December 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 6 month
3 FEMALES * 6 years +
1 CUBS * 8 months
1 CUB * 7 months

Location: SE MARTHLY/ W EYREFIELD/ MALA MALA

The Styx Pride started the month on a most promising note, being present on the reserve for much of the time and using areas which they frequented several years ago. At one stage all indications were that at least one of the lionesses was nursing cubs, these secreted away on one of the granite koppies which run through the northern parts of Mala Mala. The lions seemed to be using these hills as a springboard from which to launch their hunting escapades in the surrounding areas.
And to add to their confidence, the West Street Male lions, which had been menacing them ever since the Styx Pride were abandoned by the three Mlowathi Males a few months ago, were themselves hounded from the area by four younger male lions. The departure of the West Street Males from the area would have been a threat removed from the lives of the Styx Pride lionesses and whatever cubs they have.
But then, towards the middle of December, two or so weeks after the West Street Males had been chased to the west of the Sand River, two of them made a brief return, crossing at the causeway close to the Mala Mala Main Camp and making their way closer to one of the Koppies where the Styx Pride had been staying. In fact, the previous day, some members of the Styx Pride had been nearby on the remains of an adult Wildebeest kill. It is quite likely that the West Street Males made contact with the Styx Pride and this could have forced them away again, north to probably safer areas.
But even if the West Street Males vanish, which may happen any day soon, the Styx Pride would still be under threat, as the area becomes a target for other territory-hungry coalitions of male lions. As far as could be determined, the Styx Pride has at least two cubs; there may have younger ones, but this has not been verified.

November 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 5 month
3 FEMALES * 6 years +
1 CUBS * 7 months
1 CUB * 6 months

Location: SE MARTHLY/ SW EYREFIELD/ NW MALA MALA

There were few sightings of the Styx Pride this month with most of these towards the end of the game-report period. When first seen, all four lionesses were present. However, only two cubs were with them and the lions were sharing a buffalo carcass with a single very old lioness. So old was this latter animal that her canines were worn down to mere stumps. It is thought that she was from a pride of five lionesses which were seen last month towards the northeastern parts of the reserve. At the time, other members of her pride were several kilometres away eyeing out the large herd of buffalo. Although the Styx Pride was tolerating the foreign lioness, they were distinctly uneasy with her presence and the cubs were being watched very carefully. The following day it was found that the Styx Pride had abandoned the still quite substantial portion of the buffalo carcass and left it to this old lioness. Later in the day another lioness, apparently known to this older female, arrived on the scene and the two left together once they had finished feeding. It was 11 days before the Styx Pride were seen again, but then things looked better. All lions and the two cubs - this latter sighting of course clarifying that the 3rd cub has also been lost over the past month - were on top of one of the large granite koppies which occur along the banks of the Manyelethi River. Later that evening three of the lionesses descended and went off hunting. Thereafter the lions were seen on two other occasions in this same area. The fact that they have moved to this location and have at least temporarily taken up residence here suggests that they are using the rocky area as a place of refuge for cubs. But what cubs? At least one of the lionesses appears to have given birth recently, but this cannot be certain. Towards the beginning of October it appeared that the one young lioness was going to give birth, but subsequent sightings simply did not confirm this. If she has, then the cubs would still be small and not yet eating meat. So perhaps it is these young cubs which are up in the hills. As for the oldest lioness of the Styx Pride, her behaviour appears more reclusive by the moment and she is not often with the younger three and the two older cubs. Has she perhaps also given birth too in this area? Hopefully time will reveal what is happening. As frequently as the lions of the area are observed and as much as we think we know about their behaviour, they can still be incredibly secretive when they have cubs and the full picture is usually only revealed when the youngsters reach the meat-eating stage. And even then, happenings before cubs are introduced to the outside world will never be known Of course when lionesses have cubs of different ages perhaps amongst them, it can be expected that they will not always be together. Different requirements amongst the cubs will cause the lionesses to behave in a fashion which suites their particular litter and only later when all cubs are at a meat-eating stage will a better degree of cooperation be expected. But what about the threat from male lions? This is still a problem for the Styx Pride. The fathers of the cubs, the Mlowathi Males were again not seen this month - they appear to have simply vanished. But on the good news front, at least temporarily, the West Street Males which made a brief bid for the area vacated by the Mlowathi Males, do not seem to be coping very well; their power does not appear as impressive as when they first arrived and they probably do not pose as big a threat to the Styx Pride as was the case a couple of months ago. But their weakness will invite challengers and if the Mlowathi Males do not return, then another coalition will move in and the Styx Pride and whatever youngsters they have will again be under threat.

