Collaring Laikipia’s Lions

For the past two weeks I’ve been in Laikpia with Living With Lions’ Laikipia Predator Project. I’ve been showing local lodges how to help by identifying lions and recording sightings in a similar way to our Mara project. Since 1997, the Laikipia Predator Project has helped conserve large carnivores by improving livestock practices, studying the behaviour and ecology of predators that live alongside humans, and monitoring their response to conservation action.

Alayne Cotterill and Steven Ekwanga use some funky equipment to study lions in a challenging landscape. Laikipia lions are shy and elusive, and so radio collars are used to follow their movements. Whilst VHF collars allow one to physically track a lion by following a signal, GPS collars are all the rage, allowing for a lion’s movements to be continuously recorded. You can read more about collars here, and follow some of our GPS collared lions in the Chyulu Hills here.

This lion is wearing a VHF collar, which allows her to be tracked using telemetry

Hmm… where are those lions?

Alayne has a collared lion in every group, which allows her to track most of the lions in the vast area of Laikipia. We wanted to change one lion’s collar from a VHF to a GPS collar, a process that involved bating and darting the lion.

Contrary to popular belief, collaring is neither a risk to the lion’s health or a bother to its everyday life. Lethal overdoses are impossible with the specific drugs used, and the lions show no reaction to the collar upon waking. Collars have been widely studied for their influence on animals, and all evidence shows that hunting, socialising and all other behaviours are not affected in any way. In fact, collared lions are less likely to be killed.

Alayne collaring a lion and taking samples for DNA analysis

We found our lion, LF167, with her pride-mate and several sub-adults by using the VHF tracker. In order to change the collar, we needed to dart the lion to put it to sleep. With a cow carcass in tow and a recording of a baby buffalo in distress, we tried to call the lions out into a safe area for darting. It is important that the lion does not go down in thick bush to avoid distress, and unfortunately the lions we playing hard to get! We left the lions at dusk, and by the time we returned the next day, they were long gone.

The information that Alayne gets from her collared lions is vital in studying their movements. Her data is showing that lions avoid communal areas with lots of people, and prefer wild game over livestock.

I’m back in the Mara now and looking forward to catching up with the locals. Silver and Lilly may have had their cubs by now, and so it’s time for a scout!

Sara

An Old Face

Last year, the River Pride contained three core females on the Serian side of the Mara River. Honey, Sugar and Tailend were three sisters that we saw often, with all three females having litters close to camp. However, since March, no-one has seen these lionesses again. Last seen by Musiara and the Masai Mara Reserve, we lost track of our favourite trio and they fell off the map. Their favourite haunts around Maternity and Serian are now occupied by Sophie and Marley and the boisterous teenagers. Even though Tailend and Sugar’s cubs didn’t survive, Honey still had two healthy cubs.

 

After seven months of absence, I was beginning to worry about these girls. A few days ago I set out early one morning after getting a call from Dixon and Jonathan, two of our guides, that there were lions on Serian Hill.

 

Driving out of camp I found some familiar faces close to camp on Mulima Maui (Rocky Hill in Swahili) after tracing up from some spooked animals. Kahawa and one of Sophie’s daughters were chilling out in the bushes. Happy with my I.D., I was about to head off when Dixon radioed through that there was a mother and two cubs close by.

 

Mother and cub in stride

Over the hill, and meters away from the lazy youngsters was Tailend, with two little cubs in tow. I was so glad to see her, and chuffed to see that she had new cubs of about She was munching on a baby Tommy, but looked like she was in a hurry, and after following her at a distance across two luggas and several kilometres, we lost sight of her. She looked very fit and healthy, and my thoughts are that she has been living across the river.

 

Tailend and her two cubs, tucking in!

 

Mothers usually leave the pride for a number of weeks when they have new cubs, and so Tailend may be alone. However, I am optimistic that she will join up with her sisters soon, and hopefully on this side of the river. I’ve still got to find those girls!

 

This little one’s about 4-5 months old 

 

I’m off to Laikipia now, but will keep you updated on our Mara lions when I return.

 

Sara

Lonesome Traveller

Yesterday, a report came through of an unknown male lion, resting close to camp in the bush we call Military. Naturally I wanted to check this guy out, so I jumped in Suzie (my notoriously bouncy 4x4) to see if I could find him.

 

The lion hadn’t moved, and wasn’t in the best of condition. Lying down, his ribs were rather prominent, and when he got up to shift position the limp on his leg was somewhat obvious. I’m not really concerned though – a few good meals, and this old chap should be good as new. Mpengo was in a similar state a few months ago after an injury to his jaw, but now is on top form.

 

Who’s this old boy?

