These protraits of the Olifants West Pride Split have left me speechless. Jochen captured the true comradery and essence of the bond between lions in his photos. The strength and connection of the pride shines through in is photos and evokes quite a few emotions. The more I hear about this pride, the more I like them. They are the true soldiers and there is going to be quite a path ahead for this split pride.
Ezulwini River Lodge is located deep in the Balule and is home to the Olifants West lion pride. The pride was a mega-pride led by “Big Boy” who sadly was killed during battle. What a warrior. After his death, the pride split. The original Olifants West pride has Duma as the dominant male. The split seems to be 13 members strong with 6 sub-adults – quite a young pride. The original Olifants West pride also appears to have 13 members. There is so much potential for both these prides – let’s watch this space.
Below are Jochen’s exceptional portraits of the Olifants West Split. If a picture speaks a thousand words, then these speak a million.
Brenda Quatember