October 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 4 month
3 FEMALES * 6 years +
2 CUBS * 6 months
1 CUB * 5 months

Location: NORTH-WESTERN & CENTRAL EYREFIELD

October proved to be a worrying time for the Styx Pride as the Mlowathi Males, the fathers of their cubs, moved out of the area and the West Street Males replaced them. This appeared to be happening even last month and it could have been that the three cubs lost were killed by the West Street Males. Just why the Mlowathi Males have abandoned the lionesses and cubs is a mystery. Assuming that the Mlowathi Males are still alive, it could only be other lionesses further away which have captured their attentions and this has caused them to neglect the southern parts of their range which the Styx Pride occupy. What a blow for the lionesses!

The few encounters with the Styx Pride were nonetheless eventful. The very first sighting of the month was of the four lionesses and their three cubs sleeping off the heat of the day close to the bushline of one of the open areas on the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River, a scene typical of numerous such gatherings of lions at this time of day just before darkness falls. Suddenly things changed as a young warthog came trotting through the bush towards them. Unfortunately for the warthog - which was probably en route to the security of its burrow for the night - one of the lionesses saw it before it saw them. As is so often the case with lions, the single lioness which had been sleeping 20 or so metres away from the others saw the warthog first and, without alerting them, started the pursuit by herself. The warthog must have been set on heading in the direction it was initially going; after side-slipping the single lioness, it went running past her, directly towards the other three which had been left sleeping in their original position. But by this stage these others were alert to what was going on and when they saw the warthog coming towards them they launched themselves into action. The result was inevitable and the young warthog was caught in a cloud of dust. The four lionesses of course resorted to standard lion mercenary behaviour and sharing was dictated by fighting strength and jostling for position. The three cubs were terrified and fled. This may well have been one of the first kills that they had actually witnessed. At all other times they would have been taken to the carcasses of kills already made. But the action was not yet over. The screams of the warthog before it was killed were heard by others and specifically the young male lion of the Eyrefield Pride which happened to be some kilometres further south, also along the banks of the Mlowathi River. Goodness knows what he was doing here and just how he had come to be separated from the other members of the pride. Anyway, with a true scavenging instinct, the young lion headed directly towards the area where the kill had happened. En route he encountered a male cheetah which was also quite close to the scene of the squabbling lions. But this was not what he wanted and after the two stared at each other for a few seconds, the cheetah sprinted away from one of his biggest enemies and carried on running. This was but a temporary diversion for the young male lion and he emerged into the open area where he could now hear and probably see the lionesses and he started jogging their way. But as he approached he no doubt realised that these lions were technically his enemies, members of a neighbouring and hence competing pride, and he slowed his approach, circling into some bush from where he could asses things and creep closer with a touch more stealth. Although this young male was not more than forty or so metres from the Styx Pride and their cubs (the youngsters had by this stage forgotten their fright and had emerged to get their share of the scraps), they were completely unaware of him. A fairly large proportion of the carcass still remained, even though the warthog had been killed at least 20 minutes prior to the arrival of the young male - two of the lionesses which were occupying prime position on the kill were not eating from it, but still clinging on, waiting for the other to weaken so that they could grab the 'lions share' and eat it all. As the young male lay watching them, these two lionesses suddenly heaved upwards and growled louder than they had been doing previously. This galvanised the young male into action - he no doubt realised that the kill would soon be finished if he did not act soon - and he moved confidently towards the scene. But the two lionesses which were not part of the 'scrum' spotted him. It was as if they could not believe their eyes at the audacity of this young male and immediately and from two different directions started moving menacingly towards him - the slow, body-upright, stiff-legged gait of an enraged predator. The young male tried desperately to be submissive to this sudden change of fortunes - he must have realised now that he had underestimated the opposition. So he lay down, turned his head and flicked his tail up and down. But the lionesses were not interested in any sort of diplomacy and started running at him, roaring and snarling. The two fighting over the warthog immediately dropped the food and joined their companions and with some great gurgling and roaring noises the four lionesses attacked the young male which fled as fast as circumstances permitted. Although the lions made contact with each other, it is doubtful if more than a few superficial scratches were ultimately delivered. Two of the lionesses returned within a few minutes of the chase starting, no doubt realising that the cubs had been left unattended. Interestingly, two black-back jackals which had also been attracted to the scene took immediate advantage of the ruckus and the absence of the lionesses and moved in, howling and even competing with the cubs for the scraps. The other two lionesses continued with the chase for a while longer, making sure that the young male was fully aware of the seriousness of his transgression.

