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I thought I would expand on one of Barry Bath’s recent blogs that provides an update on the Ndzhenga Coalition and Ntsevu Pride. For this blog, I want to give an update on the next generation of lion cubs all fathered by the Ndzhenga Males.
As mentioned before, to our knowledge there were believed to be 21 cubs born between November 2022 and April 2023. However, this number has dwindled down and there are 13 remaining cubs; five of which are female and eight male.
Although we suspect that there were seven Ntsevu Lionesses to have given birth at the start of this year, [we understand only four of those mothers still have cubs.]
- Two mothers with seven cubs ([x cubs female and x cubs male])
- Mother with two cubs ([x cubs female and x cubs male])
- Mother with three cubs ([x cubs female and x cubs male])
We set out one afternoon in search of the pride, and quite soon after leaving camp, rangers Tayla Brown, Barry Bath and myself found one Ntsevu mother with her two cubs enjoying the shade in a dry riverbed in the central parts of Londolozi.
Over the last few months at Londolozi, this pride has blessed many guests, rangers and trackers with some incredible sightings. From allowing us to witness special bonding and grooming moments between mother and cub; playful interactions between the cubs themselves as well as their interactions with the Ndzhenga Males; to more recent sightings of the full pride feeding on different kills as the cubs continue to be weaned and introduced to meat.
This Ntsevu lioness had had enough of these cubs climbing all over her and eventually decided to get on the move. I’m sure some of the parents out there can relate!
Ntsevu Pride and all the cubs on a wildebeest kill.
I remember the first sighting I had of this new generation of lions was back on the 21st of January this year, where we managed to see four lionesses and three very small cubs – the view was limited given the dense vegetation the cubs were hidden in but it was still a sighting I won’t forget. The next time I managed to see lion cubs was one week later when two lionesses and five cubs were found. And so it went… the first quarter of 2023 quickly became filled with reverent determination and excitement from the guiding team as we realized the Ntsevu Pride was scattered around Londolozi denning and protecting a new generation of lions.
A single lioness was found denning her three offspring in the thickets alongside a dry riverbed. These young cubs were often seen playfully milling about out in the open sandy patches.
Since then, we have managed to witness the first half year of many of these cubs’ lives. While we deduce what we can from the snippets of observation we get when they are found on Londolozi, the story of their lives continues to unfold. The remaining 12 cubs look healthy and hopefully, we’ll continue to see the full pride together as they share in the feasts of more kills as the cubs soon become fully weaned from their mother’s milk.
As they continue to grow, we also look forward to continuing to learn about the individuality of each of the cubs.
The survival of this above-mentioned next generation rests heavily on the last two remaining Ndzhenga Males and their ability to protect these cubs, particularly from any encroaching males looking to challenge the Ndzhengas’ existing territory. The Ntsevu Pride are notorious for their prowess and strength and I have faith in their ability to continue to mother and protect, however, only time will tell as we watch the rest of 2023 unfold from the front-row seats of our Land Rovers.
Stay tuned!
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Kate Arthur
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