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00:00:00Filmmakers and field guides spent 16 years following a family of lions, whose male offspring
00:00:27became known as the Mapojos.
00:00:35They witnessed extraordinary behavior, as the Mapojos embarked on a devastating quest
00:00:41for territory.
00:00:47That moment when they took over their first territory, that was the start of the bloodbath.
00:00:55These six males would conquer more land than any lions before them.
00:01:01They were savage in their approach, eliminating any threat to their reign.
00:01:11We estimated that they killed more than a hundred other lions in one year.
00:01:20The Mapojos were unprecedented in their aggression and violence.
00:01:27Their story exposes the rarely seen dark side of lions, and their constant struggle to survive.
00:01:51In the northeast of South Africa, the Sabi Sand Game Reserve shares a border with the
00:01:55Kruger National Park.
00:02:09More than twice the size of Yellowstone, the Kruger provides an abundance of wildlife
00:02:14with a direct route into Sabi Sand.
00:02:36With so much prey, it's the perfect habitat for lions.
00:02:59And it's here that for over a decade, filmmakers and field guides witnessed the epic rise of
00:03:04the Mapojo lions.
00:03:19For generations, the Sparta pride has lived at the heart of the Sabi Sand.
00:03:25In 2002, they were rearing 10 cubs, including five males.
00:03:37They were unnamed as cubs, but they would later be called Scar, Pretty Boy, Rasta, Kinky
00:03:48Tail, and Mr. T. These young brothers would grow up to become known as the Mapojos.
00:04:01During the time that these guys were cubs, I was actually in Sabi Sand with the lions,
00:04:04and I do remember that Sparta pride with so many cubs.
00:04:09I remember there was five males.
00:04:14I've watched lions from just a few months old, and often it's very clear that some are
00:04:19more bold than others, and that others are a little bit more curious.
00:04:26They might be more likely to engage with new things, try hunting new objects, and others
00:04:32may be more likely to just hang back, be a little more timid, and sort of learn a bit
00:04:36more from the sidelines.
00:04:37The particular ones that stood out for me were the two youngest.
00:04:49There was one that was clearly the leader.
00:04:52He was very brash, and there was always right behind him, his little brother.
00:05:03You could see this was a partnership at an early, early age, and it turned out that this
00:05:13was Mr. T and Kinky Tail.
00:05:21It wasn't just the strong bond between the two youngest Mapojos that set them apart from
00:05:26their older brothers.
00:05:31These two cubs were special.
00:05:34You could tell from the early signs.
00:05:53I've tried to pull down a buffalo on one occasion.
00:06:00One of the big male, the fathers of these Mapojos, had taken over his carcass.
00:06:16And this little male youngster was devouring the carcass quickly and quietly while this
00:06:21male was just holding on there.
00:06:25There's a bit of fearlessness that a cub like that will just get in there.
00:06:30Could easily have received quite a swat from the paw of that male.
00:06:34Those were early days, but I think that behavior that I witnessed with that little one suggests
00:06:38that it was most likely either Mr. T or Kinky Tail as they became known.
00:06:47I think the people that were lucky enough to witness the Mapojos as young cubs, you
00:06:52could have predicted then that this was going to be a real force to be reckoned with for
00:06:55other lions.
00:07:01As long as those five males stayed together, you could tell they were destined for greatness.
00:07:22Only one in eight male cubs survive to adulthood.
00:07:29If a cub is born into a healthy pride that's protected by a strong group of males, then
00:07:36this gives them the best chance of making it through the dangerous first year of life.
00:07:46We use the term pride to refer to the females.
00:07:49The females occupy the same general area for their whole lives, and their daughters may
00:07:54grow up and join them in those prides.
00:07:56So a big, strong pride can last for decades.
00:08:02Males, in contrast, form coalitions.
00:08:05So that's a male-male grouping.
00:08:09And it may move many times through its life and end up very far from where it was born.
00:08:16The fathers of the youngsters that became the Mapojos was a great coalition.
00:08:22It was the West Street males, and they controlled a couple of prides.
00:08:28I remember the West Street males being pretty good fathers.
00:08:31They were very tolerant.
00:08:38Male lions have this sort of view, popularly, that they don't do much.
00:08:43They don't do much.
00:08:44They just lie around.
00:08:45They mate.
00:08:46They scavenge food off the females.
00:08:51I think the reality of it is that males do perform very serious and important roles in a pride.
00:08:56So they have to patrol for territory.
00:08:58They have to defend cubs, defend females.
00:09:04Females are absolutely critical to a pride.
00:09:07They are its core social unit.
00:09:09The males may come and go, but the females will persist for generations.
00:09:15And that really makes a stable structure for lion sociality.
00:09:22Lions are one of the only gregarious cats in the world.
00:09:26And they get along better when they work together.
00:09:30And there's nothing more functional than a healthy, working pride.
00:09:39The Sparta pride had ten cubs, including the five young Mapojos.
00:09:50A pride this large had to target big prey.
00:09:56But the Sparta females and West Street boys took hunting to another level.
00:10:03Males play an absolutely critical role when you're starting to look at very big prey.
00:10:07They will help the pride take down these very big, dangerous animals.
00:10:17It's extremely dangerous for lions to take on an animal like a giraffe,
00:10:20partly just because of their size.
00:10:26A single kick from a giraffe can kill a lion.
00:10:28It's a very high-risk but high-reward strategy.
00:10:37If the females are ahead and they're busy trying to pull down a large animal,
00:10:41those males will get stuck in.
00:10:44And the West Street males are no exception.
00:10:46If the females are ahead and they're busy trying to pull down a large animal,
00:10:49those males will get stuck in.
00:10:52And the West Street males are no exception.
00:10:54If the females are ahead and they're busy trying to pull down a large animal,
00:10:57those males will get stuck in.
00:11:00And the West Street males are no exception.
00:11:24An adult male giraffe can weigh nearly 1,300 kilograms
00:11:29and feed the Sparta pride for days.
00:11:36For young lions, in a place like the Savi San, danger lurks everywhere.
00:11:43While Mr. T and Kinky Tail were still cubs,
00:11:49the rise of the mighty Mapojos almost came to a tragic end.
00:11:54In 2003, the young Mapojos, Mr. T, Kinky Tail, Rasta, Pretty Boy and Scar
00:12:14In 2003, the young Mapojos, Mr. T, Kinky Tail, Rasta, Pretty Boy and Scar
00:12:17were now between 6 and 18 months old.
00:12:24They had been born into a strong family
00:12:26with a powerful coalition of males to protect them.
00:12:32Their mothers, the Sparta pride, were superb hunters.
00:12:54The Sparta females would be the key to helping the cubs overcome their biggest challenge,
00:13:00learning to hunt.
00:13:06Young lions will start honing their hunting skills from very early on.
00:13:09They'll start stalking whatever is in the area.
00:13:13They will start to move on then to building up their skills and their confidence
00:13:17with then trying it out on different prey animals,
00:13:20often completely inappropriate ones like,
00:13:22I've seen them hunt porcupines which are a very prickly proposition
00:13:26and things like the honey badger is a terrifying thing to take on
00:13:30because it's a very aggressive animal.
