Othawa Male Lion

Othawa (Ottawa) Male Profile

- Unofficial names: Prince Othawa, Othawa boy, Nguvu, Mini Hip Scar, Scar Nose Jr.
- Born February 2015 in the western sector of Sabi Sands Game Reserve
- Sired by Majingilane males
- Mother was one of 3 Othawa daughters of Mapogo males
- Had 2 littermates, a male and female. The male disappeared around mid 2016 while the
  female made it to adulthood.
- His mother died in January 2016, believed to be killed by hyenas.
- After their mother's death, he and siblings were adopted by their two aunts,
  sisters of their late mother.
- He left his natal pride (for good!) in late August 2018. This, due to instinct to find his own territory and mating opportunities, as well as pressure from the two old Matimba males who settled in the area.
- In September 2018, he joined the neighboring Mhangeni Pride who had no dominant males after the demise of Majingilanes in April 2018.


Birth of Othawa Male & Majingilane takeover of western Sabi Sands:
03.31.2015 The Sentimental Bush by Matthew Brennan, Inyati Game Lodge


2018 SIGHTINGS/REPORTS

Othawa male with an adult and sub adult Mhangeni lionesses
November 2018; image by Nelda Els

December 2018

The Mhangeni pride continues to grow with ‘pride’ with the seven young cubs being a highlight of the group’s dynamic. On a few occasions this month, one of the older litters of four cubs was missing a single cub for longer than a week and on these occasions, we had been under the presumption that the single cub may have been killed. However, fortunately this was not the case and it has since been seen. Unfortunately, the mortality on cubs is high at young ages, particularly as there are dominant males moving amongst the pride at present. The only large male moving amongst the pride’s females is the Othawa male who has shown no threat to the cubs, however he dominates over the lionesses during feeding opportunities due to his brute strength and instinct to survive. This is an interesting saga that continues to amazes us in every encounter that we have with this pride. [Credits: Singita]

November 2018

A very interesting change, has been the acceptance of the Othawa male by the three adult Mhangene lionesses. In normal circumstances another adult male being in the same vicinity of young cubs would be a direct threat as the male would instinctively kill the cubs, since they are not biologically related and he would not want to spend energy ensuring that other lions’ genes will be passed on. Lionesses also will not be receptive to mating with a new male lion while they are nursing, so killing the cubs enables the male lion to procreate, ensuring his genes are with the generation of cubs whilst he reigns over the territory.

Even though the male has no direct involvement in parental care of the cubs, the security of a territory is vital to the safe-keeping of the cubs until they reach sub-adulthood. Another facet to watch has been the interactive behavior of the Othawa male lion with the lionesses and the cubs. The cubs have yet to be seen moving close to the male. The handsome male will often snarl and growl at the cubs as they venture over to him with curiosity and often the snarl is enough of a warning to suggest it may not be a good idea to interact at all. Now this is where is gets really interesting. The Matimba male coalition of two aging males continues to remain west of Singita and on occasion they move slightly east due to following the Othawa pride. The Othawa pride consists of three lionesses, three young cubs with an approximate age of six months, and to add further exciting news a new litter of cubs has been reported with one of the Othawa lionesses. There have been no visual signs of the cubs yet, thus indicating that they are too small to be moved at present. So with all this happening the Matimba males seemingly ignore the roars from the Othawa male at present, however as the Othawa male spends a great deal of his time with the Mhangene lionesses which are currently moving in a small spectrum around the south eastern areas of Singita, this results in his roars being heard by the neighbouring Birmingham male lions which could result in some serious trouble if they move across further west to investigate the roars. Until now, there has been a quietness amongst the demographics of the lions, however it could change overnight. I guess that is the wild for you, it can be cruel and kind, however we continue to relish being a part of it every day. [Credits: Singita]

October 2018
Living Dangerously: The Ottawa Male Lion Flirts With Disaster
by James Tyrrell
Londolozi Game Reserve

We mentioned yesterday in TWIP how the lone Ottawa male has been prowling around, mainly in the north of Londolozi. At only three-and-a-half years old (to my knowledge he was born in early 2015) he is far from full size and strength, yet in his continued tagging along behind the Mhangeni lionesses he is starting to place himself into mortal danger from the Birmingham males.

A few days ago the Tsalala lioness was with a single Birmingham male in the Sand River, just upstream from the Londolozi camps. As dusk fell, the pair split up; the male headed back to his brother(s) and the lioness was remained in the riverbed, moving downstream in front of camp, roaring. The next morning she was still close by, vocalising pretty consistently, we suspect for the male.

Barely 500m from her, and less than 200m from where the Birmingham male had been the night before, two Mhangeni females were found by ranger James Souchon and tracker Richard Mthabine, lying on the northern bank of the river. We joined the sighting a few minutes later, and circling around the lionesses to get a better view from up on the bank, we were surprised to find the Ottawa male standing about 50m from them, nervously staring in their direction. They seemed aware of his presence, as only a few minutes later the lionesses descended to the riverbed with the male slowly trailing behind, and neither female seemed concerned when he came out into the open. One of the lionesses would roar occasionally; either she was vocalising defiance to the Tsalala female downstream, or she was communicating with the Birmingham coalition.

What was surprising was the fact that the Ottawa male began scent-marking; rubbing his face in a bush and urinating. This behaviour is usually associated with territorial males, and is a risky thing for a young lion to be doing.

