2011-09-22 – Masai Mara N.R.

With a new group of guests on our first afternoon game drive we headed to the Bila Shaka lugga to look for Lions. On the way we had some very nice moments with Elephants playing, both calves and sub-adults wrestling with their trunks in the short-grass plains. Just before the Bila Shaka lugga we found a very interesting and surprising situation: White Eye, one of the oldest females in the Marsh pride was consorting with one of the males from the coalition of five that is roaming the Mara. We call these Lions the “Notch’s sons”, from the name of their father. Up to now their appearances in the Marsh had been limited, but this male seems to have gone so far as consorting with one of the females of the pride. All this at less than 500mts from where Romeo, the dominant male in the pride, was resting with the other Lions. The other interesting thing is that the Notch’s sons were actually born here from the Marsh pride in 2005, from the four females of the Marsh, one of which was White Eye. Down at Bila Shaka the Lioness Joy came out at sunset with her four cubs. The cubs groomed and played with their mother, until another cub called loudly from inside the bushes. Joy went back in with all her cubs following, and called the other cub out. It was the single remaining cub of her sister Siena, who was absent tonight. The cub suckled with the others. A very intimate moment and a perfect living proof of one of the Lions’ main social characters, that of communal raising of cubs among pride females.