MalaMala - The Wildlife

SELATI PRIDE

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December 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 15
3 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                               * 37 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 12 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 10 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 6 MONTHS

Location: WESTERN TOULON

There were only two sightings of the Selati Pride, one of these with two of the Rollercoaster Males, the fathers of their cubs. A maximum of two adult lionesses was seen and, although there were 9 cubs with them at months beginning, there were only 8 three weeks later.

The exact make-up of the Selati Pride remains uncertain.

November 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 15
3 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                              * 36 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 11 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 9 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 5 MONTHS

Location: WESTERN TOULON

The exact status of the Selati Pride is still not very clear; there certainly was one sighting of five lionesses together this month and although this ties in with some data, it fails to account for the rumours that one of the lionesses was recently killed by a buffalo. Aside from this sighting of five lionesses, the largest other gathering of Selati Pride lionesses seen this month was of two of them. Goodness knows what the rest of the pride gets up to. And on several occasions, 10 cubs, these from three separate litters, accompanied the two lionesses - it was the mother of one of these litters which was rumoured to have been killed by a buffalo.

Then, to add further confusion, two lionesses thought to be Selati Pride lionesses, were seen on two occasions during November, with a single small cub, estimated to be younger than two-months of age. What is happening?

Aside from this family-structure confusion, the Selati Pride appears to be doing well for itself and all three Rollercoaster Males seem to be active and healthy, this of course essential if the cubs are to be protected from aggressive outsider males.

October 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 15
3 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                              * 35 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 10 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 8 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 4 MONTHS

Location: WESTERN TOULON

The Selati Pride seems to be doing well, although there are some rumours that one of the lionesses, the mother of the small cubs, has been killed by a buffalo, this to the west of the reserve. In spite of this, the other lionesses are still caring for the young cubs.

The Rollercoaster Male lions appear to be very much in charge and are caring for their youngsters by keeping other males at bay and also by assisting in making big kills. Perhaps the finest sighting of these lions this month was when two of the adult lionesses, all ten cubs and the three Rollercoaster Males spent several days around a giraffe carcass. One would imagine that the Rollercoaster Males played a major roll in killing this large animal, in so doing, providing their own cubs and the lionesses with food.

September 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 17 (probably 14)
5 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                               * 34 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 9 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 7 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 3 MONTHS

What this months viewing sort of established is that the Selati Pride might, at this stage, be made up of three adult females and one young female, this in addition to the 10 cubs, three of which were seen for the first time this month. It is not known what could have become of the other three lionesses in the just over one year that the Rollercoaster Males have been in charge.

Almost certainly the finest sighting of the Selati Pride this month was one when two of the lionesses and the three Rollercoaster Males drove off 8 lions from a giraffe kill and took it for themselves. The eight lions were inside territory controlled by the Selati Pride and Rollercoaster Males. Then, for several days, the lions feasted. Strangely, it was only right towards the end of the feast, when most of the food had been consumed, that the other members of the pride were fetched and the three approximately three-month-old cubs were seen for the first time. One wonders what the delay in fetching the others to the kill was all about; maybe they were worried that the eight lions would return and, in the ensuing conflict, the cubs would be extra-vulnerable.

Although there are some suggestions that the Selati Pride is spending more time on Mala Mala than previous months, they probably still stay predominantly to the west of the reserve. Nevertheless, as the cubs mature and the demand for food grows, so they may be forced to venture further afield. And, with the lions to the east of them, notably the Windmill and Charleston Pride, relatively absent from this piece of land, it may be a good time to explore.

August 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 14
5 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                               * 33 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 8 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 6 MONTHS

All confirmed sightings of Selati Pride lionesses involved the three Rollercoaster Males. Towards the beginning of the month, on the first day of the August report-period, the day after two of the lionesses had been seen killing an adult male waterbuck, the Rollercoaster Males, three Selati Pride lionesses, as well as the seven youngsters, were found at the scene. All, except for the lionesses, were fat.

The next sighting involving these lions came a few days later when two of the lionesses, together with the Rollercoaster Males, encountered the two Charleston Pride females and one of the Ridge Rocks Males on NW Charleston, to the east of the Sand River, a sort of common boundary point for all lions involved. The five lions held the physical advantage in this psychologically neutral area and seemed to drive off the others, this with a great deal of roaring. What still remains unclear is what the exact composition of the Selati Pride is. Whilst certain evidence, such as that of last month, indicates as many as 7 lionesses, viewing this month suggests only three.

July 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 14
5 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                               * 32 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 7 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 5 MONTHS

There were no sightings of the small cubs of the Selati Pride this month and only two confirmed encounters with the two lionesses which are their mothers. Given the restrictions which small cubs place on a prides' mobility, it comes as no surprise that the two mothers of these cubs appear to have more or less separated from the rest of the family.

Although the exact status of the Selati Pride is not known, there was a sighting this month of five lionesses which fitted the description of the other five members of the pride. So perhaps they are indeed all still together, under the care of the Rollercoaster Males and will, when the cubs become more mobile and need more meat, spend more time together and work areas of their range which have been neglected over the last year or so.

June 2003

SELATI PRIDE = 14
5 ADULT FEMALES
2 SUB ADULT FEMALES                               * 31 MONTHS
3 CUBS                                                              * 6 MONTHS
4 CUBS                                                              * 4 MONTHS

A sighting this month of two lionesses with seven cubs, three estimated to be 6-months-old and the other four 4-months-old, was assumed to be of the Selati Pride, or at least some of them. The lions were feeding from the carcass of an adult male waterbuck and went westwards, off Mala Mala, when they had finished. It has long been suspected that the Selati Pride has been nurturing small cubs, these probably fathered by the Rollercoaster Males, and that these have kept these lions somewhat area-bound.

Hopefully more will be seen of the Selati Pride when the cubs grow and they need to move greater distances in search of prey animals.

May 2003

April 2003

As many as three of the lionesses of the Selati Pride were seen this month, all towards the northwestern parts of Toulon or SW Charleston. There were two sightings of a lioness on her own, but it is not known whether she had cubs which she was returning to or not. On another occasion, a single lioness was accompanied by one of the Rollercoaster Male lions; there was no evidence that they had been mating or were about to mate.

Sightings of the lionesses this month contributed little knowledge as to the exact status of the Selati Pride of lions; ever since the Rollercoaster Males took over from the Golf Course Males, this nearly a year ago, there have been few and fragmented sightings of the Selati Pride.

March 2003

This month saw sightings of some members of the Selati Pride, the first confirmed encounters in several months. Perhaps as many as three of the adult lionesses were seen as well as the two nearly 2-and-a-half-year-old youngsters. These lions were seen over the course of a week and all towards the southwestern parts of the reserve, an area which for several years was considered an integral part of their territory.

The arrival of the three Rollercoaster Males a year or less ago turned things upside down for the Selati Pride and when the Golf Course Males were chased from the area, it was initially thought that the Selati Pride had followed them. But sightings of the Selati Pride members this month suggest otherwise and hopefully the other lionesses of the pride are also still around, perhaps absent because they might have small cubs fathered by the Rollercoaster Males.

January & February 2003

There were no records of this family of lions this month. Ever since the Golf Course Males were replaced by the Rollercoaster Males, the status of the Selati Pride has not been known and it may very well be that they have moved permanently out of the area.

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