Who are the Hercules Pride?

Recently Africa on Foot has secured further traverse on their western border. This traverse is exclusive to Africa on Foot guests and on a recent afternoon game drive, and the following morning on a walking trail, guests were lucky enough to encounter a lioness with four cubs on a kudu kill. She is still very skittish at this stage, but hopefully as she becomes more habituated to safari guests she will relax.

So who is this lioness and where does she come from?

Courteney Blunden, owner of Africa on Foot and who lives on site, speculates that it is a female from the Hercules Pride. The Hercules Pride is actually a spin off of the Ross Mega Pride back in 2007-2008. Courteney elaborates

In 2008 the Ross Pride was taken over by Tyson and Fabio (two very good looking lions!) and Scarface (the old male) was ousted. The pride at that point consisted of 20 adult females and 4 cubs. Because of the age of the cubs some of the females were scared of the new males and the pride split in two. Ten of the females and 4 cubs ran West towards the Klaserie river, and we later discovered they had run to an area owned by a man called Hercules. Hence the name. Basically all of the Hercules Pride was born on Ross (home to Africa on Foot & nThambo Tree Camp) and this is the reason they return and give birth to their cubs often in what used to be their old territory.

A skittish Hercules lioness

A nervous cub scampers away

The lioness temporarily abandons her kudu kill