 

At first I though that our visitor was a new lion, but on closer inspection, identified him as Frank. He’s certainly come a long way from home, as I first found him past Mara Offbeat on the other side of the Olare Orok river. Frank is roughly 8-9 years of age, and you can see his profile by going to www.livingwithlions.org/mara and clicking through to the green ‘ACACIA PRIDE’ area.

 

This morning Frank was nowhere to be seen, and was obviously just travelling through. With Caesar on top form, and Marley holding his little pride of six, there’s no room here for an old man like Frank. I’m not sure why he’s come all the way up here – perhaps he has been ousted from his pride by new males. There seems to be a lot of fluctuation in the Acacia Pride groups, as Offbeat have also reported that some of their cubs were killed after a takeover by two new males.

 

Caesar looks out across his territory

We’re still waiting for Silver to have her babies, too – yesterday she was looking rather round after having the spoils of both an impala and a topi kill. She was relaxing with Lilly, whilst Lady and Caesar strode out onto the plains. It looks like they’ve made up, and are quite the couple!

 

Silver will have her little ones soon

 

We’ve been out filming again too, and have found Marley’s pride on a couple of occasions. Sophie is a mean hunter, whilst Kahawa and his siblings still have a lot to learn. In a year or so, however, the two girls should have improved their hunting skills, and should be a help for their mum.

 

Sara

New Beginnings

Over the past few weeks since the death of the new cubs, Caesar has been reinforcing his new little pride.  You may remember that he was attached to Marley and Sophie and her cubs, but has since had other priorities concerning his offspring.

 

Whilst Caesar may still associate with Marley’s pride, the Elephant Pepper females have been his main concern. With cubs over 18 months old, Silver came into season some months ago, at which point Caesar mated with her.

 

Despatching of Lady’s new cubs has also brought her into season, and since their death, they have been seen mating together. It’s all part of the circle of life for these lions, and although it may appear traumatic for the mother, lions are frequent breeders, and in just over 3 months, Lady will have some more little ones.

 

It’s also time to keep a close eye on her pride mate Silver – she is looking rather heavily pregnant with a round tummy and developing teats. From my calculations, her cubs should be born in the first week of November. This time, Caesar is the father, and so should take a different view of Silver’s babies. Lady had her cubs in the open, which is unusual for new mothers – I would not be surprised if Silver disappears for a couple of weeks, to return with the patter of tiny paws.

 

Caesar is a formidable pride male

 

So it appears that Caesar has successfully claimed the title of Pride Male. Who knows though how long he will be top cat? With plenty of maturing males in the Kicheche Pride, and some fine boys down by Acacia Valley (not to mention to Marsh Boys) he might have to fight his corner sooner rather than later…

 

In other news, Martin is back with his hot cameras, and so we’re off again into the night to see what we can see.

 

I’ll let you know how we get on.

 

Sara

Life and Death

Both from our diaries and observing their swelling tummies, we’ve known that two, if not three of the females from Elephant Pepper were pregnant. A few days ago we were indeed blessed with three tiny babies, born to Lady.

 

The birth was rather unusual, as Lady had her cubs in the open. Some guests were very lucky to witness the event. Normally, lions give birth in dense bush or in a secluded lugga, hidden away from the rest of the pride and any potential predators. The fact that Lady had the cubs in the company of not Silver and Lilly, but also Caesar, is highly unusual.

 

Mum snuggles with her babies

 

The next morning after hearing about the event I went to check out the new arrivals. It’s such a treat to see such tiny babies, and I was quite surprised to see that she hadn’t moved them to a more secluded place. She nursed the little ones, licking and cleaning them and encouraging them to suckle. At barely a day old, they were very wobbly and still had their eyes closed. That didn’t stop them squabbling over mum’s milk though!

 

At barely two days old, the cubs are blind and helpless, with no teeth.

 

Because of her location, we decided to give her some privacy – it’s important that young cubs and the mother do not experience stress during these delicate hours. The next morning I took post at the site, as again, Lady had not moved her cubs. The area sees a lot of action from passing cattle herders to hyena and leopard, and also offered little protection from the sun, and we were a little concerned. However, the most pressing matter was the presence of Caesar. He joined this group only six weeks ago, previously being attached to Marley’s pride. He seemed relaxed, but had he indeed mated with Lady three months ago? Were these cubs his, and did he himself know of his relation to the cubs?

 

Hey! Watch where you’re treading!

 

Occasionally, Caesar got up to check out the babies. Mum seemed tense, and shooed him away when she had the opportunity. He tested the scent of the cubs often, possibly trying to ascertain their relation to him. Lions practice infanticide, whereby a male new to a pride will kill the offspring of previous pride holders. This encourages the female to come into oestrus, allowing him to mate with her and produce his own cubs.