Several days after this incident, the lions were found on the remains of an adult male waterbuck. Later on in the month there was another fine sighting involving the Styx Pride, this time of them killing an adult zebra. At the time, the one lioness and one of the Mlowathi Males (probably the youngest member of the trio) were being followed after they had been found to the east of the Mlowathi River in the morning. Some attempts at mating were observed, but nothing too dramatic. Suddenly there were zebra in the area and when the dust settled, the two lions rushed towards where the other three Styx Pride lionesses were subduing a zebra. The pair must have been heading towards the other three all along when, as the various parties drew together, zebra happened between them and a kill was made. Surprisingly, the male lion stayed away from the carcass until the females had eaten. All lionesses acted with little love towards him, but once they had fed and one of them headed off to fetch the three cubs, his turn came and he fed.

Subsequent to this there was only one further sighting of members of the Styx Pride in October, this when the oldest lioness and the other lioness which does not have cubs were seen on some koppies near the mid-to-upper reaches of the Matshapiri River. As darkness fell, the two headed north-west, strangely directly towards the area where two of their old enemies, the West Street Males, had been roaring. It is not known if the two groups made contact, but if history is anything to go by, the Styx Pride would have given the males a wide berth.

September 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 3 month
3 FEMALES * 5 years +
3 CUBS * 4 months

Location:SOUTH EASTERN MARTHLY/ NORTH-WESTERN EYREFIELD

The long-awaited return of the Styx Pride happened this month when they and 6 cubs appeared near the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River and headed south. They were accompanied by the youngest of the Mlowathi Males which was made to feel most unwelcome. The cubs appeared to be from two separate litters. The day after they were first seen, the lions were found on a zebra kill only a kilometre or so further south along the Mlowathi River. The youngest three cubs were not present at the kill, but the next day all were found resting up in the river bed. Thereafter the lionesses seemed to spend much of the month hunting around the northern parts of the reserve. One of the younger lionesses appeared to be on the verge of giving birth and towards the end of the month all four females were in the area of the Koppies on the Mala Mala/ Eyrefield boundary, one of the spots traditionally used to hide cubs. But as good as the outlook for the lionesses and cubs appeared to be at the beginning of the month, things might not be so rosy. The last sighting of all six cubs was near the beginning of September and thereafter only three were seen at any one sighting. With very young cubs - and when they were first encountered the youngest three were not even eating meat yet - it can be expected that they will not always be present and will perhaps spend more time resting up than following the lionesses.

But there are other ominous signs which point towards a most uncertain immediate future for the Styx Pride and all of these are to do with male lion stability. Up until now, the three Mlowathi Males have been ideal dominant males; a young coalition with apparently great strength and confidence. They have also shown great interest in the Styx Pride and been around them a great deal. All these attributes will keep competing coalitions at bay and serve to protect the cubs from foreign male lion aggression. But things seem to have gone astray; the Mlowathi Males have hardly been present this month and the aging West Street Males, arch-enemies of the Styx Pride, have moved north into areas considered Mlowathi Male territory. Although apparently on the brink of being overthrown, the West Street Males would kill the Styx Pride cubs if they encountered them and the Mlowathi Males were not there to deter them. On the day when the four lionesses of the Styx Pride were in the area of the Koppies so often used in the past to hide cubs, the West Street Males were nearby and in fact later headed into that area. Are they sensing weakness from the Mlowathi Males? Certainly roaring and other forms of territory marking appear to have been minimal of late and this would invite incursions. Perhaps the Mlowathi Males are temporarily busy elsewhere dominating a neighbouring family of lionesses, who knows? But if they are still alive and well and want their cubs to stay alive, then they need to be a tad more visible.

August 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 2 month
3 FEMALES * 5 years +

Location: SOUTH EASTERN MARTHLY/ NORTH-WESTERN EYREFIELD

The Styx Pride was seen only infrequently this month, their cubs to the north of the reserve keeping them away. The only sighting of all four lionesses together was of them and at least one of the Mlowathi Males moving at high speed towards the Sand River and a distant herd of buffalo being harassed by probably the other two Mlowathi Males. This area was out of their territory and inside that of the Eyrefield Prides and the lions realised it and stopped at the rivers' edge. However, the distant bellow of a buffalo proved too tempting and they jumped across. Footprints the next day indicated that they had not stayed long and had retreated back to territories more familiar to them. The old lioness of the Styx Pride was again seen mating, this towards the beginning of the month. All three of the Mlowathi Males were competing for the honours, but the most dominant warned the others off.

