The Balule Pride: The Young and the Fearless

You’ve probably been inundated with photos and videos of the lion prides within the Balule Nature Reserve. Ezulwini River Lodge and Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge is proving to be a hub of lion activity and we’re on a mission to share our lion safari experience with all and sundry. There are daily reports of guests seeing huge lion prides on the move. The Olifants West Pride seems to be the dominant mega-pride of the area – however, there are many smaller prides traversing certain pockets around both lodges.

Most of the smaller prides are split-offs from the original Olifants West pride. They’re young lions who’ve discovered a new turf they call home. Normally a pride is named after the area where they’re most commonly seen. This helps with understanding the dynamics between individuals and prides within a reserve.

Today we’d like to introduce you to the Balule Pride. Our photographic team, Jochen and Mira, have spent quite a bit of time observing the various lion pride dynamics and have captured their journey on film. With the input from rangers and “those in the know”, they’ve provided us with an influx of insightful knowledge about the inner workings of the Balule’s incredible cats.

Here’s the deal. The Balule Pride is a small pride of youthful looking lions who dwell mainly in the area surrounding Ezulwini River Lodge. There are 6/7 members within the pride, of which two are sub-adult males – easily identifiable by their barely-there manes resembling stylish mohawks. The entire pride, including the adults, is a rather young looking pride. There does seem to be cohesion within the pride which hopefully will remain in tact during the coming years. The Balule Pride seems to have made their home within the northern reaches of the reserve, which is just north of Olifants Road.

A huge pride, called the River Pride, often venture close to the river in the northern reaches where the Balule’s hang out. However, the River Pride always seems to remain ever so slightly west of the Balule Pride.

Stay tuned – during the course of next week we’ll introduce you to the River Pride of lions…

Balule Pride Lions

Balule Pride in Thicket

Balule Pride in Afternoon

Balule Male Lion

Lion with Mohawk

Balule Lions

Balule Lions

Young male from the Balule pride yawning.

Balule Pride Big Cats

Sub-adult Lion

Young Male - Balule

Balule Young Male

Lioness - Balule Pride

Mohawk Male Lion

The Balule Pride

Balule Pride

Lions relaxing in the Balule.

Lioness keeps an eye out for trouble

Balule Pride in Afternoon Light

Balule Pride Lioness