 

Caesar tested the cubs’ scent to see if they were his

 

Things took a turn for the worst when one of the cubs wandered over to Caesar, climbing over his paws. Initially the huge male did not react, but mum was worried. She came over to collect the little one, but unfortunately her intrusion in the delicate situation seemed to topple the balance and Caesar snatched the cub.

 

Mum tried her best to defend her cubs 

 

Mum was quick to defend, and a full-on fight broke out. The other lionesses stayed out of harms was whist Lady fought tooth and claw for the survival of her babies. Male lions are not only stronger but larger than females, and unfortunately Caesar won the battle. He ran off with one of the cubs whilst Mum desperately looked for the two remaining babies. I wasn’t sure how severely these had been injured in the fight. I knew though that eventually Caesar would kill these too.

 

Caesar had obviously concluded that he had not fathered the litter. It was very sad to watch, but a part of life. Females will fight hard to protect their babies, but following such an event will remain with the new male. Males as strong as Caesar will offer this little group invaluable protection from predators and other males, and in the future will be sure to safeguard his own offspring. Lady will soon be ready to mate again, and in around 100 days will have Caesar’s cubs.

 

Caesar with one of the cubs

The next morning there was no trace of the cubs, but the little pride seemed comfortable together. I’ll keep you posted on their activities. In more good news, Caesar mated with Silver almost 7 weeks ago now, and so in two months or so we should have some babies, hopefully with a better start in life.

 

Sara

Red-hot Adventures in the Dark

This week I’ve been spending some time with cameraman Martin Dohrn, who has worked on Mara Nights and Big Cat Diary. He brought with him some pretty funky equipment – a state-of-the-art thermal camera and also a starlight camera to put through some rigorous testing for Ammonite (www.ammonite.co.uk). These cameras allow us to witness some amazing footage of lion behaviour at night, revealing a world totally different to the one we are used to experiencing during daylight hours. The thermal camera reads the heat given off by animals (and rocks, we discovered!).

 

Lions are very active at night, using the cover of darkness to ambush their prey. During a full moon, lion have little advantage over the plains game, who also have generally good night vision. However, the nights after a full moon begin with a period of total darkness before the moon rises, during which lions have a significant advantage over their prey. We aimed to film during these hours to hopefully capture some cool lion action on film.

 

We had some fun-time with the Marsh cubs, hassling hippos and giving us the run around over luggas (dry river beds) and swamps. With only infra-red goggles to guide us, navigating the many holes and water tracks was a challenge! We spent several nights with the group, and watched the Marsh males Jonah (Romeo) and Mpengo (Claude) scoffing a wildebeest kindly brought down by Lispy. This she caught just before sunset, calling in her family to share the goods. The moon was bright, and so we were able to get some excellent footage with the starlight camera, which operates in extreme low light conditions.

 

The following night we made our was into the Mara North Conservancy (MNC) with the hope of finding some active lions. It has been raining rather heavily, but that didn’t stop us tracking down Caesar and the three girls from Elephant Pepper in Military. As the sun went down, they slowly made their way onto the plains. We had two hours of total darkness before the moon rose and they looked pretty hungry, so we were feeling lucky.

 

At this point it’s worth noting how differently the animals behave at night.  Wildebeest who are usually grazing or resting during the day migrate on to the hills, clustering together for protection through strength in numbers. Thompson’s Gazelles find a quiet spot and lie down silently, adopting the tactic of invisibility. Topi stumble awkwardly in the darkness, and Impala walk with their heads to the ground in the hope of picking out a cat-like silhouette. The lions on the other hand stroll out with confidence and a spring in their step, their incredible night vision obvious. It’s amazing watching a lion walk within yards of herds who are totally oblivious to their presence.

 

First, the lions tried their luck with an ostrich. It was a pretty casual hunt and an opportunistic one, more amusing than successful for the lions. Slowly they made their way to the panicked herds, which by now knew they were not alone and streamed across the thermal camera. The images are truly amazing – the heat of the animals shows them up like city lights in amazing clarity. For several hundred or even thousand meters you can pick out animals clear as day.

 

The lions repeatedly ran into the herds, scattering them as they attempted a kill. They came close, but failed to seal the deal. Caesar then peeled off from the girls, moving round the back of the herd. Spooked, they ran straight towards the awaiting lionesses, and sure enough, one of our girls chased down a sizeable youngster. The thermal camera captured the entire event in amazing clarity, and we were able to watch our lioness stretch out in full run and tumble with her kill to the ground.

 

After despatching the wildebeest, the girls had only a nibble before Caesar tucked in. This is usual behaviour with lions – the lionesses bring down a significant percentage of kills, but the male gets the lion’s share and first dibs. This might seem unfair, but without him there, hyenas would quickly overpower the lionesses. Indeed, we watched Caesar run full stretch at some cheeky hyenas that came a bit too close.

