Recently, I had guests return to Londolozi who had visited in August last year. During that trip, we encountered the Gijima Males in the central parts of the reserve for the first time. Looking back now, it seems they have never truly left that area since that first sighting which was then the furthest north we had ever seen them.
Thinking back to the end of August last year, we had seen the Gijima Males further north than ever before. They had been roaring throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning so we set off to find them. The Ndhzenga Males shifted their focus to pursuing the Nkuhuma Pride—a pursuit that proved successful, with the pride now raising a new litter of cubs which was much further north of our reserve leaving the southern parts vacant with the Kambula Pride still trying to raise their offspring.
The Ndzhenga Male now the dominant males north of Londolozi and currently raising new litters with the Nkuhuma Pride.
The following morning we set out in search of what was then the territorial pride in the south and east: the Kambula Pride. Which had in recent times split into 2 parts. One lioness continuing to raise the sub adults, sired by the Ndhzenga males, annd another 4 lionesses often seen together- with two of them raising 6 cubs, born at the beginning of 2025.
My first sighting of four of the Kambula born to one of the Kambula females
After a long morning of tracking, we eventually found the two Kambula lionesses and their six cubs. It was no easy task, as the area was covered with lion tracks. The newly arrived Gijima Males were nearby, finishing off a zebra carcass that had most likely been stolen from the Styx and the Kambula Breakaway female who were close by and full bellied.
These two full bellied lions seemed to have been chased off of the zebra kill that the Gijima males were now feeding on.
The mystery of where those cubs had gone remained until Lucky eventually found them, settled under a white berry bush in one of the largest unroaded areas of the reserve and, remarkably, not far from the other lions.
My guests and I couldn’t help but reflect on the harsh reality these cubs were likely to face. Had the Gijima Males found them, they would almost certainly have killed the cubs in order to bring the females back into oestrus and sire cubs of their own. It seemed like an inevitable outcome, yet nature had other plans. Somehow, over the past year, these lionesses managed to avoid the Gijima Males altogether.
Fast forward to when my guests returned last month, and we were treated to an incredible sighting of those same two Kambula lionesses with all six of their “cubs”—now healthy subadults. Reflecting on how they had managed to survive for so long, despite the odds stacked against them, and being able to share that moment with the very same guests who had seen them as vulnerable cubs all those months ago, was something truly remarkable.
The young male manes are slowly beginning to grow as these youngsters are about a year and a half
The Gijima Males have now taken over what remains of the Kambula Pride and, it seems, the Ntsevu Pride as well.
Could be the start of a new chapter for the Ntsevu Pride.
Sadly, very recently, one of the Kambula subadults was unexpectedly killed by the Plains Camp Males—not by the Gijima Males, surprisingly. The Plains Camp coalition has become increasingly scarce in the northern reaches of our reserve over the past few months. Perhaps this shift has brought the Plains Camp Males and the Kambula female and 5 youngsters into greater overlap. Time will tell how these ever-changing lion dynamics continue to unfold, and, as always, they remain one of the most captivating stories to follow.
Kirst Joscelyne
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