Lions in the Koigab and Hoarusib rivers

Saturday 5 October 2024

Marathon Monitoring Session

For reasons that we do not yet fully understand, several unusual movements and behaviour occurred amongst the coastal (maritime) lions and their associates. These changes started during the latter part of August 2024 and are ongoing. At the same time DLC started a 24-hour continuous observation session. It is still ongoing and we are on Day 40 and counting.

Observations are juggled between all individual lions (n = 8) and the changing grouping patterns (group size: 1 – 5). Detailed observations and data collection are focused on individual variation during coordinated and cooperative hunting, variations in behaviour during aggressive social interactions, hunting success, per-capita food intake and foraging along the inter-tidal zone.

Lioness Xpl-108 killed a male ostrich on the gravel plains close to the beach. She dragged the ostrich into a thick reed bush. She spent four days inside the reeds, feeding and occasionally going for a drink at a nearby spring.

Lone lioness caught an adult female Cape fur seal and dragged it for 1.2km to the safety & wind protection of the hummocks.

Lionesses frequenting the lower part of the Hoaruseb River.

The Hoaruseb lioness Xpl-150 smelling the scent of the Orphan lionesses after confronting and displacing them from her area the previous night.

Orphan lionesses bonding and playing after their run-in with Xpl-150.

Valuable observation on communication and positioning by two lionesses hunting a herd of springbok.

Elephant bull moves passed lions lying on the bank of the Hoanib River.

Hoanib lions enjoying a late afternoon in the open without game-drives juggling for position.

Lions negotiating a tree trunk during their maneuvers for shade.

Social interactions between a male and two lionesses in the lower Hoanib River.

Territorial clash between the Hoaruseb lioness Xpl-150 and two Orphan lionesses occurred in front of Shipwreck Lodge. The situation was monitored intensively to ensure that a human-conflict incident does not occur.

The two Orphan lionesses killed two young gemsboks (one each) during an elaborate cooperative hunt. The Hoaruseb lioness Xpl-150 approached them carefully, but eventually they chased her over and across several dunes.

Young Orphan lioness “Gamma” guarding her kill. - - - - Xpl-106 “Alpha” displacing Xpl-150 from their two kills.

Orphan lioness returning from their long chase displacing the Hoaruseb lioness.

The gemsbok carcass was lying 50m from the main track. Several convoys of tour vehicle traveling to the Kunene, service vehicles and game drives passed and viewed the lions. Everybody was well behaved and respectful to the lions.

Lionesses feeding on the gemsbok carcass next to the road at Klein Oasis spring at Shipwreck Lodge