A RUSHING span of temporal texture may be assessed from this rendering since BBC's tremendous magnum opus, Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride has just been premiered in UK on 23 August 2022, Tuesday at 9:00 pm (local time of UK) on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. It is to be available on USA through PBS on 14 September at 9:00 pm (local time of USA). Fairly, it is turning out to be quite an opportunity for me to be able to etch the highs and lows of this dramatic encapsulation. Thanks to one of my close acquaintances, who eventually got it preserved and therefore, grappling the series here in India turned out to be possible. Simon Thomsett, Director and Co-Founder of Kenya Birds of Prey Trust, alongside the vets from the Mara Predator Conservation Programme, assembled to recapitulate one of the great loses that had taken place in December 2015. Eight of the Marsh Pride members had been poisoned, and our search for the truth – yet again the truth about lions, trying to live amongst human beings – turns out to be accelerated. As a matter of fact, it has been a tremendous pleasure to think of the orientation of the Marsh Pride, being featured by BBC and other international broadcasters quite extensively with all their tenacity and tenderness. Dating back in 1980s, more precisely in 1981, we have a projection called Ambush at the Mara (narrated by Sir David Attenborough) and then, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdoms, featuring the earliest tracts of this particular family of lions. In 1990, an hour-long documentary called Kali the Lion came on the air, filmed, produced and directed by Simon King, narrated by John King, highlighting the trials and tribulations of the pride, centering on Kali, one of the formidable lionesses in the making. But the most entrusted and prolonged chronicling was commenced when BBC's Natural History Unit came to film Big Cat Diary. For twelve long years, starting from 1996 to 2008, in all its nine series, the crew has extensively followed the hardships and good fortunes of the pride; they had witnessed the jeopardy in the heart and mind of the pride males, as well as the generations of handing down of crèch from mothers and aunts to their daughters and nieces. The recent years have not been a cakewalk for the pride life, and here we sincerely want to delve deep again. This is their story from the multiple autodigetic narrative angle, told by multiple individuals who followed them.
Jonathan Scott and Simon King, along with Jackson Ole Looseyia, have been the pioneering figures in following the intimate details of the pride life. Here, in this rendering, the trio of the presenters of Big Cat Live (2008) appear once again to recapitulate the old essence of the most celebrated lion pride.
Photo Credit: BBC
Like Simon King, the famous naturalist and filmmaker asserted, when Big Cat Diary started, back in 1996, he was considering himself to be fortunate enough to eavesdrop in a massive continuation of family history that has been repeating its essence since millennia. Merging his concerns with the voice of Keith Scholey, producer of the first series of Big Cat Diary, King states the life of the lions to be so magnanimous that can rival the topsy-turvy of a Shakespearean plot. The shortage of the prey animals pushed the pride to the edge of all hardships in 1996 as they started to film the pride for its first ever series. The old pride males were typically nowhere to be seen. Two 1-year-old cubs, three adolescents – two males and a female, were on the verge of striking out of their natal zone. Although the female offspring should be embraced by their mother and aunts to stay as a part of the pride. Amidst of the hardships, during the first week of filming, two stunning adult male lions were seen patrolling in Marsh area. Just like the "missing piece of a jigsaw," they were initially suspected to be the pride members but soon after their arrival, it was confirmed that they did not have anything to do with the pride. The Golden Mane, as named by Simon King in series, immediately started to advance towards the females but, he received a hasty retreat from their end. Backed up by his coalition partner, most probably brother, Black Mane, he chased off all the females and adolescents of the pride, causing chaotic disruption in the aparent stability of the pride.
Jonathan Scott in early 1980s, rendering some of the first tracts of documentation on Marsh Pride
Photo Credit: BBC
By the last week of filming of the opening series, the audiences were introduced to a lone lioness, who entered into the Marsh Pride's domain. She was sternly kicked out by the pride females. Perhaps, she was distantly related with the pride but in such a predicament of utmost nothingness of the stock, even the guests too, are to ousted so far as the lion society is concerned. At the end of the series, several lionesses were seen nurturing their newborns. It was quite easy to assess why they eventually ganged up to oust the big males earlier. The cubs were in utmost uncertainties due to the lack of prey base. On top of that, their fathers were nowhere on the horizon, opening up the ground for the constant vigilance of the nomadic males.