00:13:37It might not be something that young lions would ideally want to take on
00:13:41but it's all part of building that confidence and the skill set
00:13:44for becoming effective hunters in the future.
00:13:50For the Mapojos, that future would be filled with bigger and stronger prey,
00:13:56especially one of the most dangerous animals in Africa,
00:14:00the buffalo.
00:14:09The lions will have to adapt to the new environment
00:14:12and adapt to the new environment.
00:14:14The largest herd I've recorded here is just over 1,400.
00:14:20Other than that, there's small bachelor groups of easy 15 or 20 in a group,
00:14:26particularly along the river.
00:14:27And this is generally the groups that get targeted.
00:14:31Big bull buffalo weighs 900 kilos.
00:14:35That's six times as much as a female lion
00:14:37or it's over four times as big as a male.
00:14:39They've got big hooked horns.
00:14:41They can really damage a lion.
00:14:49Watching lions hunting buffalo is always incredibly exciting
00:14:52but it's often a 50-50 of either or being done.
00:14:57It's a very different experience.
00:14:59It's a very different experience.
00:15:01It's a very different experience.
00:15:03It's a very different experience.
00:15:05It's a very different experience.
00:15:07It's often a 50-50 of either or being damaged.
00:15:14They ideally would like to go after just one buffalo at a time
00:15:17but even if they catch a solitary bachelor,
00:15:19they often make enough noise.
00:15:23The bull does as it's going down and attracts helpers.
00:15:28Other buffalo that come and try to thump the backs of the lions
00:15:31as they're holding down on the prey.
00:15:33Imagine then what happens when you have a whole herd of buffalo.
00:15:37Thousands, thousands of kilos of these animals.
00:15:41Ferociously, it's like a sheer wall of terror
00:15:43going straight towards the lions.
00:16:03I've seen a lion full-grown get thrown in the air
00:16:06and do two backflips.
00:16:17In spite of the danger,
00:16:19if they were going to learn how to tackle such massive prey,
00:16:22the young mapojos would need to be right in the middle of the action.
00:16:27Cubs will learn very important things
00:16:29from watching the rest of the pride hunt.
00:16:31They're learning how to secure
00:16:33very rewarding prey in the future
00:16:35so they will become bigger,
00:16:37they will become stronger and healthier.
00:16:41Sparta pride often used to take their youngsters with them on the hunt.
00:16:45They would follow not too far behind the adults.
00:16:50As happens, 90% of the time
00:16:52the buffaloes ended up turning on the lions and chasing them.
00:17:01The pride adults tried to retreat.
00:17:06But the young mapojos and their siblings
00:17:08were caught in the middle of the angry buffalo herd.
00:17:18It's like a tempered bowling ball through skittles
00:17:20when they come running in.
00:17:22Lions run everywhere.
00:17:24They're everywhere.
00:17:38I must have chased them some distance
00:17:40and in doing so
00:17:42these youngsters must have just got caught in the traffic.
00:17:45A large herd of buffalo
00:17:47will go search out
00:17:49cubs that are hidden in bushes
00:17:51and throw them around, stomp them.
00:17:54They will try and gore it with their horns
00:17:56but pushing down with the bus
00:17:58to squash it.
00:18:00And that's how they actually kill it.
00:18:06I do recall
00:18:08a young mapojo
00:18:10and a young cub
00:18:12I do recall
00:18:14quite a lot of sadness
00:18:16around when a couple of the cubs
00:18:18of the Sparta pride
00:18:20were killed.
00:18:28Some of the Sparta lions
00:18:30were killed by the buffalo.
00:18:34The five young mapojos
00:18:36were lucky to have escaped.
00:18:38It seemed like
00:18:40destiny had other plans
00:18:42for these brothers.
00:18:44If those cubs
00:18:46had not survived
00:18:48that whole mapojo coalition
00:18:50would never have come into being.
00:18:56Mr T, Kinky Tail
00:18:58Rasta, Scar
00:19:00and Pretty Boy
00:19:02had beaten the odds
00:19:04and all survived
00:19:07but a new threat
00:19:09another danger
00:19:11lay just beyond the horizon.
00:19:27In 2003
00:19:29an unknown male entered Sparta
00:19:31pride territory.
00:19:33When new males
00:19:35come into an area
00:19:37it's an extremely dangerous period
00:19:39for the young cubs.
00:19:41Male lions when they take over a territory
00:19:43they kill every cub.
00:19:49The young mapojos
00:19:51were lucky.
00:19:53Against everybody's expectations
00:19:55the intruder didn't kill
00:19:57the adolescent brothers.
00:19:59The new male
00:20:01also escaped death.
00:20:03In fact
00:20:05the Sparta females
00:20:07and the West Street boys
00:20:09accepted him into the pride.
00:20:13I think it's the first
00:20:15that's ever happened
00:20:17from what's been documented.
00:20:19Initially
00:20:21you would think
00:20:23the dominant males
00:20:25at the time
00:20:27they would just kill him
00:20:29or chase him
00:20:31but for some reason
00:20:33he managed to either
00:20:35stay submissive
00:20:37or just be accepted quickly.
00:20:43It seems most likely to me
00:20:45that he was a half brother
00:20:47to the five younger males
00:20:49because at that age
00:20:51if he was about four years old
00:20:53when he came in and joined that group
00:20:55the fathers only really would have tolerated him
00:20:57if he was one of their sons
00:20:59from a nearby pride.
00:21:03Over the next year
00:21:05the new male known as Makulu
00:21:07became a full member
00:21:09of the Sparta pride
00:21:11and big brother to the five
00:21:13now adolescent mapojos.
00:21:15Also during this year
00:21:17field guides saw that the close
00:21:19bonds between Mr. T and Kinky Tail
00:21:21that started when they were small cubs
00:21:23had now strengthened
00:21:25and they were inseparable.
00:21:35Mr. T was the dominant one
00:21:37and Kinky Tail was definitely
00:21:39his right hand man.
00:21:45He would be there
00:21:47to back up Mr. T
00:21:49in any situation.
00:21:51I think he was there
00:21:53almost as his sidekick.
00:21:57He always had Mr. T's back.
00:21:59He was always there when he needed him.
00:22:11The bond that the two of them had
00:22:13was incredible.
00:22:17They enjoyed being together
00:22:19and that was special.
00:22:27But peace in a lion pride
00:22:29is short lived for young males.
00:22:33When they reach sexual maturity
00:22:35they are forced to leave the pride
00:22:37to face the world on their own.
00:22:43In 2004
00:22:45the young mapojos
00:22:47along with Makulu
00:22:49two years their senior
00:22:51were pushed out of the pride
00:22:53by their fathers.
00:23:01As nomadic males
00:23:03they would now have to fend
00:23:05completely for themselves.
00:23:07Hunting alone
00:23:09was not an option
00:23:12Hunting alone
00:23:14with no territory of their own
00:23:16no prides of females
00:23:18and the constant threat
00:23:20from patrolling dominant males.