July 2001

4 lionesses
1 FEMALE * 12 years 1 month
3 FEMALES * 5 years 9 months
1 CUB * 3 months

Location: NORTH-WESTERN EYREFIELD

What has happened to the Styx Pride? They were certainly seen this month and in good condition - all four of the lionesses for that matter. But again, the oldest lioness was mating, this towards the end of the month and with one of the Mlowathi Males. The mating was merely a duty; the female showed absolutely no response at all when the male mounted her. This mating of course indicates the lioness has lost whatever cubs she gave birth to at the end of April, making it her third litter in a year.

There was one sighting of three of the lionesses all together and all looked in superb condition. At the time the fourth lioness was not far away, together with the younger male of the Mlowathi Males - he could well be her brother or half-brother. The previous evening all three of the Mlowathi Males and this lioness were further east, looking well fed and in an area where tracks indicated a large herd of buffalo had just been. Given the reputation of the Mlowathi Males as buffalo killers, it is quite likely that they had indeed killed one. That evening when the single lioness tried to locate the other three, calling softly in their direction, she received no response.

June 2001

There were very few sightings of the lionesses of the Styx Pride and none of all four together. All encounters were along the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River. Perhaps the finest sighting involving the Styx Pride started off when the oldest female was found with a freshly killed adult female wildebeest. It appeared that she had hunted alone, chasing the wildebeest into the Mlowathi River and using the rough terrain to catch one. In true lion mercenary behaviour, she then made no effort to contact other members of the pride and set about eating it all by herself. Surprisingly, however, later that evening, she was still at the kill, but this time accompanied by a six-week-old cub. What the cub was doing there is not known, it was certainly not old enough to eat meat. Perhaps the lionesses had left the kill sometime during the day and headed off to suckle whatever cubs she has and then returned to the kill, carrying the youngster or even allowing it to follow her. How it had arrived on the scene is not known, but the lioness continued to feed alone as the youngster sat nearby making plaintive calls. The lioness eventually walked to the cub, picked it up and carried it off. The following morning there was no sign of the lioness or cub and the carcass had been devoured by the three Mlowathi Males which were lying in the area, about as fat as any lions could possibly be.

May 2001

The lionesses of the Styx Pride have remained rather scarce over the last month. Towards the beginning of this game-report period it was hoped that two of the lionesses had given birth somewhere on Mala Mala, but all evidence now indicates that whatever cubs have been born have been located in some area of security just to the north of the reserve. At about the same time as the two lionesses gave birth, one of the others was mating with the blonde-maned male of the Mlowathi Males. Another mating took place in the middle of May, again with the blonde-maned male which now seems to be the most dominant of the three Mlowathi Males. Hopefully the lions will at some stage move their cubs further south onto Mala Mala property. The two expectant lionesses were certainly exploring the areas around Campbell Koppies one or two nights before they probably gave birth, almost as if they were examining their options.

April 2001

The Styx Pride was quite noticeable by their absence this month and there were no sightings of all four lionesses together. There were also no sightings of the single cub seen last month and all suggestions are that this youngster is dead. Towards the beginning of April and then, 2-and-a-half weeks later, the blonde-maned member of the Mlowathi Males was mating with one of the Styx Pride lionesses, perhaps the same lioness at each occasion and perhaps the lioness which had the cub. At the beginning of this game report period, three of the lionesses were seen killing an impala on SW Eyrefield. The lioness which at the time was still lactating was not with them. It is highly likely that the lack of support shown by the other three lionesses to this female which had the cub caused her to abandon it. Towards the middle of the month, two of the lionesses of the Styx Pride appeared on the western bank of the Sand River, close to the Mala Mala Main Camp. It has been many months since any members of this family have been onto this bank of the river. It is not known where they had been prior to this, perhaps along the lower reaches of the Manyelethi River. In any event, the visit did not last long and they crossed, hunting as the progressed. For the next few days they worked the banks of the Matshapiri River and although they were not seen to catch anything, did stumble across the carcass of an adult impala (cause of death not known) and had an easy-won meal. Neither of these two lionesses appeared pregnant, but it is highly likely that they had left behind the other two which, should matings in late January and early February have been fruitful, be about to give birth. There were several sightings during April of members of the Mlowathi Males together with various females of the Styx Pride.

March 2001

Location: EYREFIELD & NORTH CENTRAL MALA MALA

The March game report period started with the dark-maned Mlowathi Male mating with one of the younger Styx Pride lionesses.