Tinges of the anecdotes from Jonathan Scott's scrapbook on Big Cat Diary stars, devotedly illustrated by David Scott, his son.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Scott
The essential dynamics started to be intensified when Jonathan Scott caught up with them two years later in 1998. He has been living in Kenya since 1977, and following the intimate details of these great cats ever since his early phase of career here in the Mara as an avid naturalist. By then, the situation was completely changed with the Marsh Pride of lions. Four adult females- Bump Nose, Old Girl, Khali and Notch were still serving the core of the pride, joined by one of their younger relative called Blondie. Scar, (erstwhile named as Brown Mane) a completely new male, had successfully taken over the pride, sharing power with Scruffy, his slightly less impressive looking coalition partner, giving the pride an ultimate shape of contentment and grace. Unlike the lack of assurance and a relatively nonchalant behaviour of the first series, the Marsh lions bounced back with all the promising layers of action. A whole new generation of eleven cubs were born, sired by Scar and Scruffy. The life of a dominant male is a tough one. Scruffy, the younger male, was almost certainly unrelated to his partner Scar. At the age or nearly six years, he never developed a thicker and darker mane. Here are two instances from Jonathan Scott's Stars of Big Cat Diary (2009), capturing the essence of the duo of this coalition:
The males could not have looked more different. Scar was a magnificent animal, large-bodied and resplendent in a luxuriant ginger mane that was turning black on his chest. Scruffy was so called because of a mane that would remain sparse all his life rather than thickening and darkening with age.
But looks can be deceiving. Scruffy was a warrior, braver and more combative than his regal companion, even though he was younger. Perhaps the two males had joined forces as nomads or been born to different lionesses within the same pride: the majority of male coalitions in the Mara consist of just two lions and in many instances they are not related. On his own a male struggles to take over and hold a pride. Together Scar and Scruffy had a future (p. 35).
Scar and Scruffy retreating from the debacle with the buffalo herd.
Photo Credit: BBC
Scruffy, even at one point, proved his ultimate solidarity by chasing off a herd of buffaloes ("The younger male charges to the rescue. He has fought hard to win this territory and these cubs are his futures" – what a brilliant narration, rendered in the series!) that were annoying one of the pride females who had three tiny cubs in the thickets while Scar, the typical "Glamour Boy", sought a refuge. They would have to go on with such a strong bonding so that their offspring would survive. The cubs were supremely thriving with the advantages of the situations. The brutal anagnorisis turned up on the scene when a herd of buffalo created the havoc in the nursery, and Jonathan Scott summarises the situation in the following excerpt:
It is the noise that I remember most, the lionesses' deep, rumbles of threat and fear, mixed with the grunts and throaty clicks of the buffaloes as they try to destroy the cubs. The buffaloes have smelt the lions among the croton thickets – now they can see them. They thunder forward, scattering the cats in all directions. The lionesses try to divert the onrush – they have seen all this before – attempting to draw the bulls away as the cubs panic and run into the open, terrified. From the buffaloes' point of view this is all about 'mobbing' the lions, trying to force them to move so they can eat and drink in peace. Killing lion cubs – even adult at times – helps to underline to even the most powerful of predators that buffaloes are not to be trifled with: a potent form o anti-predator behaviour (Stars of Big Cat Diary, p. 41).
Contrary to the magnanimity of the disruption, only one cub died in that trampling massacre. As Scott narrates here in the programme, "If you wanted to be led into battle, you would make the biggest mistake of your life if you went with the guy with the big brown mane over the scruffy one." He indeed was the real deal. If it was not for him, we certainly might have expected a worse scenario in the humdrums, because "when the chips are down, Scar was absolutely rubbish."
Every dawn in the Mara designates the possibility of new commencement amidst the harsh realities of life.
