It’s always exciting to be back in the Mara after a short break and as always, plenty has been happening. The Inselberg Males have expanded their territory to the northeast of the Triangle towards the Purungat Bridge. They are now mating with one of the lionesses from the Purungat Pride, bringing the number of prides under their watch to three in total.
As a result, tension between the brothers is inevitable. In the lion kingdom, the right to mate is not a given, it is fought for; earned by teeth and claws. Ruka, one of the Inselberg Males, sadly has lost his left eye as a result of these fights leaving him with a bad injury. Will he be the new Scarface?
The need for lions to expand their territory is ever-present to spread their genes and continue their bloodlines. Of course, getting too ambitious leaves areas vulnerable to encroachment by other males. This is exactly what we found with this unknown male mating with a Border Pride female deep in the Inselbergs territory.
As we drove through the open plains we saw an area teeming with wildlife. At first, we saw zebras and topis all looking in the same direction, an indication that there was something going on. As we drove past the herds, we noticed a group of elephants were fairly agitated and charging toward something. We navigated around large rocks and came to see about 15 hyenas devouring a topi. The sounds of nature echoed across the landscape. The kill was most probably stolen from some lions nearby. Within a matter of minutes, the carcass had been consumed and a single hyena grabbed the remaining head of the topi with its powerful jaws and ran off into the distance.
We featured Risasi a few weeks ago looking very pregnant while hunting a baby impala and now her belly is gone. Our sincere hope is that she successfully gave birth and her cubs are stashed away safely. According to Dr Elena Chelysheva of the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, we should look for dirty fur on her belly — an indication that she is nursing. From the photographs we took this week, it looks like this could be the case.
Ruka and Rafiki are continuing to make headlines in the Triangle with successful hunts thrilling our guests and guides. Unfortunately, some of their hunting doesn't go unnoticed, inviting unwanted guests to their dinner table. Hyenas, which are heavier and more powerful opportunistic predators, bullied the brothers off their kill, each scattering with a piece.
As usual, we are always excited to see the old guard, Shepherd Male still doing well. In fact, he actually seems to be healthier. The hyena he caught a few weeks ago must have been very nutritious.
A year ago, one of our guests captured this picture of a crocodile feeding frenzy during the first crossing of the season.
Filed under: This Week at Angama
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Comments (2):
19 June 2022
I so much want to come ! My aunt lived in Nairobi when I was a child, but so far I’ve never been to Africa. I went to university to be an ecologist, hugely influenced by Rachel Carson and her book ‘ Silent Spring ‘ , read Biology and Psychology, getting a First Class Honours in both , but then totally ‘ losing the plot ‘ and for some ridiculous reason ending up as a senior Tax Inspector ! But I’ve been a keen birdwatcher all my life - encouraged by 2 wonderful adults who encouraged me when I was a child , one of whom was a friend of David Lack who wrote the ‘ groundbreaking ‘ ‘ Life of the Robin ‘ and is considered the British father of Evolutionary Ecology ! I was an early member of The World Wildlife Fund, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust ( Peter Scott’s place on the Bristol estuary ) , The Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and I know all about David Attenborough as I went to Leicester University ! My life’s ambition I’d to visit the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and the N’gora gors crater ! PLUS , I just adore the film ‘ Out of Africa’ starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep , telling of the real life relationship between Denys Ffinch Hatton and Karen Blixen ( aka Isak Diensen ) .I understand you can take a balloon flight right over the site where Denys is buried and see the lions sometimes on his grave looking down on the plain to look for prey . ‘ I had a farm in Africa in the shadow of the Ngong hills ‘. I’m riddled with liver cancer now, but it’s my dying wish to come ! 🤷♀️🦓🦓🦓🦓🐘🐘🐘🦒🦒🦒🐆🐆🦬🦩🦩🦛🦛🦛🦛🙏🙏🙏🙏
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