LIONS - Nkorho & Elephant Plains Area

Fantastic information!  Thank you  :-)

Because of their relation and number size, have you learned if they have a pecking order when it comes time to eating or are they as relaxed about this as they seem to be about mating with neighbouring prides?  Also, do the rangers have individual names for each member?

Hi Sabine, I don't know any specifics on the pecking order but imagine there is one or certainly will be in time. The oldest (unrelated one) is or was probably the dominant one as he first set out with only two of the oldest related ones back towards the end of 2004. This unrelated male from my readings is a very independent lion and very bold and brave even on his own. I suppose that came from his fending for himself and not really being accepted by the pride he had latched on to. Yet, when the West Street males were dwindled down in numbers and got up in age, it was this youngster that was responsible for many of the kills that helped support the pride.

I've read and heard that several of the related ones seem to have closer bonds to their same age sibling. At some of the kills or kill steals, not all are willing to call the rest of the coalition to dinner or respond to roars by the others that are searching for them. Makes one wonder if in time they will split off in groups of 3 or 2.

As for names, I haven't read of any names the rangers call them but some on a live drive have given nicknames to a few. I think most have heard the two youngest (due to their unique hair dos) called Mr T and T 2. Rather those nicknames will catch on only time will tell. LOL

Please remember the information is pieced together from Sighting Reports and Newsletters from Londolozi, Elephant Plains, Djuma Game Reserve, Savanna. Some of the information may be conflicting.

Tsalala/Chalala/Selala/Chalada Pride - Note: This pride is known on Mala Mala as the Marthly Pride. (Thank you Andrew)

This Pride's roots come from the same original Pride as does the Roller Coaster/Shaw/Castleton Males.

In 1997, 2 females broke away from their original pride of the Castletons. They became known as the Tsalala Pride named after the Tsalala Pan they frequented early on.

These two Tsalala Lionesses mated with the 5 West Street/Sparta males (who also sired the Mapogos) and produced 7 cubs early in 1998. Sadly, only 2 cubs survived a male and a female. Eventually the male was killed by poachers leaving only the female cub that is the Oldest of the Tsalala Pride today known as BB.

One of the two original first Tsalala females died in 2000 from a zebra kick leaving the remaining adult female and her sub adult female cub, BB.

By 2002, the cub, BB, had matured and remained with her Mother. Both Mother and Daughter mated with the remaining 2 Split Rock/Marthly Males and both produced cubs in December of 2002. Unfortunately, the Mother was killed by Hyenas and her cubs were lost. Her daughter, BB, remained along with her two female cubs that are known today as the "Young" Tsalala lionesses that we see around Elephant Plains.

BB, mated again with the Split Rock/Marthly males in 2005 and produced a litter or 4 (3male, 1 female) and her two 30 month old daughters remained with her. Tragedy struck again when in Dec 2005 it is speculated that a fight with Hyenas may have occured and left BB with no tail. Bitten off close to the base. She survived but by March 2006 only 2 young male cubs remained. Some conflicting reports on time line come into play now. The two daughters around the end of 2005 left their Mother and went with a male lion believed to be from Kruger. The names associated with him are Serengeti/Kruger Male/Vulolo/Rocky. It is speculated the two daughters left their Mother to ensure the safety of their Mother's cubs as the Serengeti/Vulolo/ male, "Rocky", would have killed them.

Of BB's two remaining male cubs, one was killed by the Roller Coaster/Shaw/Castleton males late in 2006. The remaining male cub is called “Solo“ and just recently has been accepted into the Eyrefield Pride.

Now for how the "Young" Tsalala Females got reunited with their Mother, BB and her sub adult son. Though the Young Tsalalas moved off with the Serengeti/Vulolo male and produced litters in April and July of 2006. By early 2007 reports were coming in that the Serengeti/Vulolo male and the two "Young" Tsalala females and most of their cubs had been killed by male lions. First thought the 2 Split Rock/Marthly males to be the culprits. It was said that two of the cubs survived and some how had been reunited with BB, their Grandmother. Soon this story would unfold as untrue. The truth apparently was the Mapogos had killed and eaten "Rocky" the Serengeti/Vulolo male. The two "Young" Tsalala females survived as did their 6 cubs and they were seen again in the EP area around May 2007. The conflicting side to this story is that the two Daughters, their 6 cubs, BB and her two sub adult male cubs were all together in Dec 2006 when attacked by the Roller Coaster Males which resulted in the death of one of the sub adult male cubs.

In June of 2007, BB was seen with suckle marks indicating she had cubs but no further reports were made on any cubs so they must have been lost at some point.