 

 

Caesar and one of the girls with their kill, shown as a mega cool inverted image. You can see how the thermal works this way – the hot points such as the eyes show up as black areas, whilst the cool ground and Caesar’s mane show as white.

 

Together with a hyena kill and other incredible footage, we left the MNC to film another day. Martin will be coming back in October, and I hope to spend some more time observing the lions at night. It is fascinating observing their hunting behaviour, and witnessing just how different – and active – these cats are when then have the cover of darkness.

 

I might just forgive the next lion I find asleep in the middle of the day!!

 

More soon – I’ve just heard we have some visitors rather near our camp!

 

Sara

Finders Keepers!

A couple of days ago, the Serian guides reported a group of 6 lions nearby camp, including Sophie, our older female. On the same drive, the guides found Marley close by in Military, separate to the group.

You may remember that Sophie has FOUR cubs of between 12 and 18 months of age – six lions in all including Marley. With Marley temporarily disconnected from the group, some simple maths shows that we’re one lion up. Who could this extra one be? Another female perhaps? A nomadic male come to try his luck? I had to go and investigate…

Later that day I followed my nose to Maternity, and happened across the gang. Sophie was there, relaxing and yawning to show off her missing right canine – a useful pointer for her identification. Marley had come back to his little pride, and was relaxing too nearby. I counted the four cubs, and sure enough saw another patch of fur in the crotons. Sure enough, it appears that Sophie had picked up a younger cub.

Sophie has her right-upper canine broken. Also note that her teeth are yellow and worn – a clear sign of older age.

It’s a real puzzle where this little guy came from. I’m not aware of any mothers with cubs of this age in the area, apart from the group that reside across the river. Sophie and co. were seen crossing the river a fortnight ago, and this is the first time they have been seen since their trip. Could they have picked up a lost cub from the escarpment?

Who’s this little one then?

It’s something that I have never seen before, and is a very unusual occurrence in these animals. It is very common for females to nurse youngsters other than their own, as females often synchronize litters to crèche their young. Strength in numbers helps them protect their cubs from predators and intruding males, and allows for greater hunting success – the females can continue to hunt co-operatively or alone whilst one remains behind to babysit the kids.

The lions were entertaining as always, and continue to find my little Suzuki great fun to chase and play with. This is a great little pride to identify – Marley is an unusual lion, as he is a ‘grey morph’ with a small mane for his age. If you look closely at his nose, you will notice that it is not pink but grey. it will still however show the freckling that comes with age. His coat also has a grey tint.

You think this is edible, guys?

Here you can clearly see the grey tint of Marley’s coat

There are two female and two male cubs in the original group belonging to Sophie. One of the boys, Kahawa, is growing into a fine male, and it’s clear that he is getting the lion’s share of the kills (after Marley, of course!). His coat is a lovely rich terracotta red, and already he is developing muscle mass and is larger than his sisters. The second male, Maji, seems somewhat lagging in his development – there is a clear size difference and his mane is nowhere near as developed as Kahawa’s. At first glance he could even be mistaken for his sisters. He may have been a smaller cub, had an illness or been outcompeted for food by his stronger siblings. I’m sure that in time he will grow into a fine lion.

Maji (above) is a lot smaller and less developed than his brother Kahawa (below) – already Kahawa’s mane is developing on his head and he is showing the broader face and forelegs of a maturing male lion.

Marley’s pride certainly are a mixed bunch!

Sara

Kicheche’s Stars

This week I’ve been busy catching up with some familiar faces in the Kicheche Pride area. The Kicheche Pride has almost 30 members, who form small groups to enable them to hunt successfully. You’d have to catch a lotta wildebeest to feed that lot!

It was nice to see some of the lions I know, and also meet some new ones. Since I saw her mating some time ago, Sphinx has teamed up with a new lioness (christened Manzy) to have five cubs between them. They are around 2 to 3 months of age, and a real joy to watch.

Hey! I thought I said no claws!

Manzy is certainly a pretty lioness, and has very characteristic ear notches. I’ll post her profile soon within the Kicheche Pride at www.livingwithlions.org/mara so you can see her beauty from all angles!

Manzy – a beautiful lady.

I also caught up with Blackie, who is the largest male in the pride. He is still young at around 3 years old but looks very impressive for his age. Kinna, who I also saw, is the same age as Blackie, which shows you the huge variation that can occur between lions. Kinna was mating with Emma and Blackie was also courting a new lioness, which is rather unusual for their age. Sangiki was also with Kinna – she has the end of her tail missing so isn’t hard to spot!

Kinna mating. Thanks to Rachael for this fabulous photograph!

Blackie’s lady wasn’t really in the mood!

