Africa on Foot guests got more than they bargained for when they headed out on game drive yesterday. A journey to where guides suspected a Trilogy male would be lying in his gluttonous glory after devouring a warthog, turned into an unexpected and unforgettable experience for both guests and rangers when a total of 4 fluffy lion cubs emerged from the bushes.
If you’ve been paying attention to our (slightly obsessive) lion updates, you would have read about how one of the Trilogy male lions had stolen a warthog kill from 2 Ross pride lionesses yesterday. Since then, camp owner Courteney Blunden, has confirmed that 2 different lionesses are on the scene, and these lionesses belong to the Hercules Pride. A while back we posted that we had seen a very skittish lioness and 4 cubs from the Hercules pride, and now it seems she is back and her little ones are still in tow!
One of the lionesses was very relaxed, while the second wasn’t as friendly towards the vehicle, but the cubs seemed unperturbed by the presence of the game viewer. We can safely assume these cubs have been sired by the Trilogy male that was with them in this sighting. He and his warthog carcass lay nearby, completing the scene of this happy family quietly hidden away on a property Africa on Foot has exclusive access to. Tracker Enoch reckons the Ross pride lionesses were chased off by the presence of the Hercules lionesses and their young.
It is a tough life for lion cubs, so we are ecstatic to see that these 4 babies have survived the first few months of their lives, and that the lions they belong to are acting more relaxed in their territory. The Hercules pride formed as a split off from the old Ross Mega Pride and originally they come from the Africa on Foot area, so it is natural that the lioness came back to this area to have her cubs.
Watch this space!
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