00:23:26During this critical nomadic period
00:23:28more male lions are killed
00:23:30than at any other time.
00:23:36The main thing is that now
00:23:38that they've reached that point in life
00:23:40they can make that journey on their own
00:23:42they've left home
00:23:44they've got to stand or fall
00:23:46by themselves but there's six of them.
00:23:48That's the key advantage they have in life.
00:23:56By sticking together
00:23:58these six males could turn the odds
00:24:00of survival in their favour.
00:24:04The Mapojo Coalition was formed.
00:24:06There was a long way to go
00:24:08before they would be big enough
00:24:10strong enough
00:24:12and confident enough
00:24:14to claim a territory of their own.
00:24:18At the start it was difficult
00:24:20to really identify them
00:24:22because their manes had just started coming through
00:24:24but the names that developed in time
00:24:26first of all there was Makulu
00:24:28he was older
00:24:32he was a very big lion
00:24:35he had a beautiful black mane
00:24:37he was a magnificent animal.
00:24:41One started becoming called Pretty Boy
00:24:46because he was an incredibly good looking male.
00:24:50We had the skew spine or the scarred male
00:24:55he had a very distinct scar on his back left hip and spine.
00:25:01Then we had Rasta or Dreadlock
00:25:05he obviously got something caught in his mane
00:25:07and looked like a real dreadlock.
00:25:12Mr T
00:25:16who had a real mohawk type mane
00:25:21and then Kinky Tail
00:25:25were the six Mapojos.
00:25:28The word Mapojo
00:25:30is a Swazi word
00:25:32for like a security group
00:25:34or a group operating together.
00:25:38We didn't realise it at the time
00:25:40but looking back now
00:25:42that's exactly how they operated.
00:25:48Young males when they first leave home
00:25:50they've got two problems
00:25:52first is they're young
00:25:54so they're stupid
00:25:56they're clumsy
00:25:58so it's very hard for them to get that first kill.
00:26:04The Mapojos had never had to take down large prey on their own.
00:26:08Making a kill would be their first challenge of survival.
00:26:18Over the next few months
00:26:20the Mapojos would keep honing their hunting skills
00:26:22trying to build on their confidence
00:26:24taking large prey.
00:26:28But even with a coalition of six lions
00:26:30it was going to take time.
00:26:54Often they became opportunists
00:26:56scavenging at carcasses
00:26:58wherever they could.
00:27:04Sometimes bullying females aside
00:27:06so they could quickly eat their fill.
00:27:10But with ever watchful dominant males around
00:27:14this led to the Mapojos having some narrow escapes.
00:27:24Hello.
00:27:44Eventually the young Mapojos
00:27:46became the big game hunters
00:27:48they were destined to be.
00:27:54Buffalo were targeted most
00:27:58but they also took down hippo
00:28:06young rhino
00:28:10and like their fathers before them
00:28:12they even killed giraffe.
00:28:24The Mapojos
00:28:26were the first to
00:28:28hunt in the wild.
00:28:34What was quite unique about them
00:28:36when they were hunting
00:28:38they would move together as a group.
00:28:50Kikitao was like a foxterior
00:28:52he wouldn't do anything.
00:28:56He was more like the brute
00:28:58he did a lot of the leg work.
00:29:00Makulopok would often be the one that worked out
00:29:02where to go
00:29:04and would be the first one to loop around
00:29:06to almost direct the show.
00:29:08And then Kikitao was the one who
00:29:10did the brute work of the attacks
00:29:12like grab on a buffalo.
00:29:16Mistletoe and Kikitao
00:29:18were always in the middle of everything.
00:29:20They were always a little more aggressive
00:29:22in their actual kill.
00:29:34The fact that these males
00:29:36learned how to hunt buffalo
00:29:38really was the key to their success
00:29:40because they all grew to be big and strong.
00:29:46As their confidence grew
00:29:48the individual began to take lion behaviour
00:29:50to an extreme.
00:29:54Often around the kill while they were feeding
00:29:56it seemed as if on many occasions
00:29:58that Mistletoe was more of the aggressive one.
00:30:04He was the one that would go in for everything.
00:30:10Whether it be fighting with his own brothers
00:30:14he had no problem having a go.
00:30:18KIKITAO ROARS
00:30:34Mistletoe may have been the youngest
00:30:36but that didn't stop him
00:30:38from trying to dominate the coalition.
00:30:42But there was something standing in his way.
00:30:44In the Mapoho's
00:30:46Mukulu had the darkest mane
00:30:48and he was the dominant male.
00:30:52The dark-maned males are really quite superior.
00:30:54They have higher testosterone.
00:30:56When two males
00:30:58are in a competition with each other
00:31:00we expect the black-maned male
00:31:02to defeat the blonde-maned male.
00:31:04Initially Mukulu was definitely the dominant one.
00:31:08He was a boss.
00:31:10He put the other five in their places.
00:31:14KIKITAO ROARS
00:31:20Mr T would have to wait his turn.
00:31:24Now with Mukulu in charge
00:31:26these young nomadic males
00:31:28had finally become a confident hit squad of six.
00:31:36A coalition ready to seize a territory of their own.
00:31:44We knew there was big changes coming
00:31:46but I don't think we had any idea
00:31:48of the level of violence it could go to.
00:31:50ROARS
00:32:12The Mapoho's were finally ready
00:32:14to take over their first territory.
00:32:20In 2006
00:32:22led by Mukulu
00:32:24the five brothers
00:32:26Pretty Boy, Scar, Rasta, Kikitao
00:32:28and Mr T
00:32:30were about to embark on a reign of terror
00:32:32the likes of which
00:32:34had never been witnessed in Sabi San.
00:32:46For most field guides
00:32:48just seeing six male lions together
00:32:50was unheard of.
00:32:54I can remember
00:32:56the first time I saw them all together
00:32:58was when they came
00:33:00for water one morning at a lake.
00:33:02I had a feeling they were going for water
00:33:04so I positioned my vehicle around
00:33:10and it turned out that they all
00:33:12came down to drink one by one
00:33:14and five of them lined up together drinking.
00:33:18I just couldn't believe it.
00:33:20It's still one of my iconic photos.
00:33:26We never expected to see
00:33:28six of those from our side
00:33:30something that was unheard of
00:33:32almost unnatural.
00:33:38The key thing to realise about coalitions
00:33:40is that it's all about size.
00:33:42You want to have at least three or more males
00:33:44and have a good chance of taking over
00:33:46a territory.
00:33:48Six Lions is definitely considered a big coalition.
00:33:56The only way the Mapojos
00:33:58could claim their own territory
00:34:00was to take it by force.
00:34:04Their first encounters
00:34:06would be crucial.
00:34:08In 2006
00:34:10the Mapojos entered the northern
00:34:12Sabi San
00:34:14with four dominant males.
00:34:20Usually when Lions first come in
00:34:22they're quite quiet.
00:34:24These guys came in like a wave
00:34:26and they didn't care.
00:34:30They were loud.
00:34:32They roared.
00:34:34They marked territory
00:34:36from the get go.