I also caught up with a group of nine including Naila and River. These are both older lionesses. Naila is easy to identify as she looks like she is wearing eye makeup! River’s cubs are now grown up – the three girls and little boy are really fun to watch. Naila also now has three new little ones, and so this group has lions of all shapes and sizes.

Naila’s family.

The group are very playful, but soon slinked off into the lugga to get some kip. They need it, too – with nine hungry mouths to feed, this pair of elegant lionesses certainly have their work cut out. Indeed, one of them was seen stalking a wildebeest later on that day.

Can’t catch me!!

After three action packed days it was time to head home. On the way home I passed Caesar still looking after his girls, and so I’m dashing off now to meet up with the old boy.

More soon,

Sara

P.S. I’ve had some emails about the comments form – you should now be able to leave a comment at the top right column of the blog. Thanks for letting me know!

Caesar’s new girls

With the River Pride girls away and Marley and Sophie being rather elusive at present, Caesar has taken the opportunity to get more acquainted with the locals at Elephant Pepper Camp. Located across the main road from the Ereyet Angopito lugga where Sophie spends most of her time, the area has a resident group of three females and their seven cubs. The cubs are around 18 months old, and so some of the females are coming into season. Last night was pretty interesting, with a huge buffalo giving the lions a hard time. The lions certainly knew when to stand down!

Caesar keeps an eye on the old brigadier

The cubs are at no risk from Caesar – new males will often kill younger cubs to encourage their mothers to mate. I did not witness their first meeting, but the girls certainly seemed to like the big male, with Silver flirting outrageously! Pride males will travel between groups when females come into season, and the Elephant Pepper pride have no resident male with them.

Silver seems very fond of her man!

I have seen Silver mating several times with Caesar, and the Serian guides have also reported that the other females Lilly and Lady have mated with him too. Females will often come into season around the same time, which gives their cubs the best start in life with maximum protection and strength in numbers. Although lionesses keep their cubs hidden for the first few weeks of their life, they are quickly introduced to the rest of the pride and all females work to raise the family. Most of the lionesses within the pride will be aunts or sisters of the little ones.

This young male will leave his natal pride when he is around 3 years on age.

If all goes well, the cubs will be born in around 10-12 weeks. By this time the other cubs will be around 2 years old, and still reliant upon their mothers somewhat. It is likely that the young males will not be tolerated for much longer afterwards, and so may form a coalition and leave the group. The young girls will remain with their mothers or also leave to form a splinter group.

Sara

Lion 5-a-side!

Marley’s Pride really know how to have fun, and they’re never boring to watch. Yesterday morning I found the gang hanging out on the plains by Military with a freshly killed wildebeest. The cubs were full of energy at first light, and occupied themselves at first by chasing my car and chewing on the tail-lights… I don’t think there was enough food to go around!

Marley shows off his moves

A few dents and teeth marks later, I pulled up to watch a nail-biting game of football, with all four cubs knocking a rock about with Marley. Not everyone was playing fair though, with Marley needing some serious refereeing over his not-too-light tackles and half of the cubs blatantly getting away with several hand-balls!

REF!!!

Um…. REF??!

Mum wasn’t going to let the boys have all the fun, and decided that a little tag was in order. Picking up a wildebeest leg, she darted past Marley and the cubs, only to be brought down in a mean tackle.

Bet you can’t catch me!

After that all the rules went out the window, and the family decided to practice some ambush techniques, leaping into the air and tumbling to the ground. All good practice for when the hunting is up to the kids!

Caesar on the other hand was having none of it, and busied himself with the remains of the kill. Whilst the family were playing, he tried to sneak off with his prize, dragging the carcass towards the bush. One of the cubs noticed, however, and latched onto the wildebeest. That certainly didn’t go down well with Caesar, and he turned on the little one to teach her a lesson. She fought back though, planting some good left-handers on his nose!

I’ll show you who’s boss!

After some more fun and games, the sun was getting high and so the family chilled out in the bush. Caesar was still not in the mood for sharing though, and grumpily munched away by himself. Bit of a bad hair day I think…

Sara

Learning the Ropes

The Mara landscape changes quite dramatically with the seasons, and with the rains comes tall grass and swampy plains. The rains also mark a drop in the number of visitors to the Mara – not only does it pour down, but even the toughest vehicles find the mud a challenge!

The lions certainly seem to take advantage of the change of seasons, using the long grass and quiet times to their hunting advantage. The long grass is a bit of a trade off – although it provides excellent cover for stalking lionesses, game becomes more scarce.

Bibi shows a classic stalking pose – body close to the ground, ears pricked, eyes fixed on the prey and moving silently and slowly under cover.

