News from Motswari, Tanda Tula and Kings Camp is that the Machaton Pride is due for a take-over pretty soon. All three camps have reported on the presence of two new males – nicknamed the Ghost Males – that have arrived into area after the vacuum left by the Timbavati Males. These two males have already killed two of the seven sub-adult males of the Machaton Pride.
The last juvenile Machaton male was killed when the two new males pushed them off a giraffe kill. This is just another indication of how tough it is for lion cubs to make it through to maturity and there is close to a 70% mortality rate within lion prides.
The two new males are very large and muscular, however they still sport “punk rocker” manes and the Kings Camp rangers estimate them at 6-7 years of age. Although they look powerful the commercial lodges are not all convinced that they will be the next Kings of the Timbavati. However there is high hope as with the Timbavati Males gone for almost a year now, the lion pride dynamics have been very sporadic and unsettled. Not only do powerful dominant male coalitions allow lion prides to thrive, they also ensure good quality sightings for commercial lodges and their paying guests!
Another post on the Ghost Lions here as they might move closer to the Ross Pride with the white lion cub.
