We speculated that things would heat up in the Klaserie with the presence of Mabande, the rather brazen lion who is making his presence known on our turf. We questioned what the Trilogy would make of Mabande and how they’d react to their territory being invaded. Our speculation has now turned into cold, hard fact. Things heated up faster than a bush fire on Sunday night. The Mabande male fought with one of the Trilogy boys, leaving a wake of destruction and whirlwind of dust in his path. This Mabande male will do anything for a kingdom, including taking on of the legends of the Klaserie. I came, I saw, I conquered is the motto in the world of lions.
I arrived in the Klaserie and an excited Greg told me about his and Mike’s first hand account of the sighting. Needless to say, I missed the crescendo of the lion saga, but I have feeling this is not the end. In fact, this is just the beginning. The A-team rangers will be watching the dynamics closely in the next few weeks and we’ll all be waiting with baited breath.
Here’s the story.
Greg says, “So, Mabande male was doing his normal contact calling. Then, the Trilogy obviously heard the calls and, having had enough of Mabande, moved swiftly across to where Mabande was located. We only saw Mabande and hadn’t noticed one of the Trilogy lying low in the thickets. Then the madness started! Mabande hadn’t noticed the Trilogy. One of the Trilogy boys stood up, he glanced over and then Mabande saw him. That’s when the attack happened. Mabande approached with a look of death in his eyes. Dust was flying, there was slamming up of bodies against trees and then they disappeared behind the termite mound. At this stage, both lions were unscathed. The lions were actually parallel to each other, run alongside and creating a storm of dirt and atmosphere of sheer adrenalin. The bushes were thick so we did lose visual”
Mike says, “Out out of the blue, the second Trilogy came to defend his brother, just following closely behind. Almost like a back-up crew. Mabande knew his limits and fled the scene!”
All three lions came away unharmed from the battle, but one of the seemed a bit unsteady on his feet when we saw them last night. After their fight, the Trilogy decided to hang around for a bit and made a buffalo kill. Yesterday afternoon, the boys lay around next to the carcass while the feint call of one of the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses could be heard in the distance.
That night we returned to the kill site only to see the Ross girls and the Trilogy hungrily gorging themselves on the meaty morsels surrounding the buffalo’s rib cage.
So, where are we in the tale of the Trilogy? Last night, while we were exchanging pleasantries around the campfire, we heard Mabande calling. The Trilogy were calling, but from a different direction. Let’s see what tonight brings.
* I’ve actually edited the words used by our A-team rangers. Let’s just say the excitement right now is huge. Mike and Greg will keep us posted in coming weeks.
Catch the previous “episodes” and Mabande vs Trilogy history here:
Part one: http://www.sundestinations.co.za/blog/klaserie-lion-catch-up-new-male-lion-in-klaserie/
Part two: http://www.sundestinations.co.za/blog/new-nomadic-lion-mabande-mates-with-the-ross-lionesses/
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