In July 2007, the two Young Tsalala females were reported seen on Djuma. There were only four cubs with them and one adult female was limping. It is not known what became of the other two cubs. During the report month, two more cubs disappeared. It was reported by EP that two cubs were killed by the Mapogos.Before the end of 2007, only one female cub had survived. In September 2008, a ranger from Elephant Plains reported the last surviving sub-adult female, now over 2 years old, was dead. No information on how she met her demise was given but a report from Savanna says she had successfully joined the Ximungwe Pride of which the Tsalalas originated from. Let's hope the reports on her death were incorrect and she is indeed alive and well living with another pride.

BB was reported in Feb of 2008 to have a 1 1/2 month old cub and it is speculated that a Mapogo is the sire. Below are a couple of videos of happier times for BB, Solo (her sub adult son), and the cub. (Videos by jednaxle)

Lion Family (Tsalala Pride) Elephant Plains - 1

Lion Family (Tsalala Pride) Elephant Plains - 2



March 2008, one of the Tsalala females has one 3 week old cub per reports from Elephant Plains. The Tsalala females are trying to keep the Mapogo Males away from the den site as they fear for the cub's safety even though they have been mating with Mapogo Males recently as well as previously in November 2007.

Tsalala Pride February 2009 & Approximate dates of birth:

BB "Tsalala Mother" - January 1998 (Alive and Well on last reports)

BB's Sub Adult Son “Solo“- July 2005 (Reports indicate Solo is trying to stay clear of the Mapogo Coalition) UPDATE: Mala Mala has reported (Feb 2009) that Solo has been accepted into the Eyrefield Pride. Same Pride the Mapogo/Eyrefield Males originated from.

BB's 1 Cub - Dec 2007/Jan 2008 (Believed Deceased July 2008 - Speculations are some of the Mapogos may have killed the cub though it was thought that one of the Mapogos had indeed sired the cub.)

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BB's 2 Daughters - December 2002 (previously reported born in Dec 2003) - Alive and Well on last report. Possibly with cubs sired by the Mopogos.

6 Cubs - April 2006 (2 males, 1 female) or July 2006 (2 females, 1 male) (5 were reported Deceased by October 2007. Most of the cubs deaths were attributed to the Mapogo Coalition. Last surviving female cub was reported by Elephant Plains as being Dead by September 2008 yet reports from Savanna Lodge June 2008 states she was accepted into the Ximungwe Pride from which the Tsalala pride originated from.)

1 Cub - Feb/Mar 2008 (Deceased)

2009 - Both BB and her Two Daughters may have bore new cubs sired by the Mapogos.

Updated March 2009

Aquila and Karen in VA

Split Rock Males aka Marthly Males, Robson Males (Older) at Elephant Plains, West/North Males, Males from the North, & Western Males. The two longest surviving males were also called “Nose” (growth on nose) and “Leg “ (swollen foot).

The Split Rock/Marthly Males started out as a coalition of four. It is believed they were born to the Othawa pride around 1994 per Londolozi. One male was larger and had a more developed mane than the other three. One male was last seen in Feb 2002 looking sickly and scarred. Oct 2003, sightings suggest that only two were still alive. The survivors were the heavy maned one and one of the slightly younger ones.

The two surviving Split Rock males dominated the Styx pride for several years and are said to have sired the 3 youngest Styx pride females born in 2003.

The younger of the two surviving males died on July 8th, 2006 from Bovine TB and an infection from an injury to a hind leg. This sad report was given by Mala Mala: “Then on the 8 th of July this lion was found just south of the causeway close to the Mala Mala Main Camp, lying out on a sandbank. At dusk he raised his head, and after a while tried to rise to his feet. He walked a few yards towards a nearby water hole, had a short drink, but simply did not have the strength to move away again. He collapsed on a rock at around 18:45 and his breathing slowed and eventually stopped.”

With the death of his brother, the oldest was left to carry on and try to protect their young cubs with the Styx pride. By the end of 2006, all their cubs had vanished most likely due to the Roller Coaster males. The Old Split Rock male was last seen with the Styx pride in May 2007.

Once the last Split Rock male was finally ousted by the Roller Coaster males in 2007, he wandered great distances to stay out of the way of the Roller Coaster males. It was reported in September/October 2007 by Mala Mala that he had formed a coalition with another old Kruger male. They joined up with the Charleston pride and the old Split Rock male looking as if his days were numbered was still seen mating with one of the Charleston females.

