| OTHER LIONS ENCOUNTERED April 2013
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, WESTERN CHARLESTON. DOMINANT OVER THE SELATI PRIDE
(3 sightings) These lions were found on Paradise Valley Road, on the south eastern parts of the property. The tracks indicate they came from the south and east and we believe it is the first time they have been recorded on MalaMala Game Reserve. Research shows these lions are members of the Hilda’s Rock pride or also known as the Skukuza pride. It did not take long for the Manyelethi males to get wind of the prides movements and when rangers followed up on the pride the next morning, only one of the young males was found. He was at Zebra Skull South and two of the Manyelethi males were found close to the single young male, at The Windmill. The Manyelethi males’ tracks showed they may have chased off the new pride separating one of the young males in the process. The separated young male lion was found again a day later still on his own. This pride originally consisted of two adult females. The other female wears a radio collar around her neck and is currently split from the rest of the pride. The three young males were four until one was killed by 3 male lions from the Kruger National Park. (Note, the information regarding the pride’s name and composition are to be confirmed)
(1 sighting) These male lions were briefly seen at Pole in the Road and have been identified as the three Sand River males. There were no other confirmed sightings of these lions.
(1 sighting) This was another brief visual. The lionesses may have been members of the Styx pride or Marthly pride. March 2013
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, WESTERN CHARLESTON. DOMINANT OVER THE SELATI PRIDE
(1 sightings). These two males were seen by field workers in Charleston. It could have been that they were the males from the Eyrefield and Marthly prides. February 2013
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, WESTERN CHARLESTON. DOMINANT OVER THE SELATI PRIDE
(2 sightings).This pride is nervous of vehicles and has been seen in the south. There are a number of females and young cubs but the exact composition is not known. They have come from the Kruger National Park where they must not have been viewed regularly. It is always great to see a new pride of lions. One wonders how often this group might have come to contact with vehicles or humans.
(2 sightings). This old male had been trailing a herd of buffalo in the northeast. We have discovered that he is around nine years of age. He was first seen to our north in 2008 and he was with another male lion. These two lions were known as the Manyeleti males. There is no connection with the four Manyelethi males that are currently dominant on MalaMala.
(2 sightings). This is a younger male approximately six or seven years old. He was first seen toward the beginning of the period lurking around the Fourways pride. The females from that pride did not tolerate his presence and was chased off. The old male lion (known as ‘Joker’) was incidentally also in the area but he did not interact with the young male or the Fourways pride. It is believed that this young male could possibly hail from the Windmill pride but this is still to be confirmed. We have long suspected that the Fourways pride is a breakaway once belonging to the Windmill pride. The dynamics of these lions are difficult to monitor since their movements take them east into the Kruger National Park. Read section on the Styx pride to see how this young male managed to chase that pride off a giraffe carcass. January 2013
SOUTHERN CHARLESTON, WESTERN CHARLESTON. DOMINANT OVER THE SELATI PRIDE All three sightings of this good looking male were of him in the company of the Selati pride. He is somewhat of anomaly to the area in that he is a single male dominant over a single pride. It is more usual to have coalitions of males that are able to compete successfully for territory and become dominant over prides. The Kruger male’s brother died during 2012 and it will be interesting times ahead for this him. It would be wise to not stray too far from the many females in the Selati pride who should assist him should any takeover attempts be made. November 2012
September & October 2012
In the month of October, two unidentified male lions were seen on the very southern parts of the property. The tractor drivers found these males on consecutive days whislt repairing roads in that area. Unfortunately no rangers viewed these males and their identity will remain a mystery. We would like to assume that it was the young male from the Eyrefield pride and his companion from the Marthly pride, although we cannot be certain as there has been plenty of male lion activity in the southern Sabi Sands region with some new males visiting the area that have not been seen before. It could also be the same unidentified males that were reported to be seen with the Charleston pride.
A sub-adult male lion was briefly viewed on southwestern Charleston before he crossed our boundary. It is believed that this young male could belong to the Selati pride, a huge pride that was not seen in either September or October.
