There’s bullying going on in the playground of the Klaserie. Our two Ross Pride lionesses have come off second best when one male lion from the Trilogy coalition chased them off their freshly killed warthog and took the prize for himself.
This is very typical in male lions, who, although pride leaders who are there to serve and protect, will frequently steal prey from the rest of the pride or, in this case, his 2 lioness companions. Lions are opportunistic feeders, meaning that if they see an easy meal and have the energy to spare, they will most likely take advantage even if they are not particularly hungry. Often, this is seen merely to eliminate prey for competitors, but in essence, it is to keep themselves at their strongest.
Africa on Foot guests opted for a morning game drive to replace their usual walking safari, and it’s lucky they did, because they bore witness to the whole event. Tracker, Enoch, saw the 2 lionesses after they had just caught this big, male warthog (a decent meal for the 2 of them), and before long, a lone Trilogy male lion came storming in threateningly and scared the lionesses off their meal. Not ones to give up easily, the lionesses stayed close by and remained there with their eyes on the culprit, waiting for an opportunity to take back what is rightfully theirs. Just to rub salt in the wound, this big bully did not even begin to eat what he had taken and just lay in the shade guarding the kill.
A few days ago, guests at Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp saw 2 of the Trilogy brothers together. One, which is identified by a scar on his nose, and the warthog-thief, who also has a history of mating with the white lions of the Giraffe pride. Photographer, Kevin MacLaughlin, who has spent a lot of time filming and photographing these lions, took a few images of the sighting.
Tina