If there’s one thing we know for sure about wildlife, it’s that you don’t know any thing for sure about wildlife. The unpredictable nature of the wild world and the animals that live in it is exactly what appeals to every lover of nature, and it is certainly what keeps us on our toes! Lions are the most social of all cats, famously living and operating in prides numbering only 2-3, to megaprides numbering up to 3o. Notoriously territorial, lion prides don’t like to share their turf with strangers, and any wandering cats are at high risk of being brutally eliminated if they trespass.
What we have come to learn about typical lion behaviour, it is that male lions fight for dominance, and the weaker males either run in fear and go in search of their own territory or pride to take over, or they die during battle. What happened in the Balule at Ezulwini Game Lodges is that the once megapride, known as Olifants West, was divided after the two dominant males ‘Big Boy’ and ‘Mazinyo’ died. The two sons of Big Boy fought for new dominance in the pride (while sometimes, brothers will remain in a coalition and both dominate the pride), and the Olifants West Pride split.
Now, we have unfolded the dynamics of 4 different prides all frequently seen by guests at Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge and River Lodge and it is likely that in a reserve of Balule’s size, all 4 prides are somehow related to the original OW megapride. They keep to themselves, as separate prides tend to do, but these lions might cross each other’s paths as they travel through their home range.
Given that we can never assume to know exactly what is going on in the minds of wild lions, we like to speculate on what the movements of the Balule lions could mean. Over the weekend, Ezulwini enjoyed multiple sightings of the York Pride, which in total consists of 2 adult males (most likely a coalition between one older and one younger male), 3 adult females, and 8 subadult males and females. This fantastic 13-member pride is mostly seen south of Olifants Road that runs through the Balule, but two sightings of them on the weekend showed some interesting new movements.
The York Pride adult and subadult males were seen much further north than their usual territory, and they were without the females of the pride. It’s not unusual for a pride to separate temporarily within the territory, but to see the 8 males of the pride so far away from what we understand their territory to be, sparks some interesting thoughts. The following game drive, Ezulwini guests got the York Pride males once again, and this time they were even further north and heading right into an area that we often see the Balule Pride in. The Balule Pride is a small pride (by comparison) with only 7 members, and they are wedged between the large River Pride in the north near Ezulwini River Lodge, and the York Pride, whose known territory is in the south.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen the Balule Pride looking in pretty bad shape recently, sporting a couple of scratches and a limp here and there. Also, the latest sighting Ezulwini had of them, they were missing their 7th member. Again, this is not a definite indicator of fighting with other lions, and may be injuries inflicted through hunting, or from fighting with one another. However, this small pride seems to be losing space to call their own with the presence of the 10-member-strong Olifants West Pride, 13-strong River Pride, and the 13-strong York Pride.
Watch this space for updates on the movements of the Olifants West lions of Balule!
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