The two Split Rock males' legacy is carried on by their offspring. Not only did they sire the 3 youngest Styx Pride females, they also fathered the two younger Tsalala adult females and the surviving sub adult male of BB (tailless Tsalala pride lioness). Other cubs from various prides were also sired by the Split Rock males. It is unclear if the two Young Robson Males, known as Stompie and One Eye, were sired by the Older Robson Males/Split Rock Males/Marthly Males but we will update when/if this is confirmed.

It is believed that the last and oldest of the Split Rock Males is dead. The last recorded sighting we have found was at Elephant Plains, November 2007, when an Old lion was observed and it was thought to be the Split Rock male.

In tribute to this old male lion we would like to add this awesome video by Lyndon Firman.

Roar on Old Fella, Roar on!

Roller Coaster Males, AKA Shaw Males, AKA Castleton Males - Originally a Coalition of Six

These six males were born into the Castleton/Ximungwe pride in 1996. The same pride that also gave us the Tsalala Pride and the Ximuvanyane Pride.

They were sired by the 5 Sparta males (the same coalition that sired the Mapogo Males).

It is unclear how the Coalition of 6 was whittled down to just two by early 2006 but various reports suggests Bovine Tuberculosis and death by other lions was mostly likely the cause. By 2001 there were 5 surviving. 2002, four were surviving as one was believed to have been killed by another lion. One more disappeared and was believed dead by Aug 2002 leaving three. Of these three, one could easily beidentified as he was missing an eye. The three became the dominant males of the Selati/Shaw Pride which by (2004) had 12 cubs sired by them of which produce the now known young Golf Course Males (Mala Mala). It was reported by Mala Mala in February 2006, that the one male missing an eye was confirmed to have died. He had been in poor condition for some time.

The two remaining Roller Coaster males had taken over the Eyrefield/Sparta pride by Aug 2006. This being the pride the Mapogo Coalition originated from. This pride today consists of three lionesses. Two are sisters of the Mapogo Males and the one old lioness may very well be the Mother to some of the Mapogos. The Eyrefield Pride currently has nine cubs approximately 18 to 20 mos old (5 males, 4 females) sired by the two Roller Coaster males and just recently accepted into their pride the Sub Adult male, Solo, from the Tsalala Pride.

The two Roller Coaster brothers sought to oust the surviving old Split Rock male from his dominance over the Styx Pride. Which they finally succeeded in doing in 2007. It is suspected the Roller Coaster males contributed to the loss of all the Styx pride’s cubs in the later part of 2006.

Sadly, in June 2007 one of the Roller Coaster brothers was killed by a crocodile. Only one survives today. The lone survivor still has control for now over the Eyrefield/Sparta pride and also must have some dominance over the Styx pride as several of those lionesses reportedly have given birth in past months. The cubs are believed to be sired by the Roller Coaster male. He has been seen spending a lot of time with the pride and interacting with the cubs. Though there is speculation that some of the Styx cubs may have been sired by the Mapogos, the old Roller Coaster Male accepts them all as his cubs.

Update received Mar 2009 from Andrew at Mala Mala: The two oldest Styx Pride cubs were sired by the old Roller Coaster Male, seven were sired by either the Roller Coaster Male or the Mapogos or a combination of both, the newest cubs recently born are sired by the Mapogos.

Upadte May 22nd 2009 The last two months have been erratic for the Roller Coaster male. It was reported he had been ousted as the dominant male of the Eyrefield Pride and the Styx Pride by two Mapogos (Kinky Tail and Mr T) that seem to be on a mission in Mala Mala to take control over these prides. The majority of the Styx Pride, with cubs in tow, have fled the area as well as the Eyrefield Pride. Eventually, the old Roller Coaster rejoined the Eyrefield Pride but they have suffered several attacks by the two Mapogos. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of two of the sub adult cubs and members being separated. As of this date, the 3 adult lionesses, 7 sub adult cubs, the old Roller Coaster male along with the young Tsalala male, Solo who has been accepted into this pride, have reunited and escaped into the Londolozi area. Only time will tell what the outcome of this conflict may be.

Note of interest: Lionesses from the Charleston pride (Mala Mala) are thought to be sisters or cousins of the Roller Coaster males due to interactions between the pride and the coalition when they were seen together in 2002/2003.

Another interesting note: It is believed the Roller Coaster Coaliton may have fathered the younger Mapogo Males. When they were a young coalition and still had 5 surviving, they were reported to have been seen mating with the some of the lionesses of Eyrefield/Sparta pride that the aging West Street males still dominated.

