The Luwi Pride

Edward Selfe Two of South Luangwa’s most popular lions, Ginger and Garlic, were born into the Luwi Pride in 2008 and 2010 respectively

Egil Droge Funny Ear when a young lioness

Thandiwe Mweetwa A Luwi Pride lioness up in a tree with her young cub

Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania is famous for its tree-climbing lions. In South Luangwa National Park’s main game viewing area, if you are to encounter a pride up in a tree, most of the time it will be the Luwi Pride. Also known as the Kakuli Pride, it is the natal pride of Ginger and Garlic, South Luangwa’s most famous lions. The pride is currently made up of eight lions – three adult females, one sub-adult female and four sub-adult males.

The southern end of theLuwi Pride’s territory is the Chipembele 2 stream, while in the north they range as far as the Chamboo stream crossing. Inland towards the west, they travelalong the Luwi River up to the White Sand area, while their eastern boundary is the area around Zikomo Camp.

Up to mid-2016, the Luwi Pride was attended by the Nsolo Coalition of three males. Since the Nsolo males moved north to theLion Plain/Mwamba area, the pride has been regularly seen with the Hollywood Coalition male, who can be identified by his cut nose and missing tail tuft. make it possible for the ZCP research team reliablyto track the pride and collect key scientific data. Despite spending most of their time inside the protected area, the pride has not been spared from the impacts of wire snaring due to the illegal bushmeat trade; there have been two lionesses in the pride snared to date. One of the snared lions is a lioness nicknamed ‘Funny Ear’ who is easily recognizable because of her deformed right ear.

Funny Ear was two years old when she was rescued in 2010 because of a wire snare around her neck. The wire had started to cut through skin and muscle and would have killed her if she had not been spotted by a tour guide out on safari with his guests. ZCP, together with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and Conservation South Luangwa, rescued her and she made a quick recovery. Now aged nine, Funny Ear is a lioness in her prime who has raised her first litter of cubs. Her successful rescue story highlights the importance of collaboration in protecting Zambia’s lion population.

The ZCP team continues to monitor the Luwi Pride as they now transition from one coalition to another. Under the protection of the Nsolo Coalition of three males, the pride successfully raised all of the five cubs they had in 2015. They are now ready to produce the next generation of Luwi Pride lions and the task falls to Funny Ear and Garlic’s sister 369F. This is because lioness 155F is approaching the end of her reproductive years and 812F is too young to be a successful mother at the age of two and a half.