Pafuri Camp Update - Male Lion Conflict

We wanted to share a very exciting sighting from our partners at Wilderness Safaris and Pafuri Camp in South Africa with you.

Pafuri Camp guests enjoyed an amazing experience recently. It was a battle on a grand scale between two male lions. One of the males is the six-year-old adult, a territorial male who has dominated the area for the past three years. He is also the father of the younger male (about three years old) who is his oldest offspring and the first cub sired during his 'reign'.

The dispute was over one of the females that was on heat, and ended with the sub-adult male inflicting some intensive blows and ultimately getting the prize of the female - this time. If these two males stay together they could become an impressive coalition and very good for the lion dynamics of the area as a whole.

It is not unknown for fathers and sons to form coalitions although it by no means the norm and we anticipate that this will not be the last conflict of this nature that we observe between the two.

Some other good news on the lion side is that the sister of this younger male had her first litter in August 2010 and has two cubs of her own. The cubs are alive and healthy, both doing very well. This female and her cubs are seen quite often now - these lions and the sub-adult male already mentioned are frequently seen quite close to Pafuri Camp itself, this point forming the centre of the range given that the cubs do not range as widely as the adults are able to.

There was also another pride of females seen two weeks ago with two very small cubs, so that's three more lions on the concession at the moment! Overall, some incredible lion viewing opportunities at Pafuri Camp right now.

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Photos and sighting courtesy Sean Carter and Wilderness Safaris