Africa Trip 2024 - Day 8, Parade of the Marsh Lion Pride

[This is post #15 of what will be multiple posts about our 2024 trip to Africa. To go to the first post in the series CLICK HERE.]  

It was now Day 8, September 17, of our trip to Africa.  We were up again dark and early because we had a long day ahead.  Our ultimate goal was Lion's Paw Camp on the east (far) side of Ngorongoro Crater, over a 100 mile drive..  There would also be a stop on the way at Olduvai Gorge, the so-called "Birthplace of Mankind" and the accompanying museum.  Before that, however, we were going to pass through the marsh again and hopefully see the lion pride. 

Hartebeest at sunrise as we left camp

Soon after leaving camp we spotted a secretary bird in the top of an acacia tree.  According to Wiki, the secretary bird tends to breed late in the dry season and nests at the top of a thorny tree.  Although we could not see a nest for sure, all of that fit with the top of an acacia tree in September.  We presume the bird was on a nest.

Secretary bird on top of acacia tree

We quickly made our way to the marsh and almost immediately spotted a lioness on the road.  Although I did not know it at the time, Fazal noticed she was wearing a collar and recognized her as the matriarch of the pride.  

Lioness dead ahead walking on the road

He started following her since he knew she was the leader.  Whatever was going to happen would happen around her.

 

She turned onto a side road, so we stopped to watch.  Almost immediately another lioness started coming our way. 

Matriarch of the pride in the foreground with another lioness coming this way

What we couldn't see initially due to the tall grass were the five cubs following the approaching lioness.

 

 

 Soon more lionesses and more cubs appeared.

 

 

   

There was now quite the crowd, but they were not mixing together much.

Lionesses and cubs in the foreground, a male in the distance to the right

Unlike the other pride we had seen several days ago in their "group hug", several of these lionesses seemed rather grumpy.  They only wanted to interact with their own cubs.  

It eventually got sorted out and all seemed satisfied.

 

 

 

 

The various family groups then began to move on.  As it so happened, they paraded along the road right beside us.

 

First were several lionesses and some cubs.

 They were followed by two male lions.

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They just kept slowly coming.  This time it was another lioness and cubs

 

 

Finally the male lion who had been  lounging in the background began to stir.

  

Based on the way he acted and that he came last, I assumed he was the alpha male. 

In all of this I lost track of the matriarch lioness.  In the video below of the alpha male there is a female intermittently visible to the right in the tall grass.  I don't know what the story is about that, but  I wonder if that might be her.  In any case, the male made his way towards us

 

Alpha male ready to pass by

When we first arrived we were the only vehicle in the vicinity, but now several others had shown up.  One in particular was very close behind us.  As the lion passed by I heard a loud thump or bang at the rear.  He had flipped his tail and banged it on the side of our Land Cruiser.  He was apparently annoyed that he had to work his way around the vehicles.  Sorry, your majesty.

Alpha male makes he way by us after whacking his tail on the side of our Land Cruiser

It had been just over 30 minutes since we first spotted the matriarch on the road, but what a 30 minutes it had been.  The marsh was on our way today anyway, but I am so glad we stopped.