I returned from leave to find out that all the cubs have now been killed by the Mapogo male lion who has come back to the West after an abscence of a few years. He has rejoined the coalition of 5 males and knowing that he is not the father of any of these cubs, he has snuck around knocking the poor youngsters off 1 by 1.This was one of the final images I took of the last surviving youngster a few weeks ago... a tired face that captures the story. He was briefly resting on a termite mound as his mother frantically traversed her whole territory trying to avoid the rampant male who would not rest until all the cubs were out of the way. A valiant effort by the lioness but he got his wish and all the females are now back in oestrus or pregnant!
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