We don’t know exactly what information is conveyed in a lion’s roar, but whatever it was, as night fell the Birmingham pair got up and began a steady march up towards the Sand River. By 22:00 they had entered a dense thicket line just SW of the Londolozi camps, and ranger Alex Jordan was forced to abandon his attempt to follow them, as it was impossible to get a vehicle through one of the stream beds that the lions crossed. They were making a bee-line towards where they had heard the Mhangeni female roaring that morning. In the roaring was she simply giving her position, or was she in any way indicating the presence of the Ottawa male? Impossible to say…

What the Birmingham males found when they got to where the lionesses had been is anyone’s guess. At that stage no one was with the lionesses and Ottawa male, and they may have been long gone by the time the Birmingham males arrived. What we do know is that the Birmingham males were responding quietly towards the area, without roaring, which is what males are known do when they are aware of the presence of another male, and don’t want their approach to be known.

They may simply have been moving in to join the lionesses and had no idea that the Ottawa male was there, but I’m sure that once they arrived at the spot they would have caught his scent. Lions can tell a lot about other lions from pheromones in the urine, and from the scent-mark the Ottawa male left, the two Birminghams would have instantly been able to establish what type of threat he represented, which we presume is minimal. Upon catching the scent of a rival, males have been known to give chase immediately, and maybe that even happened last night; there was no sign of any of the males this morning.

Whatever happened, the presence of a rival male with lionesses that they have been mating with will certainly be unwelcome by the Birmingham coalition. Years ago the Majingilane went on the hunt when they heard the young Southern Pride males roaring, and after 48 hours they caught and killed one of them. I’m not saying the same thing will happen here, but with the ominous and silent approach by the Birmingham males that was witnessed last night, the Ottawa male would be best advised to make himself scarce.

September 2018

The dynamics of lions have shifted dramatically. Not only with the new offspring that have been seen with the Mhangeni pride. The Othawa male has been viewed moving far south and east and has been reportedly seen with one of the young Mhangene lionesses. The two aging Matimba male lions spend most of their time far north and west, often interacting with the Othawa pride – exceptionally with their existing cubs fathered by the Majingilane males. The movements of the Mhangene sub-adults have also been quite interesting to observe. The two remaining sub-adult females have now been completely welcomed back into the pride which is excellent for the growth of the pride, however the remaining males are still struggling on their own out there. Two of the young males have recently been seen trailing the Mhangeni pride in the hope that they too will be accepted, however with four new little additions, the mother is not letting them spend their time nearby. [Credits: Singita]

August 2018

July 2018
The uncertain future of the Othawa pride male
by Renain Venter
Singita Sabi Sand

Definitely one of the most beautiful male lions I've seen. He is now coming into his prime and this photo was actually taken the first time he found a lady to mate with. He didn't look to confident of what to do but I'm sure he will manage to figure it out. (c) Renain Venter 

Contrary to popular belief, lions don’t have it as easy as everyone thinks. They have the title “King of the Jungle” and it’s not easy keeping the title. Firstly, everything that they try to catch has evolved to evade and outrun them. They would need to get really close (less than about 10-15 yards) to their prey before even standing a 30% chance of catching it. This sometimes leads to lions going without food for up to a couple of weeks. With these statistics not being in favour of the lion, there are even more statistics against male lions. A lion at birth already only stands a 50% chance of making it to adulthood and for males it is even less, possibly reduced by another 50% on top of that. The male lion at birth, if lucky enough, would try stick with any brothers or male cousins, as they would be a much stronger force to be reckoned with than if they were solitary. They would have to leave the protection of their mothers as they would by that time have new youngsters to take care of. The fathers of those young male lions would also not be very happy with their presence as they might see them as a threat. Off they go into the dangerous world where they would have to try stay under the radar and avoid any confrontation with any males until they reach the age of five or so, where they stand a chance to possibly take over a pride. This all the better if you have brothers to join.

If you don’t have anyone to join, life becomes so much tougher! You would have to feed yourself, fend for yourself and find your own way around. Sometimes an option is to join up with other males around the same age and hope you don’t get killed. The male would have to be very submissive and it’s not going to come without any battle scars. Currently there is one male roaming the Sabi Sand region that comes from the Othawa pride which spends much of its time just north of the Sand River. Unfortunately he doesn’t have any brothers to join and his fathers have also met their eventual fate, so it is going to be tough on him, especially with new groups of males moving in to see if they can take over the unoccupied territory. Currently he has left the territory and is on the run to find either other males to join, if they allow him to, or maybe he could one day stand a chance of having his own territory. Probably his best hope would be to try to get accepted into another band of up-and-coming almost-adult males, in the bid to become a part of a strong coalition.

June 2018

As the young always attract so much attention and generate so much enjoyment, it is great still to have the three Ottawa cubs doing very well. They have relaxed completely around the vehicles, and we are privileged to witness incredible interactions between the various individuals within the pride. Initially, the mother was wary with the approach of the sub-adult male and would aggressively defend the young cubs. However, it didn’t take long for the mother to trust the male and, more importantly, for the male to accept the youngsters. They now seem to seek him out and attempt to play with him all the time, almost like a big brother who will protect them if need be.
[Credits: Savanna Private Game Reserve]

May 2018

The Matimba male lions continue to forge further west and have graced the grasslands in Singita on a few occasions, with a bellowing roar making sure all of the lions in the area are well aware of their presence. They have been viewed with the Othawa pride and continue to court the females in the pride, however the males have been chasing the Othawa young male. The young male is well within the right age to be independent. With the prior lack of the dominant males moving through the area, the young male has been living the perfect lifestyle of being undetected by larger males.  [Credits: Singita]

April 2018

The young Ottawa male is growing quickly. With the death of all three Majingilane males over the past couple of months and no sign of larger males moving into the area yet, the young male has stepped into the dominant male role. Although still too young to take over the territory, if given the opportunity there, he will gladly take the easy way to the top.

[Credits: Savanna Private Game Reserve]

January 2018

Two of the younger lions from the Othawa Pride have been seen moving on their own [too]. The sub-adult male of the Othawa Pride is arguably the best looking young male in the area. [Credits: Singita]