Just three years into their twenty six year period studying the Kalahari lions, Professor Fritz Eloff and his comrades came across one of the most astounding alliances they had ever experienced in the wild. An expert in his field, Eloff knew lion behaviour well, to the point where he could predict movements and interpret signs left behind during the darkest nights in the desert. An extraordinary relationship between two male lions he discovered in 1973 caught Eloff’s attention and the discoveries made whilst following the pair defied known lion code and created an exception to the rule. Even the mavericks of the desert were not known to endure a caustic bond such as this one. A powerful, yet volatile rapport defined this duo, making them an irresistible subject for Eloff’s study. He introduces the fifth in his most outstanding discoveries of the Kalahari Dune Kings: The Alliance.
Upon arrival at Dankbaar waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on one particularly scorching day, Eloff’s reliable desert vehicle roared over the red sand dunes and came to a steaming and silent halt in view of two gloriously handsome male lions. Strikingly good looking, clearly in the prime of their lives, the two were accompanied by a matching pair of sleek, golden females. These females were identified as B1 and B3; two members of the notorious Sisters Gang, which had developed an aggressive affiliation with the research team already. The males were not familiar, but the sight of two identically powerful looking lions relaxing in a social setup such as this was not going to go unnoticed. An immediate interest with this small pride was sparked and the males were named according to their distinctive appearances – Geelmaanhaar, for his golden head of hair, and Swartmaanhaar, after his characteristically dark Kalahari mane.
GM, as the golden-maned male’s name was shortened to, appeared to have eminence as the alpha in this intimate foursome; he spent the first two days mating with one of the lionesses. Initially, this did not seem to cause tension between the males or the females, even though they remained a united group throughout one couples’ frequent copulations. After two days and nights of this peculiar dynamic, a vicious display of fangs and fur erupted in the peaceful desert. The Kalahari lions had struck again. True to form, they had turned to aggression; however, this behaviour was what was expected between two males vying for domination of their pride. According to the extensive research carried out on lions’ social structure, this is the way things work. This small family was to lose either black or gold – whoever proved their leadership capabilities through strength and endurance would step up to defend their territory and father the family’s cubs, while the unlucky loser would take to the dunes alone and lead a nomadic lifestyle in search of a pride of his own.
After witnessing a number of brawls that tore up the desert floor, flinging sand and gauging ferocious grooves into dune embankments, an unusual pattern emerged. These males were clearly fighting to injure, possibly to kill, but as quickly and frequently as the vehement arguments flared up they were over, and the rivals resumed their position, side by side, as they ate, slept and courted females. This couple was a true alliance, and what Eloff and his team discovered was that it was not a temporary coalition, such as lion law denotes; it was an association of two significantly strong males that lasted a lifetime.
After marking the two brutes, the group was able to locate the lions often over the years that followed their first encounter, and each time these honchos headed up battle with each other in a thunderous confrontation of claws. On the occasion when the team tranquilised and marked the males, the severe reality of the damage these two were inflicting on one another was investigated. GM suffered with bloodthirsty scratches in his chest and forequarters and had bite marks sinking deep into his face, while the heavier SM sustained bad injuries in his eyelid and upper lip and had a piece of GM’s claw embedded in his shoulder. At this early stage of the game, Eloff could not imagine that the volatile relationship these powerful males had would allow both of them to survive long lives; definitely not if they lived their lives alongside each other.
Ten years after their first encounter, the team had recorded regular sightings of The Alliance, and noted that these spectacular specimens had often courted and mated females (many mates were members of the Sisters Gang – perhaps these pugnacious partner prides were destined for each other?). There was often blood shed over females in heat, indicating that the usual competition was present, but Geelmaanhaar and Swartmaanhaar reconciled every time; setting off over the dunes together in quest of a bite to eat or the soothing shade of a shepherd’s tree.
In January of 1983, Eloff’s team arrived in the Nossob river valley in their tested land rover, and for the first time, found their lion alone. The ever so slightly dominant, Geelmaanhaar, was lying in a deplorable state; a mottled pelt sagged off his bones and his crippled limbs could barely carry him to the waterhole to quench his thirst. When he finally collapsed at the water’s edge, he joined a poorly lioness, whom the team had noted previously, cowering under trickling water in an attempt to soothe her skeletal, infected body. The two aged lions both died at the dam within days, if not hours, of the sighting. Not long after this sombre occurrence, the land rover pulled up to where Swartmaanhaar had been located. Nearby where GM had laid his head for the final time was his lifelong ally. As if in sync with his comrade, this Kalahari Dune King was a weakened vestige of what he used to be, and it was clear from his dreary stare that he lacked any strength to move away from the dappled shade in which he lay. After some final photographs, Eloff bid farewell to Swartmaanhaar, who had outlasted his slightly stronger golden-maned brother, only by a few weeks of life.
For an opportunity to see the descendants of these Dune Kings, contact us to book your stay at Haina Kalahari Lodge, or for a tailor-made safari through the Kgalagadi booked in at Rooiputs, Union’s End and Polentswa lodges.
By Chloe Cooper
