The lions have given the guests at Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp a fantastic opportunity to watch them closely as they devoured an entire buffalo over the last couple of days. When guides first tracked the 2 Ross Pride breakaway lionesses and 1 Trilogy male to an area just off the road, we were excited to discover they had taken down a buffalo and were going to begin feeding. When lions eat, they stay at the carcass for as long as there is meat to be eaten, so we knew we were going to be able to view these big cats frequently over the following days, and so we did! It was incredible to watch the dynamics between the 2 lionesses and 1 male, and then watching a third unknown lioness enter the scene, and finally a second male lion also belonging to the Trilogy coalition.
Take a look at the video put together of the sighting guests had yesterday when the big male tucked in to feed. The close-knit group got touchy with one another, and the male kept the females off the kill while he was eating. One cheeky lioness who was new to the group determinedly held her ground and continued to feed next to the male despite his warning growls. In the end he allowed her to feed there, while the 2 Ross Pride breakaways kept their distance. Watch as the 2 lionesses were filmed inching closer to the male and the kill, pleading with him to be allowed to join the feast. Once the third lioness was full she took herself off to sleep the sisters attempted to enter, but once again were chased off by the Trilogy male.
Finally, in an impressively romantic gesture, the male gave the signal that he had finished feeding and the 2 lionesses were allowed to eat. Completely submissive to her leading man, one of the Ross breakaway females thanked the male with an affectionate nuzzle as she approached the remains of the buffalo to feed with her sister.
This morning, buffalo carcass no-more, the female lions made their way to Twala Dam to drink. Amazingly, the unknown lioness has stuck with the 2 Ross females, and we are beginning to wonder where this new found friendship will lead. We are assuming this lioness comes from the original Ross Pride, which fragmented over a year ago, and this is perhaps the making of a new pride. We will have to wait and see what happens, so watch this space for updates on the Klaserie lion activity!
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