Our three dominant lion prides have remained the same for the month of June. The largest two prides, the Mathatha and Moporota Prides, have been constant with regards to numbers. The Mathatha Pride is still dominant in the east but have been seen fairly infrequently as they are generally some distance from the camp. The Moporota Pride have moved further to the north of the camp and have also been keeping their distance, meaning that sightings have also been slightly less frequent than usual.
The lions seen most this month have been the Western Pride. This group of lions appears to have made Mombo Camp the heart of their territory and have regularly provided entertainment for guests through the day as well as the night. Between their territorial patrols and buffalo hunts, the pride has been seen in camp regularly this month. Unfortunately they have lost one cub since our last report and the pride is now down to two cubs. The females with manes continue to thrive and the pride dynamics don’t seem to be suffering as a result of this genetic abnormality.
An incredible lion sighting this month involved one of the Moporota Pride females and her three seven month old cubs. She was temporarily split from the rest of the pride and decided to take the opportunity to teach her cubs a lesson or two in hunting. She caught and brought down a young giraffe without killing it. For the next 30 minutes she left it to the cubs to try to kill, occasionally helping out as the giraffe got the better of the cubs. It was a real privilege for all that were there to witness these dramatic events.
The prides Dominance can be viewed at: www.sunsafaris.com/mombo.html