The lone surviving Roller Coaster male is a beautiful lion and we can only hope he is able to maintain his dominance over the Eyrefield/Sparta pride and the Styx pride long enough for the cubs to reach independence.

He is a real "character" too. Rangers in the Mala Mala area often joke how he can find a meal no matter where it is. If it is free and easy, he will locate it. Along with his dislike of having to exert himself to secure a meal, he also seems to have an aversion to fighting/defending his territory. If their is a conflict involving other males, he is more likely to let the girls in his prides handle the situation while he hangs out with the cubs or heads in the opposite direction. All said and done though.... he is a remarkable "old" man!

Updated May 2009

By Aquila and Karen in VA.

An update from EP..

The Stix pride is doing very well. They currently consist of 7 adult females and their 9 new cubs. They all look very healthy, and I can’t wait to see the pride in action when they grow up. The fathers of the cubs are the 6 Mapogo males. The Sandy Patch female, also known as the Safari female, is still alone and has no cubs as yet. The Tsalala females, BB and her two daughters, are seen together every now and again. BB mated with one of the Mapogo’s a few days ago. She lost her last cub so hopefully she will give birth to new cubs in about 110 days. B.B’s three and a half year old male cub does not stay with his mother any more as he needs to live on his own from now on. He will hopefully dominate his own territory once he turns five. B.B’s two daughters will also start having cubs one of these days and we are looking forward to that prospect. We are told that he two young Robson males, also known as Stompie and One Eye, who moved eastward into Kruger Park, are also doing well. The Two plus One pride is currently more active in the Manyeleti Game Reserve. The Koehuma pride currently consists of one male and eight females with six cubs. They mainly frequent the area far east of us.

Source

It's interesting, both the Elephant Plains and Djuma rangers believe the Styx cubs were fathered by the Mapogos, and I would imagine that some of them are, but many of those lionesses also mated with the old rollercoaster male during the same period and he could well be the father of some of them too.

I guess the most important thing, at least for the benefit of the cubs, is that both the Mapogo boys and the Rollercoaster male seem to think they're the father of the cubs, as witnessed by the interaction with the Mapogos at Djuma last week and also the frequent sightings of the rollercoaster male with the 6 lionesses and 9 cubs, as detailed on the Mala Mala sightings diary.

Hey Ron, I'm a little confused too on the various Styx reports. Not only has the Roller Coaster male been seen with the 6 lionesses and 9 cubs but also with the other Styx lioness with the two newest cubs.

Also, I have seen several reports over the last month of the Styx lionesses fighting off a number of the Mapogos (one report was with 5 Mapogos) in an effort to protect the cubs. Possibly, since the Styx have apparently been mating with both Mapogos and the Roller Coaster male even they aren't sure the Mapogos will accept those cubs as their's. Seems the Roller Coaster male accepts all the cubs as his. I suppose we will never know who the true fathers are of those cubs.

Yeah, I found those interactions interesting too. I tend to wonder whether the Mala Mala rangers may have misinterpreted some of the aggression of the Mapogos in those interactions, I'm sure they appeared aggressive, but given the fact that all the cubs survived and the Mapogos haven't had much trouble killing cubs in the past, I have to wonder just how interested they really were in killing cubs. Maybe there was more aggression by the males who didn't have as much (or any) mating contact with the Styx lionesses, I don't know.

The saga of the 7th Styx lioness who seems to have split off and is frequently killing Kudu is also an interesting one. The incident where the rollercoaster male helped her chase off the Eyrefield pride (which he still spends time with and consists of cubs that he fathered) was a bizarre and interesting incident.  

Wow Penny2, you just may be right about that being BB's brother. The time line sure is correct. Such a shame. Beautiful fella.

Manyeleti brothers seen on cam at NK early morning following a buffalo herd.

It is reported that these two lions though quite large in size are actually very young males. They have made their presence known more frequently the last few months and have been in the company of some of the Nkuhuma lionesses (most noticeably Snaggletooth) as well the lone Sandy Patch female on several occasions.

I sure do love them Donna! They are magnificent!!!

For those that know and follow the lone Sandy Patch female, she was seen by Rangers from Djuma this morning Dec. 18th with 3 cubs. She's not alone anymore.

Also, there is an interesting report on the Styx pride and how they protected their cubs from 2 of the Mapogo males on Dec. 7th here on the Mala Mala site.

What a happy story Aquila!! Sandy Patch is a story of perseverance and those Styx Girls are my heroines!! Just wish it hadn't involved the Wild Dogs

Hi Donna, I sure hope Sandy Patch can raise these cubs to adulthood. Would be lovely for her to be a part of a pride again.

