To say we were ecstatic is no exaggeration when we discovered these little balls of fluff. On a drive in Egyptian Pride territory through the Picnic Trees, Andrew spotted a tiny face peering out from the grass. We had no idea how many lions and cubs there were, as the grass was long enough to keep them hidden. But soon, we realised there might be more than one cub as we watched tufts of grass moving from every direction.
Our first sighting of the Egyptian Pride’s single cub was back in mid-January; we guessed that it was about two months old at the time. At this sighting, we could clearly make out two lionesses in the grass as we parked at a distance trying to make out the full brood. Eventually, the two mothers got up and started moving and one by one the cubs followed closely behind.
To our utter surprise, we counted seven cubs in total, all of different sizes and ages. One bigger cub appeared to be about five or six months now; two others a bit younger, about four months old; and four tiny ones about two months old. The smallest cubs lagged behind, the mothers would stop for a moment or two giving them a chance to catch up.
We met two of the mighty Bila Shaka boys, Koshoke and Kibogoyo, who were all hyped up after what looked like a night of rampage, patrolling their territory. Clearly, these males had been in an altercation with other lions, as Kibogoyo has a puncture wound on his right front leg and a nasty wound on his shoulder. All in all, these boys are still looking fantastic and are in their prime. They huffed and puffed walking along the road as if to tell us that they own these streets.
The Paradise Pride, usually found on the other side of the Mara River, have crossed its banks and is currently on the Triangle side, making the most of their new territory with successful hunts. We found them on the road close to one of our Angama Safari Camp sites. We left after they had disappeared into some thick bushes only to get a report on the radio that they had just made a kill not far from the road.
We caught up with the Nyati Six altogether, doing what lions do best in the heat of the day: finding shade and catching some sleep.
