The Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger is one of the most sought after safari destinations in South Africa. Home to the big five and an abundance of big cat species, it’s certainly a cat fanatics dream destination. All of our Sabi Sand lion updates and big cat sightings occur within the Umkumbe Safari Lodge traverse.
Just recently, Discovery channel aired the acclaimed documentary “The Lions of the Sabi Sand : Brothers in Blood“. The documentary highlights the bloodbath and mayhem of a coalition of 6 male lions, who had an insatiable thirst for killing and hunting their own species. They changed the lion dynamics of the area, and in 1 year killed over 100 lions! These males are referred to as the Mapogos. Because of their reign of terror, there is now an incredible fascination surrounding the bloodline of lions from the Sabi Sand.
Male lions are also always on a quest for power and domination, but not quite in the ruthless way of Mapogos! Mauritz Senekal sent us incredible photos of the lions which are currently on the scene. One of the Charleston males, together with the Southern Pride females, stole a kill from a hyena. The male then fought over the kill with the females. The following day, after stealing the hyena kill they managed to take down a buffalo. Yet again, the Charleston male fought with the lionesses ! Last week we shared the story about the kill and showcased Nicki Steenberg and Bradley Chambers images. This time, we have Mauritz’s visual account of what happened.
The Mhangeni Pride is a relatively new pride traversing the Sabi Sand but it’s one of the largest. We don’t often seen this pride, so it was an exceptional sighting. This pride is 13/14 members strong and is under the protection of the Majingilane males. The Majingilane males were the ones who chased out the dark and dangerous reigning Mapogo lions. To cut a long story short, the Majingilane lions sired cubs with the Tsalala breakaway young lionesses and a new pride was formed.
To all the lion fans out there, this one’s for you. Hope you enjoyed our recent lion sightings from the Sabi Sand.
mike
Prem Wilson