Those Styx girls.... they are notorious for killing leopards and now Wild Dogs? Seems they make up their own rules for survival but hey... the pride has been in existence for well over 2 1/2 decades so they must do something right. Hope they too can raise their cubs to adulthood and finally put the "bad moms" reputation to rest.

Had to chuckle about how they ambushed the two Mapogo males. LOL

Hello all.

Seems that Penny2 was staying in the Nkorho lodge with some lions 7? ?

Anyway it seems that a new unknown pride entered NK..

7 lions Unknown. But Jacques did an investigation.. ( as far as i know) and we have  a new Pride of lions..  The Windmill pride.

As far as i know they showed up as newbies EXACTLY under the guest room off Penny2. 

A little information on the Windmill pride. This pride use to frequent the Mala Mala area but then moved into Kruger with only an occasional visit back into Mala Mala for the past year or more.

The breakdown on the original pride:

3 Adult Lionesses ages unknown
2 sub adult males approximately 2 yrs 7 months
2 sub adult females approximately 2 yrs 7 months
1 sub adult male approximately 2 yrs 4 months

Not sure where the missing adult female is as there was no mention of how many of the pride returned to the area just a couple of weeks ago.

Will be interesting to follow and see if the other adult lioness rejoins them.

Thank You  Aquilla.

Now if you hear anything about the Manyeleti Brothers.

Please Tell us!

Last i heard 1 is OK and second has a broken leg.

Posted by bushie 29 January 2009

Manyeleti Male injured during a fight broken back right leg 

Posted by bushie 29 January 2009

1 young male from the Windmill Pride thanks to Mike for the info and help in ID the lions for us - photo by bushie  

Windmill Pride consists 3 young males, 2 young females and 3 adult females, one of the females is presumed to be pregnant and out on her own but she is part of this pride - photo by bushie 

Windmill Pride - photo by bushie 

 This is a great information source thread and it sounds like some of you have quite a bit of information about the lions prides in the Sabi Sands. I have two questions that I wonder if anyone knows the answer to.

First, I heard that it was reported that one of the Mapogos was killed by a buffalo in the area of Londolozi. However, I also heard that it might not have been the case. II have not been able to verify this on any of the reserve sites, has anyone seen this reported anywhere or heard anything more concrete? 

Second, I just read this on the Mala Mala site this afternoon. Does anyone possibly know if this new male subadult is possibly from the pride that is known as Tsalala on other reserves? They call it Marthly here but I know they have different names sometimes. 

Eyrefield pride and male from the Marthly pride– 18 January 2009

The Eyrefield pride was found on the new airstrip in the afternoon. The pride had been looking at a herd of impala, but were spotted. They chose instead to rather rest on the tarmac. The young male is now fully intergrated with the pride, and although there is still some hesitancy on the his part, the cubs happily approach him and involve him in their mock battles. The male is from a pride that used to live on MalaMala called the Marthly pride. They now live to the west of MalaMala. This male lion was pushed out of his natal pride by two of the Eyrefield males which have taken over the pride.

Hi Joe, about the Mapogo being killed that is apparently not the case as the one said to have been killed was seen just hours ago along with 3 of the others and reports are showing all 6 have been seen recently. One guide speculates the lion reported killed by buffalo may have been a rogue male.

The young male that has integrated into the Eyrefield pride is a mystery. The sub-adult of the Tsalala pride is still apparently hanging around with his older sisters but does disappear and goes out on his own for various time periods so it is possible. I've never known the Tsalala's to be called the Marthly pride though. There is however another young male lion that has been frequenting the Mala Mala area lately and was first thought to be one of the Windmill youngsters but it seem all of them are accounted for. This young male is said to be about 3 yrs of age. Hopefully future reports will clear up the mysteries as to who these two young males are.

Here are 3 pics of 2 members of the Mapogo's. Pictures were taken in May 2008

Mr T

and the one they call Kinky Tail, on second pic you can see why they call him so

the subadult male of the Tsalala pride,

picture taken in may 2008

How often do you see the lions. I really love them. elsalioness:D

Hi elsalioness.  You can get a good idea on when we saw lions in the past from the sightings log.  Click here Although it isn't 100% complete of all the sightings it does have links to the days where pics were taken of the lions at the waterholes. 

Sad news.... The oldest Mapogo's 5 sub adult male cubs are dead. The Sand River pride consisting of 2 lionesses and their 5 sub adult male cubs were shot and killed after breaking out of the reserve.

http://www.leopardhills.com/blog/index.php?itemid=217