00:34:38The northern males
00:34:40tried to defend their land
00:34:42and prides.
00:34:50But the Mapojos
00:34:52were just too strong.
00:34:58It only took them killing
00:35:00one of the four males
00:35:02and the three
00:35:04remaining males ran.
00:35:08They couldn't stand
00:35:10their ground. They had no chance
00:35:12at all.
00:35:18Finally the Mapojos had taken over a significant
00:35:20territory of their own.
00:35:28A foothold from which to expand
00:35:30with their newfound dominance and confidence.
00:35:34That moment where they took over their first
00:35:36territory. That was the start of the bloodbath.
00:35:40At that point they knew
00:35:42no one was standing in their way.
00:35:46Over the next year
00:35:48the six Mapojos took on any dominant
00:35:50males that crossed their path.
00:35:54Males instincts, as soon as
00:35:56he's seen he's outnumbered, he's going to run.
00:36:00That's exactly
00:36:02what they did and if they were caught they were killed.
00:36:06It was
00:36:08six gangsters
00:36:10coming in and decimating our lines.
00:36:28The more confident they got,
00:36:30their territories expanded, expanded because
00:36:32they kept pushing males further away
00:36:34back into the Kruger, so really establishing
00:36:36a very large area.
00:36:44Kicking out the resident males
00:36:46is only the first step on the path
00:36:48to dominating a territory.
00:36:58We were worried. We had prides
00:37:00that were settled. We had young cubs.
00:37:03You've seen cubs born
00:37:05and you get to six, eight months,
00:37:07you know them, they start getting their
00:37:09individual characters and then
00:37:11these guys came.
00:37:19When new males come into an area
00:37:21and take over a pride, it's an extremely
00:37:23dangerous period for young cubs.
00:37:25The males have no need
00:37:27to basically take over the territory.
00:37:29The males have no need
00:37:31to basically act as stepfathers
00:37:33and invest any resources in
00:37:35rearing another male's cubs.
00:37:41Male lions, when they take over a territory,
00:37:43they kill every cub
00:37:45and any female that tries too hard
00:37:47to protect their cubs, they're going to get killed too.
00:37:49Females will respond quickly
00:37:51to any evidence of new males
00:37:53on the scene
00:37:55and they will retreat towards their cubs
00:37:57and they will also band together
00:37:59to try to repel those incoming males
00:38:01and stop them killing the cubs.
00:38:11If a male cub is killed,
00:38:13it's not just a male cub,
00:38:15it's a female cub.
00:38:18If the cubs are a bit older,
00:38:20she might move away with them just to
00:38:22not have to deal with that physical confrontation.
00:38:29The cubs are very immobile,
00:38:31then it's easier just for the female to
00:38:33confront that threat head on.
00:38:48I was watching the Ottawa pride,
00:38:51which was a pride of three females
00:38:53and eleven cubs.
00:39:01The mopokos, you could see them
00:39:03tracking down this particular pride
00:39:05and they actually had a conflict
00:39:07with the pride.
00:39:11It's pretty ruthless because you've got
00:39:13the females trying to defend the cubs.
00:39:17The males' aggression is just
00:39:19on another level.
00:39:21Females can fight to the death
00:39:23in defense of their cubs.
00:39:33There was a lot of action,
00:39:35there was a lot of running around,
00:39:37there was fighting around the Land Rovers.
00:39:41At one stage I thought,
00:39:43I'm going to kill them all.
00:39:46At one stage I thought one female
00:39:48was going to go over the top of our Land Rover
00:39:50to try and get away from the males.
00:39:54In all instances,
00:39:56the mopokos started killing cubs.
00:40:02The females tried to protect their cubs,
00:40:04but the mopokos were just too strong for them.
00:40:08A raging male lion
00:40:10on a mission to do one thing
00:40:12and that was to kill the cubs.
00:40:15Those lionesses had no chance.
00:40:19With the mothers' defenses broken down,
00:40:23there was nothing standing between
00:40:25the mopokos and the Ottawa Pride's young cubs.
00:40:45When you've got a team of six
00:40:47working to find you, it's difficult
00:40:49to hide little ones that can't keep up.
00:40:51And so that's how
00:40:53they were picked off, slowly.
00:40:59The whole Ottawa Pride, I think,
00:41:01had 11 cubs in it. They were all killed.
00:41:09When you see males killing cubs,
00:41:11it's a very heart-wrenching thing
00:41:13for anyone to see.
00:41:15Even as a biologist, and I know it has
00:41:17a function evolutionarily,
00:41:19it's very difficult to witness.
00:41:25When they lose their cubs,
00:41:27females soon come into oestrus,
00:41:29which enables them to breed again.
00:41:33Exactly what the mopokos needed
00:41:35in order to perpetuate
00:41:37their own bloodline.
00:41:41Over a period of
00:41:43about three months,
00:41:45every cub that we had here,
00:41:47the whole lot were killed
00:41:49by the mopoko and eaten.
00:41:57Mr. T and Kinky Tail,
00:41:59those two in particular,
00:42:01were quite bad in how intense
00:42:03they were of actually ensuring
00:42:05that they found and killed
00:42:07all the cubs.
00:42:09A quarter of all cubs that die
00:42:11in their first year
00:42:13are killed by male lions.
00:42:17It's a natural part of a Pride takeover.
00:42:21It seems like from all the stories
00:42:23that we've heard,
00:42:25Mr. T was the most vicious
00:42:27of all these lions.
00:42:39The violence normally ends
00:42:41with cub infanticide,
00:42:43but the mopoko coalition
00:42:45was anything but normal.
00:43:01With the resident males
00:43:03of the Ottawa Pride gone
00:43:05and their cubs killed,
00:43:07the Ottawa females would soon
00:43:09be fertile once more.
00:43:15But with the six mopokos
00:43:17coming into their prime,
00:43:19oozing testosterone,
00:43:21the competition amongst them to breed
00:43:23was intense.
00:43:37Oiled over to the point
00:43:39where we even saw them kill lionesses
00:43:41that were an oestrus
00:43:43willing to mate with them.
00:43:55And not being able to decide,
00:43:57the six of them would turn on her
00:43:59and pull her apart.
00:44:07The first thing I saw
00:44:09was Mr. T.
00:44:11He was busy biting
00:44:13into the back of a lioness.
00:44:15And then he started
00:44:17suffocating her.
00:44:25It took about 10-15 minutes
00:44:27and eventually the lioness was dead.
00:44:29And after that, Mr. T
00:44:31proceeded to eat her.
00:44:37Some of the behaviour
00:44:39that's been described
00:44:41for the mopokos
00:44:43in terms of killing females
00:44:45certainly sounds unusual.
00:44:47Killing females from within a pride,
00:44:49females that they've already
00:44:51been breeding with
00:44:53and they might have cubs with
00:44:55is very unusual behaviour
00:44:57and something that I certainly
00:44:59haven't witnessed in the wild.
00:45:08Over the next year,
00:45:10the mopokos took over
00:45:12pride after pride,
00:45:14killing any lions that were a threat.
