A pride of lions as big as the Olifants West pride is bound to engage in some horse play, especially with the number of cubs and sub-adults involved. Once the pride was one whole group, but since the death of previous leader, Big Boy, the pride has split into 2, which are now known as the ‘original’ Olifants West and the Olifants West ‘split’. Guests at Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge and River Lodge were treated to multiple sightings of both parts of the pride in the space of only a few days, and the sightings were a far cry from the typical ‘flat cat’ visual usually expected from lions!
Each of the Olifants West prides are 13 lions strong and have at least 6 sub-adults. With all the youngsters around, there is a fair amount of play fighting, stalking, and toying around, making this bunch of big cats a lot of fun to watch. It is quite a spectacle to see such big prides lining up to drink in unison (yes, this happened the other day and it was awesome), and to watch the affectionate exchanges between lionesses and their cubs. We had a sighting of one of the dominant males (Duma’s brother – leader of the OW split pride) noisily devouring a warthog carcass while his pride hung around; plus, we had Duma himself roaring at night right next to the game viewer (caught on camera – see it here).
On yet another game drive, the original OW pride came out to play, and play they did. Some sub-adults were play-fighting, while another couple climbed nearby trees, putting the tree-climbing lions of Tanzania to shame! It was yet another special sight to behold for Ezulwini guests.
Duma and his brother lead the 2 prides separately, and they do not get along, which hints to the fact that they do not share the same parents, although they both come from the pre-split Olifants West pride. Last night on game drive, Duma was found relaxing at a dam in the reserve and appeared to have fight-induced injuries. It is suspected that he was in a fight with his brother, which is only natural in the lion world, but can be fatal nonetheless. We left him to lick his wounds as elephants approached to drink and the sun dropped behind the horizon. We will be checking on Duma, so watch this space for updates…
Leave a Comment