Photo Credit: BBC
It was certainly an acid test for the lionesses of the Marsh Pride to protect their youngsters from the enormous herd of buffalo a couple of years earier. As we observed the scene, it was quite obvious to expect the nemesis would dawn upon a large proportion of cubs. Quite amazingly, ten cubs survived that attack. And now in the progression of the third series of Big Cat Diary in 2000, they turned out to be the boisterous constellation of adolescents: "Despite facing seemingly impossible odds, at least eight of those cubs have survived and now they are fit and rather typical adolescents," says Simon King. "Though they may look laid back and relaxed, they've experienced a bit of a family upheaval recently. The young males especially have been pushed out of their traditional home by two adult males. Looks like they have every intention of taking over the territory." In 1999, Scruffy coupled up with a lioness from a neighbouring pride and they killed a cow, resulting in the grimmest catastrophe of being speared by a Maasai herdsman. This opened the door for the new invading males. The invaders were fondly known as the Blonde Males, and it was estimated that they belonged to the Topi Plains Pride, the southern neighbours of the Marsh Pride. Any takeover is quite a natural orientation of pushing forward the gene pools and for these new males, the Marsh turned out to be a melting pot of opportunities. With Scruffy gone, Scar was left alone to protect the pride. Furthermore, two of the older generation females (filmed in 1998) too were killed by Maasai, a consequence of taking down livestocks. Such a blow happened to be a terrible blot on the stability and the prosperity of the pride since in lions' domain, success is counted on the basis of numbers. The sub-adults would eventually proceed as the core of the pride but, that was still a long way to achieve. At the age of two years, they were just flexing their muscles. The eight surviving sub-adults – six females and two males, were joined by three slightly younger cubs (two males and one female) who belonged to Bump Nose. On thier trail to quench new domains for themselves, the Topi Plains males were a formidable duo to be reckoned with. They already had a few cubs in their erstwhile domain but, since the cubs were nearly a year old and there was quite a lesser threat of being killed by other lions, their fathers could be footloose and fancy free:
The blond males were in peak condition. Both were fully grown, though one was older and bigger-bodied than his companion. If they were related they were probably born to different mothers in the same pride, or, like Scruffy and Scar, they might be former nomads who had joined forces in order to win a territory. The Topi Plains males not only looked different, they acted differently. The older, larger male was always first to initiate a foray into Marsh Lion territory, displaying the confidence of a lion who had done this kind of thing before. He was the one who wanted to push on whenever he saw that some of the Marsh Lions were in residence, while the younger male was quick to turn back, long before danger threatened. This difference in temperament may have been due simply to the fact that the younger male was smaller and less experienced than his companion. But as we had already seen with Scruffy and Scar, being the biggest lion doesn't necessarily mean that you will be more willing to take risks or be tougher and more aggressive. It was fascinating to watch how the younger of the two males eventually grew to equal his companion in size, and with the advantage of youth began to hold his own and even dominate him if it came to a fight over an oestrus female. But that wouldn't happen for another year yet (Big Cat Diary Lion, p. 56).
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Blondie and Simba on the mission of flexing their muscles in the Marsh territory.
Photo Credit: BBC
Scar stood out as a remarkably precarious epicentre of the entire narrative. Intimidated and nervous, he could do nothing against this massive flow of young blood. For the dominant male lions, life is always a race against time. The Blonde Males started to proclaim their guts and, had shown their supremacy to everyone by killing a hyena in the Marsh, rendering an immediate effect on the whole community. Though this grotesque fate was never delivered in details on Big Cat Diary, here in this latest rendering, the audiences are indeed delivered with the reality of tooth and claw as the males accomplished the assassination, and reaffirmed their bonding in their "kitten-like floppy cuddles." When the invading nomads step in any lion territory, their attempt to kill any of the resident hyenas is but the indication of their bold assertion that they mean business. For a male lion, who is typically overstaying in his domain after pride life is a real challenge and obviously for Scar, the psychodynamics happened to be drastically changed, shattered. Scar's sons, the young males in the pride should have been chased away by him, in an absolute state of flux, they started to behave like allies with their father. Clearly, Scar needed backup, possibly from anywhere. He was feeling increasingly unsettled even within his own territory, and the essential psychomotor in him got diminished. Simon King brilliantly captures the moment when he recapitulates the Blonde Males assassination of hyenas: "Now, would Scar have come across the carcass of the hyena that they killed? Smell the saliva, and the urine and the scent of two big males? Maybe, maybe not. If he did, what a statement! What a calling cart to say, 'Mister, we're in, and this is what we do.'"
Scar with Kali and her new cubs, and Bibi, relaxing on the flip side of the story.