No picture was taken to establish an identity for this mature male lion seen on southwestern Charleston.
Seen in the southern most parts of the property and close to the Kruger National Park, we are still working on a confirmed identity for this male lion.
Four lions were viewed on Flat Rocks. We are not sure of which pride they belong to but the Hilda’s Rock pride which is territorial around the Skukuza Airport.is a possibility. There has been much movement among male lions in the south. Some males were reported to be spending time with the Charleston pride, while there were also three other males which had a run in with the Manyelethi males. These three males were lucky to escape from the Manyelethi males without serious injury. Some of the unidentified males could possibly belong to Hilda’s Rock pride. We will try to establish identities for these lions, still unknown at this stage. August 2012
This coalition is dominant over the Charleston and Selati Prides. They were first seen on the property in August 2011. Recent sightings have been of one of the brothers which has been with the Selati Pride. News from our neighbours suggests that the other brother, who has had a limp for some time, is missing and has not been viewed for the past few months. If he has passed on, it is a possibility that the remaining male may prefer to spend his time with the Selati Pride and potentially abandon the Charleston Pride. We will monitor progress with the lions in the south with interest.
This young male was seen in the presence of the Fourways Pride. We are not sure of his history or where he has come from. For now, it looks like he may have joined the pride as a pride member and non- dominant male. He will need to be watchful of the Manyelethi males, although we have not seen any of the Manyelethi males in the company of this pride since the winter of 2011.
Approaching five years of age, this male died in the early stages of this month. He had sustained a serious injury to his hind leg and was unable to hunt. The injury was believed to be caused in a failed attempt to hunt buffalo. This male was born in the same litter as the youngest adult lioness in the Styx Pride. Their mother is the eldest member of the pride, who also lost her youngest cub this month. He has been nomadic ever since the Manyelethi males have been in control of his native pride. Over the past year, we have had sporadic sightings of him around our northern boundary where he has been careful to avoid conflict with the Manyelethi males from the south, and another coalition of males further north. He had gained exceptional skills as a hunter and was famous for his ability to execute buffalo kills on his own. It is a sad death but the reality is that this lion had little chance of being able to ascertain a territory of his own and become dominant over a pride. It is a tall order for a single male attempting to establish dominance and their chances are slim. July 2012
These males are now the dominant males in the south and were seen on 2 occasions around the Track between the Camps on western Charleston. May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
On both occasions this young male was seen around Clarendon. The first sighting of him was early on in the month and it must’ve felt like Christmas for him as he’d stumbled upon a rhino carcass. This nomadic male is still some ways from being ready to challenge other males and win over lionesses so for the time being he’ll continue to maintain a low profile and fend for himself.
Seen on only two occasions and in both instances they were in the company of the Selati and Charleston prides respectively. February 2012
January 2012
There were no sightings of these males during this month.
December 2011
Seen only twice during the report period. Once at Rocky crossing and then once in Jakkalsdraai open area. They probably ventured this far north to try and look for the Selati males.
November 2011
A return! We saw this young male only once during the report period. He was in the northern reaches of the Matshipiri River when we found him, and from the outset appeared to be very anxious. Calling softly, he kept his nose to the ground as he followed the scent trail of other lions. He eventually ran into the Fourways pride, but they did not take kindly to his presence. The lionesses gave him a few cuffs with their paws and some aggressive bites to the back of his neck. This did not perturb him in the slightest though, as he proceeded to follow the pride for the rest of the morning. This was the only sighting of this youngster for the month.
Charleston produces once again. This area of the reserve often has new lions coming through. This pride consisted of two lionesses, one of which had a collar on, and four young males. They were on the tracks of a herd of buffalo but were not seen to get within range of the herd. All the lions within the pride were very relaxed in the presence of the Land Rovers.
October 2011
A large unidentified male lion was seen chasing the young Styx male off his buffalo kill near Clarendon Dam. He stuck around for a few days until the carcass was finished, before heading back north.
September 2011 Two Unidentified males ( 1 sighting) August 2011 Two Kruger males ( 3 sightings) MalaMala
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