Completing the family circle with the 'Ridge male'

As with every other morning we set off at 6am this morning and the first port of call was to check out of Notch & the 'ex Olkiombo' ladies were still around the same area as last night. 


Every morning so far whilst getting ready to go out I had heard their early morning roars from my tent but this morning was an exception and given the Buffalo had clearly reached its 'sell by date' it was quite likely they would now have moved off. As we arrived at the location we surveyed high and low and as anticipated the girls and Notch were nowhere to be seen. However, we again found the sick lioness, having not moved at all again but this time alone. Seeing something like this pulls at the heart strings and no matter how much you tell yourself that this is nature it still hurts to see an animal suffering like this. Many Hyena had now moved into the vicinity now that the other lions and cubs had moved off and given the lionesses condition it seemed the inevitable may soon occur. Of course lions are resilient but without the strength to move and Hyena nearby her future does not look bright. We decided to head off, leaving the lioness in peace.


We looked for some time in the area for the pride, but with no luck so headed off toward 'Double crossing' in search of another Leopard who had been seen in the last few days with cubs. Although this female was said to be quite shy so it was a little bit of a long shot but worth a go and with Paul Kirui at the helm we could not increase our chances anymore!


However, before we even got to this area we stopped several times to scan the plains far and wide for any activity of the feline form (or anything else interesting for that matter as its not all about the cats!). As we did Paul spotted a Leopard, at first both Angela and I struggled to locate what Paul had seen, thinking we were looking nearby only then to see that paul had spotted the Leopard in the far far distance. Paul had clearly woken up with bionic eyes this morning! 


You could see this Leopard was 'thick set' and most definitely a male. We were however on the wrong side of the Olare Orok River so we had to go a long way in order to find a crossing point, knowing that if the Leopard retreated into the bushes we would likely lose him. However, it was worth a try. We moved some distance away but still managed to keep him in our sight, losing him occasionally and then finding him before losing him again and this is how it went for the next 15-20 minutes or so. We managed to get down to Double crossing and onto the 'right side'. As we did we again found this big male, and were close enough now for Paul to advise that it was the 'Ridge Male'. Who also happens to be the father of Olives cubs that we had seen a couple of days ago. His neck was thick and with large head and his size much larger than a female Leopard such as Olive, all of these being characteristics that makes the males easy to differentiate males from the females (aside from the 'obvious of course!)


We tracked him for a short time, we did not know how shy he would be, but it turned out to be quite the contrary as he tolerated our presence without any concerns, but even so we always kept a respect distance. We managed to get a couple of shots before he then entered an area in which it looked like we would lose him for good. We really could not complain though, as on and off we had spent around 15 minutes with him and what was even better is that the entire time we had been on our own! Another prime example of how the "Mara plan' (as Paul calls it) can change at any time! We were all delighted that we had now completed the 'family circle' so far this week with Olive and the cubs and now had seen the cubs father, and what a handsome Leopard he is! 


Leaving the Ridge male we continued on and it was not too long until we came across 4/5 dark and slightly blood stained Hyena trotting along one of the tracks. As we headed over the brow of a small hill we then saw the tell tell sign of 2 male lions, two rather inconspicuous dark manes protruding from the grass. As we neared I instantly recognised the first male, it was again Grimace and he was coveting the fresh remains of a Buffalo kill together with another of the Notch sons who had his back to us at this point.  Nearby, just 5 metres or so from the kill was a female, again one that looked rather thin. Paul advised this was one of the 'breakaway Olkiombo girls, one that we had not seen so far on this trip. 


As soon as we arrived one of the males moved away and headed to a small lugga, clearly after gorging on such a large feast he was in need of water. This left Grimace at the kill but he in typical male lion behaviour he was refusing to allow the female to feed, even though she so desperately needed to eat. Every 10 minutes or so she slowly tried to edge closer to the kill, hoping that Grimace would allow her to feed, but every time that Grimace caught sight of this he growled and adopted a defensive posture, making it clear he was sharing this with no-one. 


Several Hyena waited nearby, wanting to chance their luck on getting a piece of the action but all the time that Grimace was there and without significant numbers they would be foolish to get too close so they kept a distance. Cheeky little Jackals trotted mischievously around the lions, hoping to also get some scraps to.


Given the 'bloody' Hyenas we had just seen and the way in which some of the Buffalo remains had been scattered we concluded this this was probably not killed by the lions, but more likely by the Hyenas. The males had likely stolen the mean for themselves, as so often happens.


Eventually Grimace moved off, also to get a drink and to the same tree where the other male lay (Looked to be Caesar or Ron). Although there was barely anything left of the Buffalo we hoped she could at least get some nourishment. By this point the 'clean up crew' started arriving by air, first with hooded vultures and then followed by some Tawny eagles who waited nearby on the tree above the males, also hoping that when the lioness had finished they could also procure some meat! 


However, this was not for long as soon after Grimace had left the kill the other male returned. This was bad news as we knew that as soon as he would approach he was likely to push the lioness off, and sure enough he did, she has fed for only 5 minutes or so on the tiny pieces of meat left. With a large roar there was a aggressive encounter in which despite her thin state she still managed to swipe he male with some force, but still having to retreat from the carcass in the end.


The male was taking no chances and wanted to keep the kill for himself and his brother/cousin so despite the distance (around 1/3 km) he then proceeded to drag the carcass away from the lioness and back to the tree. We really felt for her at this point, she had failed to gain any food. She followed the male at a distance, but they refused to allow her near the carcass or even into the shade.


Just moments after the males had left the initial area where the Buffalo had been killed the Hyenas moved back in, whopping and giggling with excitement and all of them frantic to see if they could scavenge any bits of meat that may have been left. Although in many ways they were rightfully trying to reclaim what had been theirs to start with! One lucky Hyena appeared to find part of a rib and ran excitedly across the plains, followed by a number of Hyena, desperate to try and steal it back! 


The initial chaos then simmered down as by now there was no trace left of the Buffalo, aside from a blood stained area and the remains of it's stomach content. It was at this point we headed off. Despite having watched what many would consider a 'gruesome' scene we were still hungry and need breakfast!!