Photo Credit: Jonathan and Angela Scott
Scar had taken over the pride in 1997 or 1998 and just two years later, his leadership was found in quite a shaky predicament. He had to rely on his offspring for meal and, was typically hanging out with a bleak hope of further a pioneering the pride, though he never was such. As Bump Nose moved her three younger cubs into Bila Shaka Lugga (meaning "without fail", bestowed for a high success rate of raising youngsters), the eight sub-adults followed. Occasionally, they met Kali and her four small cubs of 12-week-old. Although Kali's daughter (later named Bibi) was warmly welcomed and often devoted herself in the duty of babysitting, her son received a less warm greeting. The two smaller male cubs of Bump Nose were the favourite ones of Kali's cubs, who used to scamper around them. Quite interestingly, the innate familial moments were not featured in the series. Rather, the show concentrated on the sub-adults' predicament – a bunch of young lions, trying to find their feet.
The Marsh Pride adolescents in an apparently contented frame amidst the recurring flux.
Photo Credit: BBC
Scar, however, only felt his prior position as a family man only at the points of snatching kills from the younger lions. Many male lions die a dreadful death at the hands of rival coalitions or loss their lives to hyenas. The crew never experienced a full-on scrap between him and the invaders. He was quite fortunate enough to cling on to Marsh territory for a longer while. In the meantime, several other lions invaded the pride's home range, making most of the opportunities. Some of the invading females started to hunt down confidently in the Marsh but, killing in other's domain does not certify one to be a territory holder. The future of the pride remained anything but certain.
Jonathan Scott's scrapbook page on Blondie and Simba.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Scott
Though 2002 rendered itself to be a flourishing state of affair for the pride, 2003 was indeed yet another year of transition (a chronological mistake can be traced out in the programme since the year had been narrated here as 2004, the very year when 2003's Big Cat Week was on air), not only for the Big Cat Diary for the change of its format, but also for the predicaments of the Marsh Pride of lions. Simon, along with a second cameraman Warwick Sloss, was back on the trail of the old friends of Big Cat, expressing in Programme 1:
This is rush hour Masai Mara style. Everybody is filing home after a hard night's work, but of course the commters here are lions. What an astonishing show of feline flesh. This is hundreds of kilos of lions just filing pass the cars. There are star pride of lions, known as the Marsh Pride and now, one of the biggest lion prides I have ever seen. There are twenty nine animals in a single extended family.
Kali, the grand matriarch leading the one-year-olds on their trail.
Photo Credit: BBC
One of the Marsh Pride adolescents trying to examine the presence of the car in its turf.
Photo Credit: BBC
But looks can be deceiving. Blondie, the older and larger male of the Blonde Males coalition who had taken over the pride three and a half years ago, was killed by a buffalo in May 2003, leaving his younger companion Simba alone to protect the pride and the domain: "The pride had attacked a cantankerous old bull at night near the spring that is the perennial lifeblood of Musiara Marsh, the lions' dry-season hunting ground. Though they eventually subdued him, they were to pay a heavy price," mentions Jonathan Scott. And, as we have seen with Scar, now Simba was left as the only dominant male of the pride. The success in lion society in terms of preoccupation of territory is counted on the basis of number. Scruffy was killed in December 1999 and since then, the ground was open for the invading males and, being forced to rely on his own offspring, Scar could do nothing in such a vulnerable juncture. Just as Simba and Blondie had estimated themselves as the new pride males, the history was about to be repeated. It is the recurring natural phenomenon that has been repeating itself as an age old process since time immemorial. The spotters had already reported that a pair of young ambitious male lions were seen prowling at the fringes of Marsh territory, looking for trouble. They could easily posit themselves as a challenge to Simba, prompting him to lay his life on the line.
Simba, resting in one of his favourite places in Musiara Marsh. After being singled out, controlling the prideland turned out to be increasingly difficult for him.
