In December 2021 we were blessed with a surprise - a pride of lions lying under a Lowveld Milkberry tree not far from Little Bush Camp - but who they were, was a mystery to all of us. As soon as we were back from the morning game drive, the team went to work. We poured through sources and debated possibilities and we finally came to the conclusion that it was without a doubt, the Mhangeni Pride.

The last time the Mhangeni Pride was on the reserve was the beginning of 2021 and before that, in 2020. The latter visit ended up with an altercation and ultimately, the elder Southern Pride female drew her last breath. The inevitable clash.

During the year, they have been absent from Sabi Sabi as the pride has been through a cycle of some big ups and painful downs. Their pride was once dominated by the Othawa male lion, a magnificent specimen.

The pride has unfortunately been unsuccessful with raising any cubs to adulthood since the Othawa male became dominant over them in 2018. But last year, there was hope. Two litters of cubs were found in May 2021, a total of seven little cubs!

The future looked bright, until a fateful night not too long after. The Othawa male ventured far East out of his territory and his ambition led to his death, leaving the Mhangeni Pride with no male to protect them or their cubs. The evidence of this was shown a few months later when all, but one cub was killed by the N’waswishaka male lions, who had for some reason explored slightly further out of their territory.

Now the chances for this single cub looked grim. So, over the last few months, the pride has been somewhat under the radar. The six females have been exploring deep into the far corners and beyond their territory, presumably to evade any of the coalitions in the area.

The pride arrived in Sabi Sabi, full-bellied and dozing comfortably. These lazy lions spent the next 48 hours under the same tree, the only movement being to merely move a couple of meters to the next patch of shade. Then finally one night, we got some action!

My guests and I planned it perfectly, arriving just before sunset, to find the pride standing on the road. All six lionesses were staring in the same direction and while the cub was silently trying to pounce on mom’s tail. The only words that popped into my brain were “Alright girls, it’s game time.”

They started moving. The females walked so close to Little Bush Camp that I almost radioed in to get their welcome drinks ready. We followed them right past the camp and through a riverbed. All the while, the cub decided that now, was playtime. She pounced on what we guessed was her mother over and over, sometimes even getting mom to pounce back. Then she settled her with a rather rough bit of play that my guest, Jake, luckily caught on his phone camera.

We followed them up from the river and through a dense area all the way into the clearing further North. Here, we waited in the dark, hoping for them to hunt the large herd of buffalo that were drinking, unaware of the danger, at a pan nearby. At one point, all six lionesses and the cub were laying on either side of my vehicle. It felt like we were part of the hunt, part of the pride! I won’t lie to you; I tucked my head in a little, imagining I was hiding in between the tall grass with them.

Unfortunately, the snort of a wildebeest gave them away. The herd of buffalo and other grazers in the area took off but, my guests and I left with smiles painted on our faces and hearts beating well above the normal range.

A day later, the Mhangeni Pride were found again, still in the Northwestern corner of Sabi Sabi. My brain was punching the sides of my head with the idea of another pride settling in the area. The excitement was almost overwhelming!

But when I arrived, something was off. The air of the females was... wrong. It baffled me for the morning and soon I found out that right after I’d left them, one of the N’waswishaka male lions had emerged from the brush. He’d been around them the entire morning and their response to his presence was aggressive. Evidence of this was the scratches and blood on both the male and the lionesses. Then it dawned on me... where was the cub?

These males had already killed the other six siblings. Did they finally finish the other one-off? Were my guests, my tracker and I the last people to see this cub alive? But maybe the cub escaped, maybe it was hiding in the Msuthlu riverbed not too far from where we’d found the pride. I hoped so, but no word arrived.

But it did, the cub had been seen! The pride had fled North and the cub had been seen running along with all six of the lionesses.

The ebb and flow of life and death in the bush is harsh and unforgiving. But that is how it is, although I still couldn’t help myself grin like a schoolboy getting ice cream when I heard the news. Then to make things even better, the Mhangeni Pride returned to Sabi Sabi a few days later.

These events were a rollercoaster for me, the safari team and my guests, but it did leave me with the thought of possible changes in the lion dynamics in the future. The question remains, will this cub survive with no dominant male to protect him, or will the pride be taken over by the N’waswishaka males? Or some new males that may be lurking in the shadows?