Lion pride dynamics in Akagera National Park

Clash of the titans at Magashi

A coalition of two males, Ntwari and Ngangare, and their female, Amahoro, settled into the Magashi Concession some years ago. Ntwari is estimated to be around 13 years old, is blind in one eye and is slowly losing a couple of teeth. In short, age is catching up with him!

Ngangare too is getting on in years at around 12, and is missing the tip of his tail. He still seems energetic, but has shown cowardice in battles. Amahoro is thought to be about nine years old, and currently has four cubs estimated to be around six or seven months old.

Now here is where it gets interesting! Ntwari is known to be the father of a coalition of three, with the two males born in 2016 from a female called Umwari. At about the age of two these boys were evicted by Ntwari and Ngangare, to find a new home. Now seven years old, the boys are back, full of energy and bigger in size than their father Ntwari, whose mane is also starting to fall out.

Since December 2022, roars of tension have been heard around Magashi, culminating in a clash between Ntwari and his sons at Lake Mihindi in the concession on the last day of December. Ngangare managed to escape this battle.

Early that morning we caught up with these lions and the situation was heart-wrenching. The old male Ntwari was sitting submissively with half of his body in the water and his two sons watching over him the whole day. The message was clear, “You move, you die”.