New blood

The ultimate reign of the Majingilane male lion coalition has come and gone. Their spectacular memories will last a life time. They have, however, left a great gift behind.

One of the Othawa lionesses has successfully reared a litter of three cubs. There was great excitement when news broke out that the cubs were born.  Being an experienced mother, she chose a well, secluded den site in a thick drainage line. We waited a couple of weeks before she finally revealed her cubs.

It has been a real pleasure for us to view these little cubs grows up. They are currently around 5 months old.

Two Matimba male lions made their way onto our property recently. With cub mortality rates being really high, we were really concerned that the Matimba males would discover the Othawa cubs. The mother has done a phenomenal job at avoiding the movements of the Matimba’s and keeping the cubs safe. We were also glad to see how tolerant the Othawa male lion was when the cubs were introduced to the pride.

The cubs are currently at a very playful age and spend a lot of time play fighting, stalking and ambushing their siblings. This is very necessary in order to learn the valuable skills that they would need in order to survive the tough life out in the bush.

Written by: Cal Butler