There was no sign of the dogs at dawn, but Manyari and Sjambok were close to Banyini AND mating again! And mating at quite a pace while Chahwihwi just had to wait it out in the wings as usual.
So my thoughts of Manyari having cubs come to an end and we have to wait another 3 months before we can hope for any cubs. Although I’m pretty confident Magwaza has cubs in the hills that we have yet to see. They must now be about a month old and it’s at least another month before they might venture out from their den.
The mating couple kept up their mating tempo and then headed out across Banyini plains where a herd of wildebeest took notice of them. Instead of running away, they stood around snorting their abuses at the King of Beasts. The lions sort of showed an interest but soon were back on the job, mating in front of a herd of about 20 wildebeest, and us of course.
When the couple passed out in the shade I took to the skies and Voila! I found the dogs right down in the south, just north of Malevula hills. The were running around playing. The bad news was I couldn’t get there though with the veld being so wet and those black cotton soils being impossible in the wet. So we had to let them be.
In the afternoon I was up in a helicopter taking photos of the landscape. It sure is so much easier from a chopper and pretty cool to be up there spinning around and doing all the things I can’t do in my microlight. In the last few days I almost feel I’ve been in the sky more than I’ve been on the ground.
It was back to the lions in the afternoon. And how did I know they wouldn’t be up to much else than a little mating here and there? And so their leisurely day moved into night as the couple barely had enough energy to coax each other on, get down to it only to collapse and pass out again.
12 Responses to “Lions hot mating tempo: Video”
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Kim are you the pilot of the helcopter?
No i just fly the microlight. Send me a helicopter if you have one……..
How old would the cubs need to be before she would bring the cubs to their little pride? And how old would they be before the males would be likely to kill them?
Another question… technical this time. Lately, I haven’t been able to click on the pictures and have them take me to that little slide show that has all the recent pictures on it. Anyone have any idea why?
Nancy,
Click on the link “wildcast on Flickr & you will see the pictures.
moira
males could kill cubs at any time really but after several months they tend to be safe. Magwaza will probably start moving her cubs at about 3months old.
I really know very little about animal behavior but killing your own cubs just doesn’t make sense to me in terms of survival and building strength in the pride.
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