00:45:19I don't think any of us
00:45:21can be certain as to how many
00:45:23lions were eventually killed
00:45:25by the six mopoko.
00:45:27You could see that the population
00:45:29had dropped because of these guys.
00:45:33At one stage we estimated
00:45:35that they killed more than 100 other lions
00:45:37in one year in the Sabi Sand.
00:45:41It's an extraordinary number.
00:45:43It seemed that with the mopokos
00:45:45in power, no lions in the
00:45:47Sabi Sand were safe.
00:45:51The mopokos looked unbeatable.
00:45:57The only threat to their power
00:45:59now came from within the coalition itself.
00:46:01The biggest fight I saw
00:46:03was between Mr T and Mokulu.
00:46:17By 2008,
00:46:19the mopoko coalition
00:46:21had overthrown many dominant males
00:46:23and conquered a vast area.
00:46:25An area so large
00:46:27it was previously divided
00:46:29into more than five separate territories.
00:46:35This is the first coalition
00:46:37that we had ever heard of
00:46:39that had claimed such a large territory.
00:46:45The distance that they covered
00:46:47pretty much dominated most of the
00:46:49Sabi Sand's game reserve,
00:46:51which is close on 70,000 hectares.
00:46:55That's over 160,000 acres,
00:46:57seven times larger
00:46:59than Manhattan.
00:47:05Somewhere like Sabi Sands,
00:47:07where you have dense prey,
00:47:09available water,
00:47:11and a high density of other lions as competitors,
00:47:13you're likely to have much smaller,
00:47:15more condensed territories.
00:47:19The fact that the mopokos
00:47:21took up almost all of the Sabi Sands
00:47:23as their own territory is really a testament
00:47:25to just how powerful a coalition they were.
00:47:37With all their competition eliminated,
00:47:39the mopokos now controlled
00:47:41more than eight prides.
00:47:51They were the undisputed kings of Sabi Sand.
00:47:55But for some of them,
00:47:57that wasn't enough.
00:48:03We often think of coalitions
00:48:05as a smoothly functioning unit,
00:48:07as if there's no real conflicts
00:48:09within the group.
00:48:15There may be one or two dominant males,
00:48:17even subordinate males,
00:48:19then have to decide,
00:48:21well, is it worth staying here
00:48:23as a helper to these few
00:48:25dominant individuals,
00:48:27or maybe we should just split in two?
00:48:37Mr T and Kinky Tail were not born to be helpers.
00:48:39They wanted to be in charge.
00:48:45But one lion was standing
00:48:47in their way.
00:48:49Makulu was definitely the dominant one
00:48:51of the mopoko.
00:48:53He was a boss.
00:48:55The biggest fight I saw
00:48:57was between Mr T and Makulu,
00:48:59and it was Mr T that came off second best.
00:49:15Makulu managed to grab him
00:49:17on one of his legs,
00:49:19and Mr T was injured.
00:49:43That's where the split came.
00:49:45That's one of the reasons
00:49:47that the two left the four.
00:49:53For most field guides,
00:49:55just witnessing a coalition of six males
00:49:57had been a first.
00:50:01But having this coalition split into two groups
00:50:03was unheard of.
00:50:05But that's exactly what happened in 2008.
00:50:07Mr T and Kinky Tail
00:50:09were six years old
00:50:11and in their prime
00:50:13when they separated from the older Makulu,
00:50:15Pretty Boy,
00:50:17Rasta,
00:50:19and Scar.
00:50:21I'd never seen this happen,
00:50:23where coalitions actually split up
00:50:25and set up two different coalition areas
00:50:27adjacent to each other.
00:50:31When the six of them split,
00:50:33Mr T and Kinky Tail ran
00:50:35the north central part
00:50:37of the territory,
00:50:41where the four remaining ran
00:50:43the western sector.
00:50:49Where I was based,
00:50:51it was Kinky Tail and Mr T
00:50:53that ran the area.
00:50:57From us initially hating them
00:50:59because of what they were doing,
00:51:01they became our males.
00:51:03They became the males we knew
00:51:05and the males we grew to love.
00:51:09Mr T and Kinky Tail
00:51:11looked like they enjoyed each other's company.
00:51:13Looked like they enjoyed being together.
00:51:17They looked like brothers.
00:51:19From then on,
00:51:21we very seldom
00:51:23saw any of the other boys.
00:51:27They would still meet on occasions,
00:51:29but they definitely
00:51:31had two different territories.
00:51:35Mr T and Kinky Tail
00:51:37could now focus their efforts
00:51:39on having offspring of their own.
00:51:55Lionesses feel safe
00:51:57when you've got a strong coalition
00:51:59looking after the cubs,
00:52:01not allowing anybody else
00:52:03to come and kill the cubs.
00:52:05It makes their life a lot easier.
00:52:17We had quite a few cubs around,
00:52:19I think at least 15 of them,
00:52:21between the Ottawa
00:52:23and the Chemungwe pride.
00:52:29Many prides,
00:52:31with many new cubs,
00:52:33filled the Mapoho's separate territories.
00:52:35It was the most peaceful time
00:52:37since the coalition was formed.
00:52:41With that peace
00:52:43came a new challenge,
00:52:45to be fathers.
00:52:49Males are not generally patient with cubs,
00:52:51but Makulu seemed to be the most
00:52:53patient with them.
00:52:55Numerous occasions
00:52:57we saw cubs climbing on him,
00:52:59pulling his mane,
00:53:01and he was always very tolerant of them.
00:53:05To be a good father,
00:53:07it's not just that they have to
00:53:09give their cub a pat on the head,
00:53:11they actually have to be patrolling the area
00:53:13to keep strangers away.
00:53:15Male lions patrol their borders
00:53:17for territorial defence.
00:53:21They use various methods,
00:53:23they roar,
00:53:31they scent Mark,
00:53:37and they are patrolling physically
00:53:39to keep them away.
00:53:42And they are patrolling physically
00:53:44just to show basically a presence in that area.
00:53:51And all that is to warn
00:53:53all the other male lions in the area
00:53:55that this is my pride,
00:53:57this is my territory,
00:53:59if you come in here, we're going to fight.
00:54:03In the western half
00:54:05of the Mapoho's territory,
00:54:07one lion in particular took the lead
00:54:09for protecting the coalition's borders.
00:54:21I often found Makulu
00:54:23away from the other Mapoho's.
00:54:25He was all on his own.
00:54:27All I could presume is that he was patrolling his area.
00:54:29He would be absent at times
00:54:31for a week at a time
00:54:33and then come back
00:54:35and join up with them.
00:54:53This is because they had
00:54:55such a vast territory to patrol
00:54:57and he used to do most of the patrolling.
00:55:05Often we'd hear him roaring
00:55:07with his very distinct call
00:55:09that a lot of us could recognize.
00:55:17I'm still yet to hear a lion roar like Makulu.
00:55:23He had one of the oddest
00:55:25but incredible roars
00:55:27of any lion.
00:55:29Where most lions will roar
00:55:31for maybe 45 seconds,
00:55:33a minute and then rest,
00:55:35he would continue.
