A Turnover?

For the past few months, Caesar has been top dog in the Cheli and Peacock pride. After Siti and Lilly lost their cubs, Caesar mated with them. Together with Silver’s little of four, fathered by Caesar, the pride was set to build rapidly in numbers.
However, upon my return, Caesar is nowhere to be seen. There are thoughts that he may be with Lilly, who is rumoured to have a new litter, but as of yet, we’re in the dark. It’s been over 2 months since the big boy was seen.

Siti looks out: where’s Lilly and Caesar?

In his place with the Cheli and Peacock pride are three strapping young lads. Around 4 years old, this trio are strong enough to compete with a lone male like Caesar, and they certainly show it. Buffalo and elephant are a firm favourite with these boys – they’re not messing around! It’s typical for young adult males to form coalitions when they’re forced to leave their natal pride – it allows them to co-operate in hunting, steal kills from hyena and other predators, and gives them a major advantage for acquiring their own pride. Whatever the deal is with lions, there’s always strength in numbers. This is what makes lions so successful as the only social cat.

Two of the three boys: they’re about 4 years old

Unfortunately, Silver’s four tots are nowhere to be seen. Both her and Siti have been with the three males for some time now, and it’s unlikely that they would tolerate young cubs belonging to Caesar. It’s a real shame – all three lionesses have now lost at least one litter each, and with rogue males prowling the conservancy, who knows if their next litters will be safe?
It’s certainly a trying time for these four girls. I hope that whichever males join them stay for long enough for them to successfully raise their cubs to adulthood.
Sara

A Good Mum

It’s been a few weeks now since Lilly introduced her cubs to the pride. Lilly never seemed comfortable, and unfortunately her two cubs didn’t survive. When I left her, Silver still had her four babies tucked away in a lugga, but they have since been introduced to her pride mates and a bigger world!

Come on mum!

As you can see, these four fluffy bundles are in great health. The next few months will be a testing time for both mum and cubs, but with good rain and plenty of food, they have a good chance of making it to adulthood. These three lionesses are great hunters, and successfully raised seven cubs through this year.
Following the loss of her cubs, Lilly has been mating with Caesar. If they mate successfully, Caesar will have sired three litters. Lionesses often mate with several males when they are in heat, but as the only resident pride male (and a magnificent one at that!) with no real challengers, Caesar’s building an impressive dynasty!

Caesar and Lilly. She can be easily recognized by the area of patchy fur by

her left eye. She’s also rather fluffy.

Silver’s cubs are growing fast. They still have woolly fur, camouflaging spots and short tails. They will have to wait until they are five months of age before they grow a sleek coat and develop a tail tuft.

The cubs are growing fast!

The cubs will be heavily dependant on their mother for a long time, and will suckle until they are around 6 months old. By the time they reach 3 months though they will develop a taste for meat, and will soon be fighting dad over first dibs on dinner!

Mum has her paws full with four hungry cubs to feed

Hopefully we can begin the countdown to the arrival of Lilly’s cubs now. Fingers crossed that she will have more luck this time.

Happy Christmas and New Year from the Mara lions!

Sara

More New Arrivals!

I’ve been twittering on about the expectation of new cubs from both Lilly and Silver, and it brings me great pleasure to announce the arrival of six new little ones!

Silver has had four cubs, whilst Lilly has had two. At this early age, both of the mothers have moved away from their sister and Caesar, and are nursing their babies in thick woodland. At this age, lion cubs are at risk from buffalo, leopard, hyena and even baboons, and mum must have a careful eye. She will leave them in a safe place such as a hidden lugga whilst she hunts.

Mothers hide their cubs away from the pride and out of harms way

When the cubs reach around three weeks of age, they will be introduced to the pride, and after a couple of months will follow their mothers around. New cubs are a joy to watch, and I hope that these new arrivals will be lucky in life.

Away from the mothers, Caesar and Siti have also been mating for the past few days. This means that their previous paring was not successful. In fact, lions may have to mate up to 1,500 times for a pregnancy to occur!

Both Lilly and Silver are keeping their cubs well under wraps, but I’ll post some photos as soon as I get a sneak peak!

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. Clawed 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 Badawi. 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. Badawi 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 Badawi 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 Badawi. 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 Siti 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. Kioni 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 Kioni 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 Siti'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, Siti 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. Siti 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

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 Romeo Clawed 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

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, Arria 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 Shemsa 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 Cleopatra and River. These are both older lionesses. Cleopatra 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. Cleopatra also now has three new little ones, and so this group has lions of all shapes and sizes.

Cleopatra'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 Kioni 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 Kioni 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 Siti 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

Quite the Hunters

Marley, Kioni 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 Kioni. We left them heading towards Maternity as a huge storm rolled in overhead. Perhaps tonight they will have some more luck hunting.

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.

Romeo follows Siena closely

So whilst Siena may have mated with Caesar for several days, she still advertised her position to other males. Romeo (star of 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. Romeo 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.

Romeo 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 Romeo 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!