The Marsh Pride have certainly reacted to the changes, and are spending more time out of the Masai Mara Reserve and moving into the North Mara Conservancy where the grass is shorter. The four lionesses are usually exclusively night-time hunters, but of late, the lions have been hunting more during the day. Last week saw them stalking wildebeest in the heat of the day – not so typical of lazy lions!

I think their eyes are bigger than their stomachs!

The Marsh cubs are also growing up fast, and are keen to practice their skills. They are full of enthusiasm, but often far too bold and confident for their own good. Full grown giraffes aren’t usually on the menu for lions! Even though they may not get a meal, each bold move on potential prey species is a valuable learning experience, and the cubs are always perfecting their stalking and ambush skills. Playtime is just as important for them, too, as it’s not all about having fun – cub play is full of hunting and social learning.

While the giraffes focussed on the lionesses, the cubs crept to a close distance

Earlier this week, Stacey brought down a full grown zebra for her 5 month old cubs. This is an impressive achievement for her, and she held it down for some time to allow her cubs to learn some techniques. Although it may seem cruel, life and death is an everyday matter for predators and prey, and if they are to grow to be healthy, independent adults, these cubs must learn to be as successful as their mother.

Sara

Quite the Hunters

Marley, Sophie and her four cubs have been resident around Maternity and the nearby luggas for some time now. They’re definitely the lions to watch, as with the four youngsters growing up quickly, there’s never a dull moment with the bunch.

 

Monday saw the group feeding on a fresh wildebeest kill early in the afternoon – they must have brought down the animal not long after midday. This shows that the little pride is growing in confidence – to bring down a large wildebeest in daytime hours and in the heat of the day requires skill and teamwork.

 

 Marley at the kill

 

The cubs are really cheeky, in particular one of the little girls, who didn’t think twice about pushing Marley over for the best bits! Even some bad tempered growling didn’t deter her. Although their bellies looked fit to burst, they all continued to make the most of their kill before the scavengers set in.

 

Marley wasn’t too happy about sharing!

 

I headed back over the the site of the kill early next morning, whereby the carcass had been thoroughly polished off. Jackals, hyenas and vultures had all worked through the night to leave only the horns and tail. With so many keen eyes, most kills last little time in the Mara, and even the bones are tasty morsels for hyenas.

 

Mum tucks in

 

Last night we picked up the group again in the next lugga down. Marley was nowhere to be seen, and Caesar had joined the group. I don’t think Caesar is a threat to Marley, as they are often seen together. Having been over 48 hours since their last substantial meal, the lions were in hunting mode and making a move on warthogs and gazelles. The cubs aren’t exactly perfect yet, ruining most hunts either by breaking too soon or hesitating during the chase, but certainly have the enthusiasm – they should become formidable hunters when they mature.

 

One of the cubs eyes up a tasty hog

 

In the middle of trying their luck on the local game, the cubs entertained themselves by climbing trees and annoying Caesar and Sophie. We left them heading towards Maternity as a huge storm rolled in overhead. Perhaps tonight they will have some more luck hunting.

 

Sara

Newcomers at Offbeat

Last week I ventured back down to Offbeat to catch up with the local lions. I knew that the Offbeat Pride of four females were still around, both with Tristan the old male and a pair of younger males. One of the females was also showing signs of pregnancy, so when she left the rest of the pride and tucked herself away into a lugga around the back of the camp, it was time to look for new arrivals.

 

The first day brought not much luck with the lions, but sure enough next evening we spied two little ones playing in the bush. They were tucked away pretty well, which is usual for young cubs – they won’t be introduced to the pride until they are around six to eight weeks old. We only had fleeting glimpses of them, but I’m guessing that they are around 3-4 weeks old. There could be more – a lioness can have a litter of up to six cubs, though three is the norm.

 

 Lucinda (on the right) is thought to be the mum of the little ones

 

The guides at Offbeat also told me of some new males that I hadn’t yet seen, and so we continued to explore the area. Early on the last day we found Jade and Imogen –the two other Offbeat lionesses – with a handsome male. He was courting Imogen, and so perhaps we can expect the pride to grow even bigger in three months time!

 

The new male

I hope to spend some more time with this pride, as I know there are more males to find.

 

Sara

The Marsh Pride go Camping

The Marsh Pride are well known by many people, making their way into the living rooms of millions of people each year as they follow the BBC’s Big Car Diary. Many people will also know that the infamous Marsh Lionesses and their nine cubs tend to keep themselves within a relatively small range, encompassing Musiara Marsh and Billa Shaka. Rarely do they venture out of the park gates.

 

Recently, however, they’ve been rather adventurous, making their way to the Windmill and up the lugga adjacent to the gates to a patch of trees known as No Camping. For the past few nights, they have remained close to this area along with the two males, Romeo (Jonah) and Claude (Mpengo).

 

 Lispy greets Claude, or Mpengo as we call him.