00:55:55By 2010,
00:56:09it had been four years
00:56:11since the Mapoho's first takeover.
00:56:17While Makulu was making a show
00:56:19of defending his borders,
00:56:21his task was easy
00:56:23compared to Mr. T and Kinkytail's
00:56:25defense of the east.
00:56:29Their entire eastern boundary
00:56:31joined the vast Kruger National Park,
00:56:33home to many nomadic males
00:56:35that wanted Mr. T and Kinkytail's
00:56:37territory and prides.
00:56:41There's always threat from somewhere
00:56:43where there's some nomadic male
00:56:45or some other large coalition of males
00:56:47that want to control your pride.
00:56:52We'd seen quite a few
00:56:54young nomadic males come in from Kruger
00:56:56and Mr. T and Kinkytail saw them
00:56:58off every time.
00:57:01They were almost like the defenders.
00:57:03They were the ones taking the hits.
00:57:07The only way that other lions
00:57:09could get to Makulu and the three
00:57:11were through Kinkytail and Mr. T.
00:57:17For two years, Mr. T and Kinkytail
00:57:19had fought off intruders,
00:57:21defending not only their territory
00:57:23but also their brothers to the west.
00:57:33They didn't realize that there was
00:57:35a coalition of five,
00:57:37that we now call the Machingalons,
00:57:39that were slowly
00:57:41making their way south.
00:57:46Seeing off individual nomads
00:57:48was one thing, but for Mr. T
00:57:50and Kinkytail to face a coalition
00:57:52of five males on their own
00:57:54was a challenge on another level.
00:58:00Machingalons are big, young,
00:58:02strong, and they knew how to fight.
00:58:18On the 8th of June 2010,
00:58:20a coalition of five male lions
00:58:22called the Machingalons
00:58:24entered the northeastern section
00:58:26of the Sabi San.
00:58:30Since the Mapojos had first arrived,
00:58:32no one had seen such a strong
00:58:34coalition enter their territory.
00:58:48As a force of six,
00:58:50the Mapojos were unbeatable.
00:58:56But since the split,
00:58:58it was left to just Mr. T
00:59:00and Kinkytail to defend
00:59:02their eastern territory.
00:59:10Now it was the Mapojos' turn
00:59:12to be outnumbered.
00:59:14Now it was the Mapojos' turn
00:59:16to be outnumbered.
00:59:18It was two against five.
00:59:20Because it was Mr. T
00:59:22and because it was Kinkytail,
00:59:24because they'd never lost a fight before,
00:59:26there was no reason for them to believe
00:59:28that they couldn't handle this intrusion.
00:59:32But Machingalons were big,
00:59:34young, strong,
00:59:36and they knew how to fight.
00:59:44I didn't know what to expect.
00:59:46I did not know
00:59:48what was going to happen.
00:59:50I was scared.
00:59:56This young male lion
00:59:58came hurtling across the road.
01:00:04You could see something was wrong.
01:00:10But I never expected to see Mr. T
01:00:12and Kinkytail right behind him.
01:00:16They just shot out of nowhere
01:00:18and they chased him for about 100 meters.
01:00:24Having isolated one of the Machingaloni intruders,
01:00:26Mr. T and Kinkytail
01:00:28went on the attack.
01:00:32Mr. T grabbed him behind the neck
01:00:34and rolled him
01:00:36and Kinkytail climbed into the groin
01:00:38straight away.
01:00:42It was roars
01:00:44and the most terrifying sounds.
01:00:48That was hair-raising stuff to see.
01:00:52Mr. T was raked numerous times
01:00:54in the face.
01:00:56I remember him going in and the young male
01:00:58actually locking on to his ear.
01:01:00Mr. T had to shake him off,
01:01:02almost ripping his ear off.
01:01:06Kinkytail,
01:01:08Kinkytail,
01:01:10Kinkytail.
01:01:12But all the time while he was doing this,
01:01:14Kinkytail was doing damage to the groin
01:01:16and the back legs.
01:01:24And he roared.
01:01:26Kinkytail roared while he was doing the damage.
01:01:32He had a mouth full of lion
01:01:34and he was roaring.
01:01:36I've never seen that
01:01:38or heard of that before.
01:01:44I've never witnessed
01:01:46anger, aggression or power like that
01:01:48ever.
01:01:50But Kinkytail just didn't give up.
01:01:54He kept on fighting back as well.
01:01:58It was two heavyweights against the middleweights
01:02:00and he lost it.
01:02:04We heard what it sounds like
01:02:06a male lion to scream
01:02:10from pain.
01:02:18It was with mixed feelings that I left the sighting.
01:02:22At that stage I was just quite relieved
01:02:24that it was not Kinkytail and Mr. T
01:02:26on the receiving end of this
01:02:28brutal fight.
01:02:32The injured Kinkytail and Mr. T
01:02:34were busy nursing their wounds
01:02:36while the Majingalani
01:02:38was left to die by the roadside.
01:02:44Once more they had successfully
01:02:46defended the Coalition's territory.
01:02:58I did go back that evening.
01:03:00Kinkytail was nursing
01:03:02a badly injured right paw.
01:03:04I think he possibly got bitten
01:03:06through the paw.
01:03:20Later on during dinner time I just heard
01:03:22roaring on the open area
01:03:24and around the lodge.
01:03:28Suddenly one of the rangers came knocking
01:03:30on my door and the only words he said
01:03:32was grab your camera and come.
01:03:40It didn't take long for Karin
01:03:42to find the source of the noise.
01:03:46The Majingalani intruders
01:03:48were on the move.
01:03:50We were following the Majingalans up the road
01:03:54and I thought no, I can't believe this.
01:03:56It's going to happen again.
01:04:00It was as though the Majingalani
01:04:02were coming for revenge.
01:04:10They'd made quite a bit of distance on us
01:04:12so we had to try and catch up
01:04:14and as we dropped through another little dip
01:04:16and came up on the fire.
01:04:20We just saw a cloud of dust
01:04:22and roaring, growling.
01:04:31War broke out.
01:04:35Still we were not sure
01:04:37who was who.
01:04:39Only as we got closer we saw that
01:04:41it's definitely one of the Mapoho's
01:04:45with the four Majingalans on top of him.
01:04:51It soon became clear that it was Kinkytail
01:04:53being pinned down by the four intruders.
01:05:01He was injured but fighting to escape.
01:05:13They were savage in their approach.
01:05:15I've never experienced something
01:05:17quite that brutal.
01:05:23They were starting to take him apart, learn from them.
01:05:25One was between his hind legs
01:05:27damaging the genitalia,
01:05:29the soft underbelly.
01:05:33And then suddenly there was a snap
01:05:35that sounded like a gunshot.
01:05:39You could hear the spine breaking.
01:05:45Lots of blood.
01:05:51And of course,
01:05:53it's so much more vivid
01:05:55when you see it happen right in front of you.
01:06:05The smell, the sound,
01:06:07the sight of it all,
01:06:09I think it's just a little overwhelming.
