A few days back my guests and I had an incredible experience...we spent pretty much the entire day with the Southern Pride!

The morning started early as we set out to enjoy another spectacular “Bush Sunrise” and we were anything but disappointed. We had planned to venture into the southern reaches of the reserve, but there were other things in store for us. We made a turn past Gregg’s Hide on our way into the south and came across a small group of kudu that seemed to be a little apprehensive as they made their approach to the water’s edge. Kudu are usually quite vigilant and weary of water sources in general, but they just seemed to sense danger nearby.

It wasn’t long before we stumbled upon the larger of the two Charleston males resting about 200m away as the crow flies. I thought immediately about the kudu and figured they must’ve picked up his scent as they neared the hide. He was looking pretty thin and I suppose it should’ve been no surprise because he’d been seen mating with Floppy Ear for the past several days. It was a welcomed surprise for my guests as I hadn’t shown them lions yet due to this being only their second outing of a 5-day safari with us. We weren’t with him for ten minutes before the call came in over the radio that both Floppy Ear and the other Charleston brother were found mating about 100m from us! Needless to say the decision for the day’s events had been made...

We moved across to see the mating pair and boy oh boy were they frisky! Mating in lions usually happens every 20-30 minutes for a few seconds at a time over a period of 4-5 days. Considering that Floppy Ear had already been mating for several days, it was quite impressive to see her allow it to continue with the second Charleston male, especially seeing as he was initiating the process every 3-5 minutes! Impressive by anybody’s standards... Mazino (as many Guides and Trackers call him) was looking very well-fed in comparison to his larger brother and must’ve finally gained the upper hand on him to lure away Floppy Ear, so maybe he was just making up for lost time. In any event, we spent a great deal of time watching them go at it, moving closer to Gregg’s Hide every time mating was initiated until they finally waked over to satisfy their thirst. Incredibly though, unbeknownst to us, there was a herd of about 50 Cape Buffalo resting at near the dam and they were less than pleased to see the lions.

The buffalo were initially quite startled at the encounter, but soon realized that the lions had other things on their mind and actually then began chasing the lions away from the dam. It was quite a sight to see...

After spending most of the morning with the mating pair, we decided to head off to check up on “Big Boy” before heading back to Bush Lodge for a well-deserved breakfast, but Lady Luck had more in store for us, much, much more. Another Southern Pride lioness made her way into the sighting with her two adorable cubs! Could this morning get any better?! After a brief time spent in the shade, she led the cubs and the large male on a mission through the bush and judging by the blood on her face, I assumed she was taking them to a kill. At this stage it was very late morning and nearing midday. The female soldiered on in the blistering heat stopping for nothing, not even her whining cubs, who paused briefly at every piece of shade they could find. We followed them for roughly 2,5km through the bush before we descended into a drainage line (riverbed) where two other lionesses lay in the shade along with a large kudu bull. Clearly the morning could get better... The Charleston male made a B-line for the carcass and laid claim immediately, while the cubs rested after their strenuous journey. The lioness tried to guard the kill from him so the cubs could feed, but he soon overpowered her. It was a fantastic experience!

We stopped off at the lodge briefly to fill our tummies, quench our thirst and digest the events of the morning, but a couple of hours later we were back at the kill to check up on developments. Everyone was full and trying desperately to escape the heat. At a stage we even had a lioness use our vehicle’s shadow as her shade! Way too close for comfort, but perfectly relaxed. So much so that the cubs even came over to suckle, a mere foot from the vehicle and its inhabitants! It was an incredible experience and one that neither my guests nor I will soon forget.