The cubs are growing up to be real superstars – most of the young boys already have manes much bigger than I would expect for their age. Some of them would put Marley and his brothers to shame!

 

Three of the young boys

 

The pride were spread out over a long stretch of the lugga, with Red as usual taking the lead and always on the look out for a potential meal. Next to follow was Bibi, who was not too happy about being left with the kids. Each cub that walked past got a swipe on the nose from mum!

 

Mama gets khali!

It looked as though Lispy had been left behind with the two males – after greeting the pair, she began calling softly for the rest of the pride. She slowly made her way down the lugga, climbing each termite mound to scan for her family. Eventually she spotted the cubs and bounded over to greet them and her sisters.

 

Lispy looks for her family

 

Yesterday the males had moved on without the pride, possibly on the look out for other females. They were found relaxing in the evening sun at the edge of Kichwa Tembo with full tummies.

 

Today I am heading down to Offbeat Mara, to have another look at their lions. There is news of some new cubs, so I am hoping they will make an appearance.

 

Sara

Zawadi puts on a show

Over the past couple of days, Zawadi, the famous leopard from the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, has been hanging out around the Windmill by Musiara gate. Whether in a tree or lounging on a termite mound, she loves posing for the camera.

 

Zawadi chills out

After relaxing in a tall tree and observing her surroundings, she began exploring the area, even making a move on a nearby impala. She’s an old girl, but still breeding, and has two older cubs. They didn’t make an appearance this time, and are becoming more and more independent.

 

On lion news, it’s been pretty quiet lately. Siena and Stacey were seen with the two cubs near to the gate, so it is possible that they have made their way into the park. Perhaps they were just visiting whilst our resident River Pride lions are away?

 

Sara

Siena finds a new man

When female lions come into season, they tend to attract any males that may be around the area. This works to the female’s advantage, as a number of males may believe that they are the father of the cubs. Infanticide is common in lions, often carried out by new males if they overtake a pride male or discover cubs sired by other males. By mating with both the pride male and any outsiders, the female is ultimately protecting her cubs.

 

So why does the pride male allow his mate to partner with other lions? By mating with a female as often as every 20 minutes over a period of two or three days, the pride male does his best to ensure that she conceives whilst in his presence. As the male is confident that he is the father, further attempts by other males are of little concern to him. This is mostly true, and so the female is able to increase her own chances of rearing her offspring to adulthood. Males may be so assured to the extent that they will even tolerate other males mating in his presence.

 

Jonah follows Siena closely

So whilst Siena may have mated with Caesar for several days, she still advertised her position to other males. Jonah, known as Romeo by the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, was quickly on the scene as Siena made her way towards Leopard Gorge and nearer to the Masai Mara Reserve. Jonah is easy to identify, as he has a large notch out of his right ear, a scar on his top right lip and a small tail tuft.

 

Jonah has a large ear notch, just visible here, and a scar on his top lip.

 

Having a fine male at her side didn’t stop her from attempting to grab a meal, and in true Siena style, she began stalking some nearby zebra, until an eager Jonah blew her cover. She obviously wasn’t pleased, and a short while later, Siena was seen sunbathing on her own.

 

Siena spots a zebra – she’s quite the hunter!

Jonah is one of the resident males of the Marsh Pride, and so he may have made his way back to Musiara. I’ve written the date of their pairing in my journal, and so three months from now I’ll be keeping a lookout for some little ones!

 

In other news, Marley, Sophie and the kids were spotted lounging around Mulima Maui (close to Maternity) with full bellies after tucking into a zebra. These lions certainly have a large range, as only the day before they were spotted close to No Camping. I’ll be making my way there later, hopefully to find some more lions.

 

Sara

Friends again?

As pride male, Caesar has been intolerant at best of Marley and his brothers. Now, however, it looks like they have decided to patch things up, as yesterday Caesar left his new girlfriend Saba and hooked up with Marley, Sophie and her four cubs. Whilst the youngsters busied themselves annoying mum, the two boys lay together, even taking time to groom one another. Ahh… I wonder if it will last? It is possible that now he has mated with Siena, Caesar no longer sees Marley as a threat to his position as pride male. Things might change though if any other females in the area come into season.

Mum politely tells her pestering cubs to behave!

 

Still no sign yet of any of the past Maternity lionesses, but in other news, Siena was later on the prowl for a meal, this time around Military and still without Stacey and her two cubs. Maybe Siena will have more luck with the plains game on her own?

New Kids On the Block and Marley’s Family

Since coming back to camp, I’ve been trying to track down the locals. Whilst most of our familiar faces are keeping themselves hidden, there’s certainly no lack of lions!