01:06:20Suddenly Mr. T came from nowhere
01:06:22he came from the side
01:06:24attacking one of the Majingalans.
01:06:34Kinkytail is mortally wounded
01:06:36but it doesn't stop Mr. T
01:06:38from trying to save his brother.
01:06:44Taking on two Majingalani.
01:06:47He tried to help his brother
01:06:49but he knew he could do nothing.
01:06:53He tucked tail and he ran.
01:06:59Two individuals that were still anchored
01:07:01on Kinkytail peeled off
01:07:07and they followed their brothers
01:07:09and went after Mr. T.
01:07:17If caught, Mr. T would meet the same fate
01:07:19as his brother.
01:07:23Kinkytail was breathing very, very deeply.
01:07:28Nobody said a word.
01:07:30You could hear a pin drop.
01:07:38As much as we would like
01:07:40to save a life of an animal
01:07:42but there's no way you can interfere.
01:07:45There's no way you can do anything.
01:07:47Mr. T managed to escape.
01:07:50The Majingalanis went back to finish what they'd started.
01:08:01We could hear them coming for at least 10 minutes
01:08:03before they actually arrived
01:08:05and in the distance we could see them coming down the road.
01:08:09The Majingalanis,
01:08:11the Majingalanis,
01:08:13the Majingalanis,
01:08:15were coming down the road.
01:08:19They knew they had him outnumbered
01:08:21and injured.
01:08:23There was going to be no room for him healing up
01:08:25and ever being a threat ever again.
01:08:27They were going to end him then.
01:08:36By then we knew Kinkytail's fight was sealed.
01:08:39He was going to die.
01:08:42Seeing Kinkytail being ripped apart,
01:08:46it was, I think,
01:08:48one of the worst moments in my life.
01:09:02One of the most difficult things for me
01:09:04was to see the reaction of the rangers.
01:09:07They were sad.
01:09:09They experienced it
01:09:11in a more emotional manner.
01:09:15I heard about Kinkytail's death
01:09:17that evening
01:09:19and I cried.
01:09:21It was a line
01:09:23that was my favourite line.
01:09:26I really enjoyed him
01:09:28and I was upset by it.
01:09:30I broke the news
01:09:32to a lot of the guys
01:09:34the next morning on the radio
01:09:36and there was a message
01:09:38on the radio
01:09:40and there was a stunned silence.
01:09:42Guys didn't believe it.
01:09:44Guys didn't want to believe it.
01:09:46And I think there were quite a few tears shed.
01:10:09The next morning we all left the lodge.
01:10:11We wanted to see and to know
01:10:13what happened during the night.
01:10:17As we got to the site,
01:10:19what we found there was shocking.
01:10:27We found a hyena
01:10:29and two black-backed jackals
01:10:31feeding on the remains of Kinkytail.
01:10:39He was gone.
01:10:41Such a big, proud lion.
01:10:43There was nothing left.
01:10:50One of the most
01:10:52emotional things that I've seen
01:10:54was a black-backed jackal
01:10:56running away
01:10:58with a mane
01:11:00of what looked like a lion's mane.
01:11:02It was a very emotional moment.
01:11:04A black-backed jackal
01:11:06running away with a mane
01:11:08of what used to be
01:11:10a big, majestic male lion.
01:11:20And that was the last
01:11:22I've ever seen of Kinkytail.
01:11:28Soon after the death of his brother,
01:11:30a badly injured Mr T
01:11:32was seen moving west.
01:11:36Mr T decided this wasn't for him anymore.
01:11:38Not as a one-man band.
01:11:40He couldn't hold that territory.
01:11:46I think Mr T
01:11:48knew he'd lost his closest companion.
01:11:51His brother, his friend.
01:11:53Somebody that would do anything for him.
01:11:57I think he also knew that he'd lost ground
01:11:59with regards to territory.
01:12:03Mr T's natural instinct
01:12:05was to return to his coalition brothers.
01:12:13We hadn't seen him in almost two years.
01:12:15And that morning we could see Mr T
01:12:17from about 80 to 100 metres away.
01:12:19He was just watching them.
01:12:27Makulu and his western coalition
01:12:29had families now.
01:12:31Something to protect.
01:12:33Instinctively, Makulu knew
01:12:35all too well what can happen
01:12:37when a male enters another lion's territory.
01:12:41Mr T may once have been like a brother.
01:12:43Now he was an intruder.
01:13:01Mr T had managed to escape
01:13:03the Majingalani coalition
01:13:05who had torn Kinkytail apart
01:13:07and taken over the brothers' eastern territory.
01:13:13Now he headed west
01:13:15where Makulu
01:13:17and the remaining Mapohos were still kings.
01:13:25The volatile Mr T
01:13:27had been responsible for breaking up
01:13:29the strongest coalition ever to reign
01:13:31in the Sabi Sand.
01:13:34How would his return be received?
01:13:40Makulu Mapoko wasn't happy
01:13:42that Mr T had come back.
01:13:46Yet he was accepted
01:13:48by the other three Mapoko that were here.
01:13:51It's very remarkable
01:13:53that he was able to rejoin
01:13:55his four colleagues
01:13:57back in the main coalition
01:13:59after that time.
01:14:03The field guides were relieved
01:14:05that Mr T was accepted
01:14:07without bloodshed.
01:14:13But Mr T was Mr Sand.
01:14:16But Mr T was Mr T.
01:14:21These were not his prides
01:14:23and they were not his cubs.
01:14:28We expected Mr T to accept
01:14:30the coalition's cubs
01:14:32but he didn't.
01:14:38I don't think any of us could imagine
01:14:40what was going to happen
01:14:42to Mr T.
01:14:46None of us were prepared for it.
01:15:01It was only a matter of days
01:15:03when he started to massacre all the cubs.
01:15:16He would actually go
01:15:18and seek out the cubs
01:15:20that belonged to the coalition
01:15:22and actually kill them and eat them.
01:15:45Only.
01:15:59What was interesting, the other males
01:16:01didn't seem to do anything about it.
01:16:03Many of these youngsters
01:16:05were Mr T's nieces and nephews
01:16:07but his brothers seemed unwilling
01:16:09to stop the carnage.
01:16:15Mr T intended to take over the prides
01:16:17and mate with the lionesses
01:16:19but the coalition's cubs
01:16:21had been standing in his way.
01:16:25Mr T was the only one
01:16:27who had the courage
01:16:29to stand up
01:16:31but the coalition's cubs
01:16:33had been standing in his way
01:16:35so he brutally did
01:16:37what came naturally.
01:16:42The power in the west had shifted.
01:16:45Mr T was the new king.
01:16:48Mr T was the new king.
01:17:00Once Mr T had come back
01:17:02and killed all the cubs
01:17:04and established his dominance
01:17:06over the others,
01:17:08from then on we weren't sure
01:17:10what was going to happen.
01:17:12I think most of us had
01:17:14a fairly negative feeling
01:17:16about it.
01:17:22For the next two years,
01:17:24the Majingalani slowly ate away
01:17:26at Mapoho territory.
