followed the buffalo and when next seen, they were fat, presumably from having killed one of these large bovids.

MalaMala Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa.
Telephone: + 27 11 442 2267 or 0861 SAFARI.
Facsimile: + 27 11 442 2318
e-Mail: reservations@malamala.com

Copyright © Rattray Reserves