Romeo 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, Kioni 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 Siena and hooked up with Marley, Kioni 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 Joy and Siena, they were relaxing in Kichwa Tembo close to some rather curious giraffe. These girls are actually part of the Three Graces, a sub-pride of the Marsh Pride, and not resident to the area. Things got heated when Siena tried her luck at some nearby zebra. Joy 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.

Joy 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 Asali 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.We've called her Kioni, which means 'she who sees'.

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 Asali's.

I have to work hard to find the location of our known lions, and one lioness I am missing the most is Asali and her two cubs. They should be almost 5 months by now. I haven’t found her sisters Mandisa and Tailend either. The last time Asali 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

War at Military

All is not well with the Maternity lions. Last night on the rounds, the three young males from across the Mara River had joined Asali, Mandisa and Caesar in Military Bush. When I first arrived on the scene, none of the lions looked particularly uncomfortable with the situation, until I took a closer look and counted not three cubs, but only two.

The true extent of the matter between the Maternity lions and these three punks became apparent as one of the boys, Marley, stood up, stretched and then limped closer to our gang. He'd obviously been in a fight. Caesar responded immediately and approached the young male, closely followed by Asali in defence of her cubs. Marley adopted a submissive posture and only warning swipes were exchanged, but judging by the lions' reactions, the tension between both parties and Marley's cuts and bruises, it was clear that this meeting had been far from friendly.


Below: Asali and Caesar tell Marley who's boss

Above: Caesar stands proud over his pride, whilst Ziggy looks on in the background.

The story doesn't end there: Romeo was seen the previous day with Asali and her three cubs, and he appeared far from friendly. We don't know much about this encounter, but perhaps Romeo's short visit has something to do with the missing cub?

Above: Asali gets defensive

So, what happened? We can't know for sure, but it is possible that Romeo killed the cub. However, I have my doubts - five months ago, Romeo was seen mating with Asali, and so it is possible that he is the father to the little ones. It is unlikely that he would kill his own offspring - then again, Asali did mate with Junior, Romeo's brother, and Clawed.

What about the three river boys? These three young males may have attempted to challenge Caesar's position as top dog. Even though at around 2 1/2 years old, these adolescents would usually be too young to hold a pride, there is strength in numbers. Young males often adopt this strategy when they are kicked out of their natal pride, as it gives them an advantage in hunting, scavengning, and looking for their own pride. Unfortunately for Asali, males are quick to practice infanticide and kill any offspring under 1 year of age which are not fathered by themselves. This quickly brings the female into season so that they can mate, and ensure that any cubs they invest in supporting are carrying their genes.

Whilst this appears harsh, lions breed quickly, and receptive females can produce a litter of between 2 and 6 cubs within 3 months. With the support of other pride females, older lionesses especially successful.

However, all is not lost. Asali is a good mother and still has two little ones, and this morning she was content with a full belly after bringing down a small zebra. As she left the remains and began making her way to Mulima Maui, my heart skipped a beat as I noticed the three males prowling around close by, but they seemed interested only in picking the carcass clean. Phew! Just as well, as Caesar was nowhere to be seen, and Asali would have had little chance of defending her cubs alone.


Below: The cubs have started showing an interest in meat

I'm still not sure how much of a threat Marley, Ziggy and Thani are to Asali, or if Romeo is friend or foe. But I'll certainly keep an eye on the situation. Watch this space...

Sara

Meet the locals

Time to introduce you to some of our lions. Around Serian Camp is a small group of lions that are part of the River Pride. The core individuals in this group are three sisters - Asali, Mandisa and Tailend, who I call the Maternity girls, as they spend most of their time around the lugga of the same name. All three are around 4 to 5 years of age, and have been seen with a host of different males over the past few months.

Asali and Mandisa are most likely direct sisters and are very similar in appearance. You need to look closely at the whisker spots and the shape of the face to tell them apart. Mandisa has a rounder face and a richer coloured coat, plus a rear whisker spot on the left side.

Above: Mandisa and Asali (background) scan the plains

Tailend is one of our easier lions to identify - not only does she have the end of her tail missing (hence the name) but she has a large scar on the right of her nose. Her coat is lighter than most lions, and her eyes are small and slanted.
Below: Tailend has a scar on the right side of her nose.


Above: The Maternity girls from left to right: Tailend (background), Asali and Mandisa


I certainly have a soft spot for Asali- she was the first lion I saw whe I arrived at Serian. At this time in July and August she mated with a number of males, including Clawde and Romeo of Big Cat Diary fame, and now has three tiny cubs. Six weeks ago the trio were no more than little bundles of fluff hidden in Maternity lugga - now, two months later, they have been introduced to the pride and can be seen playing and exploring their new surroundings near to camp. She certianly is a great mother and a formidable lioness despite her age. Unfortunately Mandisa wasn't so successful in raising her cubs - she lost them after two weeks, most likely to hyena.

Above: One of Asali's cubs aged 8 weeks checks out the Suzuki!

The male of the moment with the Maternity girls is Caesar. He's a really impressive male with an enormous chestnut mane and noble face. Mandisa quickly came into heat after the loss of her cubs, and Caesar was there to father the next bundles of joy. Let's hope that she has more success in raising a family in three months!

The Maternity girls are certainly ones to watch out for, and you'll be hearing a lot more of them in the months to come.