01:17:30The intruders took over
01:17:32most of Mr T and Kinkytail's land,
01:17:34their prides,
01:17:36and almost certainly killed their cubs.
01:17:38During the long stalemate,
01:17:40more bad fortune
01:17:42struck the coalition
01:17:44when Pretty Boy and Rasta
01:17:46disappeared.
01:17:48It was suspected
01:17:50they were killed
01:17:52by the Majingalani.
01:17:58The mighty Mapoho coalition
01:18:00once ruled all of Sabi Sand.
01:18:04Now they were buried
01:18:06Now they were barely
01:18:08holding on to power.
01:18:12There were only three
01:18:14of the Mapoho left.
01:18:18There was Makulu,
01:18:20Mr T,
01:18:24and there was the Scar Male.
01:18:30For six years, the Mapoho's
01:18:32had been kings of Sabi Sand.
01:18:37Male lions don't normally survive
01:18:39in the wild longer than 12 years.
01:18:45Mr T was 10,
01:18:47Scar 12,
01:18:49and Makulu was now 14.
01:18:54They were getting older,
01:18:56rivals were rising nearby,
01:18:58the end was inevitable.
01:19:07On the 16th of March 2012,
01:19:10yet another coalition
01:19:12of five males called the Salatis
01:19:14entered Mapoho territory
01:19:16from the south.
01:19:24Early on morning drive,
01:19:26we turned off the car
01:19:28to just listen for something.
01:19:32We heard quite intense roaring
01:19:34more than 100 meters in front of us.
01:19:37And we followed the tracks.
01:19:43It was quite clear to see that
01:19:45the Salatis were after the Mapoho.
01:19:50They were young and strong,
01:19:52they were still getting into their prime,
01:19:54so they were ready for a fight I think.
01:19:57They had singled out
01:19:59one of the Mapoho,
01:20:01which one we weren't sure of.
01:20:07Any aging lion would struggle
01:20:09in a fight with so many young males.
01:20:14But that didn't stop one of the Mapoho's
01:20:16from defending the last of his territory.
01:20:27By the time I arrived at the scene,
01:20:29Mr T had already been attacked.
01:20:36The last Mapoho king
01:20:38was fighting for his life,
01:20:40and he was alone.
01:20:48He had a big bite into his spine,
01:20:53just above the back legs.
01:20:56And he was paralyzed
01:20:58from the back legs down.
01:21:04This made him very vulnerable
01:21:06to the attacks from all four lions
01:21:08that were coming at him at once.
01:21:23The tactic they were using
01:21:25in a very ruthless way
01:21:27was to distract him one way
01:21:29so another male could bite him in his spine.
01:21:35They knocked him over
01:21:37and would just maul him
01:21:39and bite him for 15-20 seconds.
01:21:51And then they would stop
01:21:53and move away.
01:22:13They would then get up again,
01:22:15they would come back,
01:22:17and the barrage would start again.
01:22:20Mr T, by that stage,
01:22:22would have been fighting for his life.
01:22:35I can remember him looking back at me.
01:22:41The fact that he was still able to get up
01:22:45and still try and take on
01:22:47the Polish after that ripped him apart
01:22:51gives you an idea of the strength and character
01:22:53of this magnificent animal.
01:23:09The four male lions
01:23:11that were attacking Mr T
01:23:13were roaring constantly.
01:23:15It was the sign of a takeover.
01:23:17They were in charge now.
01:23:19And they were roaring
01:23:21and they were letting the whole world know
01:23:23that they were in charge.
01:23:33It was a very intense sighting.
01:23:35The emotions going through you
01:23:37ranged from excitement
01:23:39to disbelief.
01:23:45The gaping wounds
01:23:47where his spine had been bitten down to
01:23:49and just a very subdued lion
01:23:51with his head down on the ground,
01:23:53his paws forward and his back legs.
01:23:55Useless.
01:24:03There was no comeback from this.
01:24:05Mr T was going to die
01:24:07and he was going to die that day.
01:24:09My brother and I were there
01:24:11and we literally watched him take his last breath.
01:24:19To see an end
01:24:21to an era like that
01:24:23does have an emotional effect on you
01:24:25and I'm not sure that I would like to see
01:24:27that happen again.
01:24:29I'm not sure that I would like to see
01:24:31that happen again.
01:24:33I'm not sure that I would like to see
01:24:35that happen again.
01:24:37I'm not sure that I would like to see
01:24:39that happen again.
01:24:43Very emotional
01:24:45ending to the whole Mapoho saga.
01:24:57I think Mr T,
01:24:59he lived like a male lion
01:25:01and then he died like a male lion.
01:25:03He went out
01:25:05the way he probably would have wanted
01:25:07to have gone out.
01:25:09Protecting and fighting for territory.
01:25:13After the Mapoho's six years
01:25:15in power, the most violent
01:25:17reign in people's memory had finally
01:25:19come to an equally violent end.
01:25:29Makulu and Scar
01:25:31were the last of the Mapoho's.
01:25:35Way beyond their prime
01:25:37and heavily outnumbered from all sides
01:25:41their only option
01:25:43was to leave the Sabi sand.
01:25:55The Mapoho's will never be seen here again.
01:26:01But there is hope for their future
01:26:03generations.
01:26:11The Mapoho bloodline that I'm aware
01:26:13that still lives on is within the Ottawa pride.
01:26:15There's three big adult
01:26:17females. They have two sub-adults
01:26:19at the moment.
01:26:23And I'd like to think hopefully
01:26:25Makulu Mapoho fathered those females.
01:26:31The fact that
01:26:33his cubs were the ones that actually
01:26:35survived the onslaught
01:26:37of Mr. T
01:26:39and I think
01:26:41it was sort of a bit of justice there.
01:26:45The more I hear about the Mapoho's
01:26:47they are an incredible interesting
01:26:49group of lions and they are to some extent
01:26:51the ultimate lion.
01:26:55It may seem that their behavior is evil
01:26:57it's very aggressive in terms of a human
01:26:59point of view. Ultimately
01:27:01they are being the best lions
01:27:03they can be.
01:27:05The six Mapoho's did what male lions
01:27:07have to do to survive
01:27:09and pass on their genes.
01:27:11But they took it further.
01:27:17They set new standards for conquering territory
01:27:23and exposed levels of violence never before
01:27:25witnessed in the Sabi sand.
01:27:29There is such a dark side
01:27:31to lions that
01:27:33isn't often highlighted.
01:27:37It is cute and it is amazing
01:27:39and it's regal and it's beautiful
01:27:41but it's difficult
01:27:43it's vicious, it's dangerous.
01:27:47Mapoho's showed us what it is
01:27:49to be a lion.
01:27:59Mapoho's
01:28:01Mapoho's
01:28:03Mapoho's
01:28:05Mapoho's
01:28:07Mapoho's
01:28:09Mapoho's
01:28:11Mapoho's
01:28:13Mapoho's
01:28:15Mapoho's
01:28:17Mapoho's
01:28:19Mapoho's
01:28:21Mapoho's
01:28:23Mapoho's
01:28:25Mapoho's