 

First to meet were two lovely lionesses with their two cubs. Christened Stacey and Siena, they were relaxing in Kichwa Tembo close to some rather curious giraffe. Things got heated when Siena tried her luck at some nearby zebra. Stacey left the kids in the bush and crept round to ambush the prey whilst Siena snuck up with such determination that a Grant’s gazelle wandered past ignored. She sprinted and got within a whisker’s reach of a large mare, but couldn’t bring it down. maybe next time.

 

Stacey keeps her eye on the prize

 

Nearby in Maternity, we found one familiar face – Marley, one of the three young males. You might remember him from earlier this year when he caused trouble with honey and her cubs. This time he seemed to be getting along with the other lions, and had attached himself to a mature lioness with four adolescent cubs.

 

Marley watches the kids

 

I saw the pair of females yesterday again trying to hunt, and we left them again stalking some zebra as the light dropped, but Marley and co. had moved on.

 

And that’s not the last of it – this morning, Caesar appeared close to camp again, mating with Siena. He’s a beautiful lion, and seems to have his pick of the ladies! Except for younger lions such as Marley, Caesar is the only resident male around the River Pride area, and until the younger boys mature, should father many new cubs.

 

One of the new cubs – similar in age to Honey’s.

 

I have to work hard to find the location of our known lions, and one lioness I am missing the most is Honey and her two cubs. They should be almost 5 months by now. I haven’t found her sisters Sugar and Tailend either. The last time Honey was seen was close to Musiara Gate leading into the reserve. As we have many new lions around the River Pride area, I will most probably have to look further afield. I’ll let you know when I find her.

 

Sara

Back to the Mara

It’s been a while, but I’ve just arrived back at Serian Camp after some months in the UK. The Mara is still very wet, and with several of the roads leading to camp either flooded or a mud bath, it took us over 8 hours from Nairobi. After rescue missions involving both my car and other travellers we made it to camp at midnight… phew!

 

One of the first things to do is to find the local lions. With large changes in the weather and both the wildlife and cattle, I have a feeling that they’re not going to be quite where I left them!

 

 

Watch this space…

Sara

The Offbeat Pride

This week I ventured down to Olare Orok to Mara Offbeat Camp to see if I could build on the MPP identification database. I know that this area has always been good for big cats - just south-east of Leopard Gorge, the camp is surrounded by beautiful valleys, densely wooded tributaries and rolling hills teeming with game. Julieta and Frank the camp managers told me about their resident pride - the Offbeat lions - four young lionesses and a blonde and older male. The question was: would I be able to navigate the rocks and luggas to find thesse new lions?



Above: one of the Offbeat lionesses


For the first day the lions remained hidden, but we were blessed with two leopards - a male and a female pair. Their interractions were rather heated, but unlike lions, leopard are solitary cats and aggression between mating pairs is not unusual.


My luck turned when the following morning the Offbeat scouts found Tristan the old lion wandering the plains. He's a bit of a character and has obviously had a long and varied life... I would guess that he is one of the oldest lions in Koiyaki at around 12 years of age. Despite this, he has been seen mating with the Offbeat lionesses and doing well to retain his status of pride male. Unfortunately his blonde-maned companion was nowhere to be seen, and Tristan was the only male we found during my brief stay.





Above: good spot! The Offbeat scouts quickly find our old lion.

That morning I also happened upon some regulars up on Lion Hill - Tanya and her three boisterous cubs Taffy, Toby and Tom. It was interesting to see them here instead of their usual hangout by Leopard Gorge, and I am unsure as to their connections to the Offbeat pride. It is possible for pride ranges to overlap on a temporal basis, and so if two lions are found at the same location, but at differen times, they may not necessarily be in the same pride. Tanya and the troublesome trio looked hungry and ready to hunt, but I had other lions to find!

Above: a familiar face in the bushes

The cool thing about the Offbeat lions is that they certainly don't keep quiet as to their whereabouts! Using the direction of their roars each evening and at sunrise, we tracked down the lionesses on the opposite side of the river the following morning. The river had been high, but a couple of days of dry weather allowed us to explore a greater area. The four females were with Tristan, and there was also news of another lioness nearby showing signs of pregnancy. Unfortunately she passed into dense bush before we got close.

Below: tree hugging!




For the next few outings we concentrated on the Offbeat lionesses, trying to get ID shots. It's harder than you think - they had a habit of finding the rockiest hills! Three of the lionesses had some great distinguishing features, and seem relatively easy to tell apart. I'm sure that they all have their own characters, and they certainly are an active bunch, digging out warthog holes, chasing each other over streams, climbing trees and wrestling.



Above: the playful pride

After careful debate, we decided to call the four lionesses Leia, Imogen, Jade and Lucinda.

Unfortunately I had to return to camp last night, but it was great to meet Frank, Julietta and the team, and of course the Offbeat pride.

Sara