Three weeks later, the blonde-maned Mlowathi Male and one of the young Styx lionesses were mating. It is not certain if it was the same lioness which came into season again or another one. At long last there was a view this month of a single cub, this probably born towards the end of December last year to the remaining young Styx Pride lioness. As yet there have been no sightings of this youngster eating meat, but if the birth date is correct, it could be expected that the mother would start leading it to kills any day now. However, the nature of the lionesses of the Styx Pride appears as mercenary as ever and the three lionesses which do not have cubs simply do not seem to be keen on assisting the one with the cub and she has mostly been hunting alone. Hopefully she will cope.

The only time this month when the female with the cub was seen with other lions, it was with the three Mlowathi Males and one of the other young lionesses which had just finished mating with the blonde-maned Mlowathi Male. All five lionesses went hunting, but after the first attempt at some zebra and impala failed, the males gave up and spent most of the time bringing up the rear of the procession, roaring loudly. The females may as well have given up.

Whilst this was happening, the remaining two lionesses of the pride were not doing too badly, killing twice in successive nights. The first victim was an adult female impala and the second, the following night, an adult female kudu. Needless to say, they made no attempt to call any other pride members to there kills. Several nights later they teamed up with the young female which had been mating with the blonde-maned Mlowathi Male and were seen killing another impala. All in all things look good for these lions. Hopefully now the oldest lioness and the other two younger ones are pregnant and will give birth in the late dry season.

February 2001

Location: EYREFIELD & NORTH CENTRAL MALA MALA

Just what is happening with the Styx Pride is unclear. Towards the beginning of the month indications were that the one lioness still had cubs hidden in some area north of Mala Mala. Of the other three, one might be pregnant, whilst the remaining two, one of which is the oldest lioness, were seen mating with the Mlowathi Males at various stages during the month. During the early parts of February there were no sightings of all four lionesses together, this probably due to the one needing to stay in close proximity to her cubs. However, towards the middle and end of this game-report period, the four lionesses not only appeared together, but the one which was lactating appeared to stay away from her cubs for some days, hinting that the cubs may well have been abandoned. However, there has also been some suggestion that the cubs may have been moved further south towards the hills of Campbell Koppies, but this is not certain. All that is known with certainty is that three of the lionesses definitely do not have cubs at present and the behaviour displayed by the one which probably still had cubs up until the middle of the month indicates that her cubs may well be dead. In spite of the confusion surrounding the Styx Prides structure, there were some fine moments with these lionesses this month. On one occasion they were followed hunting and were seen killing an approximately three or four-year-old male kudu. Just prior to this, when they had just started on their evening hunt, they were seen rushing in to try and steal the scraps of a duiker kill which the Ngoboswan Female leopard and her two daughters had hidden in the uppermost branches of a Lannea tree. The one 17 month-old leopard was still in the tree when the lions arrived on the scene and at one time had one of the lionesses only a meter or so away from her face. Fortunately for the leopard the branches would not have supported the lioness and she did not push her luck. The young leopard, however, did not panic and run, but put up a highly spirited spitting and snarling defence when the lion approached. One of the lionesses actually fell out of the tree, but luckily landed with some dignity. When this happened the lionesses had a more cautious look at things and this gave the young leopard the opportunity of dashing out of the tree. The lionesses immediately set out after her, but failed to catch up and the leopard again sought sanctuary in the upper branches of a tree. Eventually the lions had to realise that they would not catch their competitors and would not be able to steal the scraps of the small kill and had to back off.

January 2001

Location: EYREFIELD & NORTH CENTRAL MALA MALA

During the whole of this report period there were only two sightings of all four lionesses of the Styx Pride together and both of these were within days of each other and also in the company of the Mlowathi Males. For the rest of time the lionesses hunted as a trio, in pairs or alone and with various members of the male coalition. Towards the beginning of the month it still appeared as if the older lioness of the Styx Pride had cubs in one of the granite hills of Campbell Koppies. However, within a short time she had abandoned this area and by months end was mating with the blonde-maned Mlowathi Male, a task she showed absolutely no enthusiasm for, hardly even moving as the male mated. Within a day or two of the start of this mating, one of the younger lionesses was being courted by the darker-maned Mlowathi Male. Although several matings were observed, the lioness appeared more intent on finding her companions than mating and the male had to endure some fiery aggression. All of this and encounters with at least one other lioness which was definitely not even lactating when the other two were mating, points to, at most, only one of the Styx Pride Females having babies and these, if they exist, would probably be to the north of the reserve.

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