Losing Lispy

After some more investigation around the Musiara Marsh, I can sadly confirm that Lispy is no longer alive. It has been difficult tracking down all the member of the Marsh Pride, including all the youngsters, but all are now accounted for except Lispy.

On a training session with the guides from Serian Camp, I found Joy from the Three Graces eyeing a herd of impala within the Mara River treeline. She looked thin, and had better step up her hunting – she now has four three-month old cubs to look after, discovered by Nicholas Ratia, our reporting guide from Karen Blixen Camp. With the Marsh Pride clocking up over 20 lions in total – including many boisterous male teenagers – It’s no wonder she’s keeping her little ones at a distance. Matajo and Hasani, her older cubs, are now spending more and more time on their own, but have been welcomed by the main group. They’re certainly too young to be looking after themselves.

Joy with two of her little ones – thanks to Nicholas for a great picture!

Next, we found the majority of the pride resting near the Musiara Marsh Windmill. We counted 15 lions in total – including Clawed and Romeo, the pride males. Clawed is really showing his age, and I don’t know how long this pair can hold their pride. I identified Charm, resting with her three large cubs, one intent on annoying Romeo, who wasn’t best pleased with his play-mate.

This cub had better watch out!

Siena, the third of the Three Graces, was sleeping within the group. Once a clear splinter group, it certainly appears that the trio have been formally accepter back in to the main pride. This is probably somewhat down to the loss of Red earlier last year, and now Lispy – with a large number of demanding cubs and youngsters, there are many mouths to feed. Certainly, many of the pride appeared rather thin.

White Eye and Bibi, the two remaining original Marsh Pride females, were the last adults to be identified by the Serian Camp guides. Jonathan Koikai quickly pointed out the unmistakable female with her missing eye.

White Eye (left), Charm (centre) and Siena (right) are now the pride leaders, together with Bibi (below)

Finally, we tracked down the young females that are Bibi, Lispy, Red and White-Eye’s older cubs. Still youngsters, the four girls were playing with two tortoises that they had found. Although lions can eat everything from mice to elephants, these hard cased critters proved too much for these inexperienced lionesses!

You might want to remove the outer packaging!

So it is now clear that we’ve lost Lispy. As a core female in the Marsh Pride for many years, it is certainly a loss. However, at the ripe age of 13, Lispy has been a successful mother for a decade, and has left behind some formidable descendants. With the reunion of the main pride and the Three Graces, I have little doubt that the Marsh Pride will continue to thrive as the best loved lions of the Masai Mara.

Lispy looks out over her territory of the Musiara Marsh

Sara

Charm’s New Arrivals

For some weeks now, Charm’s been looking very full. And I don’t think it’s all down to her sharp eyes and teeth! For about a week, Charm has distanced herself from the rest of the pride, and has been hunting and resting alone. Yesterday we found out why!

I think it’s more than just warthog in there…

Yesterday I found Charm hidden deep in Maternity Lugga. She had with her some tiny cubs, probably no more than a week old. Although I didn’t manage to count them, it is thought that she has three cubs – this is actually the typical number for lionesses.

Charm’s the last of the Three Graces to raise cubs this year

With an impressive pride of mature, feisty lionesses behind her, Charm’s bound to do well raising her cubs. Already there are six cubs with White Eye, Bibi and the other Graces, plus Hasani and Matajo, Joy’s two teenage boys.

This little cub will soon have even more siblings to play with!

Charm will keep her cubs hidden until they are old enough to follow her around comfortably. New mums are very secretive, and she will only spend fleeting moments with her sisters. If the pride move back to their home, Musiara Marsh, she may be forced to move the cubs. It’s also up to Clawed and Romeo to protect the pride from any other males, as a turnover would be disastrous for the new cubs.

It looks like the Marsh Pride will be back to full strength soon – Joy has also been mating with a number of males in the area, and so Charm’s new cubs won’t be the youngest for long!

Sara

Cat Fight

It’s no secret that many of the savannah’s predators don’t get on. Whether it’s through competition for food or as a threat to their young, lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena will do their best to avoid each other or drive the opposition away, depending on the pecking order.

Even though they generally occupy different habitats and specialize on different prey, lion and cheetah definitely don’t mix. On a hunt for lion, I came across three cheetah brothers who sometimes visit the MNC. These boys – Honey’s sons – are spectacular; they’re fit and healthy, probably owing to the fact that they hunt cooperatively. Looks like they’re learning a lesson or two from our social cats!

The three cheetah mark their territory – they have a huge range

The cheetah suddenly became nervous, and I could soon see why. In the distance loomed two big male lions – a serious threat to the three sleek, thin-framed cats. Even though they’re the fastest animal on land, cheetah can still be outwitted by lion over longer distances.

Time to make a run for it!

The boys made a run for it, with the two males hot on their trail. I identified them as Samir and Shambe – two of the three boys who have been mating with Lilly, Sita and Nura from the Cheli Peacock pride. The males looked thin, and certainly weren’t going to tolerate the competition.

Shambe chases the cheetah 

No sooner had the cheetah scarpered, then a strange lioness appeared. She approached with caution, but was greeted warmly by the pair. I identified her as Joy, one of the three Graces. Not only then are the Marsh Pride out and about in the MNC, but their sisters, the Three Graces, are paying a visit, too.

 Joy approaches cautiously

Joy still has two adolescent cubs, and isn’t ready to have another litter yet. But who knows if one of these boys will be the father of her next cubs? With Siena babysitting, the rest of the pride are still around the area. I’m off to go find them and see what else they get up to.

Sara

The Marsh Pride’s Family Vacation

This morning I drove out of camp to be met by a gang of thirteen very special lions. Within the bunch was a number of youngsters, along with some familiar faces.
Just outside of Serian, Chemi-Chemi (the spring) is in the northern reaches of the Mara North Conservancy on the Mara River. It’s certainly some distance from the Musiara Marsh, which is why I was surprised to identify the lions as none other than the infamous Marsh Pride.

How many lions?!

Four adults – Siena and Joy, Bibi and White Eye were lazing in the sun with Romeo and a whole assortment of cubs. Joy's two male cubs, now around 15 months old, and six cubs around 5 months old – four belonging to White Eye and two to Siena – were all happily playing in the long grass and exploring their new environment.

The cubs practiced their tree climbing skills amongst the Acacia

The pride have been slowly working their way into the conservancy, and have been spotted on a number of occasions. Although they are far from their home, the territory is open, as many of the River Pride lions are residing on the escarpment. Romeo too has visited the area often to mate with new females.
A lion’s pride territory is not as fixed as you’d think. Although lions spend a lot of time in a core area, prides rangers are large and overlapping. However, two prides will not occupy the same shared territory at the same time, and will advertise their presence to neighbouring prides by roaring.

White Eye the one-eyed lioness. A caring mother but also a fierce hunter

The Marsh Pride is also in a state of flux – with Clawed (Mpengo) seemingly absent, Red no longer with us and the five sub-adults from the females’ last litters, the large family has split into a number of sub-groups. It seems that White Eye and Bibi are forming an alliance with the Three Graces – including Siena and Joy – whilst Lispy remains with the daughters of the pride. Lispy has also been seen flirting with two handsome chaps from the border of the Marsh. Perhaps Romeo and Clawed’s reign is facing an uncertain future?
However the pride forms, here’s hoping that the Marsh females will be as successful at raising this family as they were with the last. They’ve got a lot of experience on their paws!
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

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