Pictures & story by Gareth Jones & Rob Allen, Nairobi Park stalwarts! Thanks guys!
There might be a second pride of lions in formation in Nairobi National Park at the moment & here is the chancer – a young lion often bullied in the past by the dominant male Ujonjo. Could these 4 lionesses be Gammyleg & (now adult) cubs?
So he gets his chance to mate…..the lions (estimated 25-30) in the park are doing well with the plethora of food -dead cattle & all the grazers in the wider ecosystem all in the park right now owing to the drought…..
Notice the grazing buffalo in the background.
Our male takes on a cow buffalo, who according to Rob who took these pics was very weak. Several buffalo have been reported dead in the last week. Could a nasty bacteria or virus have been introduced o the park by the hundreds of grazing cattle which are in the park every day?
The kill -Rob says “they danced around til he got the drop….”
It is actually a good thing for the NNP lions to learn how to take on buffalo, given that both populations of lions & buffaloes are growing at a fast rate. In the past very few buffalo have been brought down by the lions……
Well deserved meal…..
His posture tells it all………
4 Comments
thank you for the pictures. that buffalo was weak indeed. pulled down by just one male lion! any rain?
Hi Sauwah. We’ve had an inch (23 mm) which has greened up the grass but the rivers & dams still dry.We’re hoping for more rain this week……..
The buff was weak, seemed dazed and hardly moved as he walked straight up to her. I do agree with Will- there must be a virus or something. This one had very poor skin, lots of hair missing and sore looking pathes on its skin- especially around its rear. Further proof may be that even though he stayed around for 3 days he only ate a small part of the stomach and one back leg. The carcass is now covered ni flies and smelling- I doubt he’ll be back to it.
Rob there is a big problem in the park with FUNGUS: I’ve noticed it on buffalo but also most baby zebra seem to get it on their heads (maybe whilst suckling mothers?) It’s horrible to see wild animals in such a condition…..