Kruger Coalitions

I always admired the famous Mapogo coalition of six in the Sabi Sands and hoped I would see something like that one day. Little did I know that one morning in January as I drove out, I would see a similarly astounding sight in the Kruger National Park.I had barely driven 2km out of the Crocodile Bridge Camp in the early part of the morning and noticed several yellow eyes reflecting just off the road in the grass, and I immediately knew it was lions.

At first I thought it was a pride, but as dawn broke its light I realized something unusual. We counted two male Lions, then a third head lifted up from the tall grass and soon another two! I couldn’t believe my luck – to see five male lions together was truly extraordinary. Then, from nowhere, a sixth male lion lifted his head! A coalition of six male lions sitting not more than 20 meters off the road. I sat with them for about 45 minutes before they decided to move on.

I have come across numerous lion sightings, but nothing beats this! Who knows, maybe one day my other dream of seeing lions taking down a buffalo on the road will also come true.

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