Photo Credit: BBC
However, the pride's swelling was a significant impression, caused by the proper nurturance and successful survival of the cubs. In 2002, Kali along with two younger generations females- White Eye and Red (Mama Lugga) had a total of ten cubs in crèch. The addition of six younger cubs (belonging to Lispy and Split Nose, the Blonde Sisters) made it up to sixteen boisterous cubs- ten of them were about a year old and the rest of the six were nearly nine-month-old. But, the tragedy was lurking behind the curtain of the picture of contentment. Bibi, this time, stood out as a remarkable individual. She had given birth to the cubs in August 2003, before the filming was started. She was about five-year-old, and was one of the cubs who were born and survived the buffalo attack in 1998. Jonathan Scott aptly captures her essence to be a beholder of "sweetness" about her character. Having failed to conceive at the same time as her pride mates, she turned out to be an outcast for the time being. It was reported that there were three cubs in the litter but when the filming started a month later in September, they were down to two – one male and a female. Prior to delve deep into Bibi's fortune, let us turn the pages from the memoir:
Angie and I had spot spot for Bibi. We watched her in early 2000 when her mother Kali gave birth to a new litter. At one-and-and-half-years old, Bibi was a gentle lioness who loved to play with the cubs as much as they did with her; she was fascinated by her younger half-brothers and sisters and would spend hours in their company, fine-tuning her maternal instincts in the process (Stars of Big Cat Diary, p. 100).
Ostracized by the pride, it was a real deal for Bibi to manage to get hold on all her motherly responsibilities.
Photo Credit: BBC
The lionesses often shun the new mother with much younger cubs while there are bigger cubs in the constellation: "Bibi had very, very small cubs, so she had conceived out of sync. She's been caught in an awkward situation, and she's just irrelevant to the rest of the pride. She had taken herself off to give birth and to have these tiddlers. It was [anthropomorphically] like to have a one-year-old whilst all your mates have got eighteen-year-olds." Knowingly, Bibi was keeping a healthy distance from the rough and tumble of the pride life. But, she was not a complete outcast. Simon discovers in the series that Bibi was "shadowing the rest of the pride, never getting too close — two kilometres or so — within the sight and the smell of the rest of the lions." There was good reason to follow the pride mates, and to maintain a safe proximity. The cubs' father, Simba was having his own problems. The two new males had already stepped in the Marsh territory. As Simon King predicted in the beginning, the trouble was brewing. As seen in Programme 1 of 2003's Big Cat Week, the two males had already launched an ambush to overthrow Simba:
At the key moments in the action it is critical everyone stays calm; get it wrong and you either miss the shot or disturb the animals and the moment fades. As the nomads approached Simba, Dave Breed was keen to move the camera vehicle to get a better angle for Simon — it was risky but if it paid off everyone would be more than happy. Simon was trying to film and commentate at the same time, no easy matter when you need to keep your eye to the viewfinder, gather your thoughts and sound coherent. But Dave had to break in. Simon agreed: 'Interrupt me whenever.' Dave moved hurriedly — it was his call and the right one (Stars of Big Cat Diary, p. 94).
The invading males closing their gap on Simba.
Photo Credit: BBC
And the chase began. Simba, though had age and experience on his side, wisely retreated – "Go Simba, run boy, run!" Nobody really wants to get injured in the clash. But, it was just an acid test in the beginning. Serious take overs do require a lot of time. When Simba and Blondie stepped in the Marsh, they themselves took a significant amount of time to be finally estimated males. Everyone would have expected a valorous gladiatorship from Simba, who would be pushing his lucks to oust the males, but lions want to live as any other on earth, and far from the make-beleive miliue of bravado, they tend to seek the refuge. These two outsiders were in their prime. The male with thicker and darker mane- nearly four-and-a-half-year old (who is often mistakenly identified as Notch, the next dominant male after Simba) was profoundly confident to proclaim his presence in other lions' territory- an act of ultimate provocation. His companion- about three-and-a-half-year old was less sure of himself and, stepped into attack only on the basis of dependence on his elder companion.
Perils on the corner.
Photo Credit: BBC
It was not at all an easy task for a single lioness to raise her cubs completely on her own. To flourish, lions have to depend on the alliance with their relatives and family members. Now, Bibi and her cubs were now completely exposed to the grave danger. Although, the males eventually lost interest and Bibi was successful to keep them away by her exaggerated snarls and grunts, and by always staying close to the cubs, keeping an eye on the inavders. Her cubs were spared for then at least. Meanwhile, the pride seemed to be doing well. Simba, their lone guardian was reported to be with them. In the Mara, it is massively difficult for a single male lion to hold on to the power. There are always some bands of nomadic males or others. Simba's only hope was clinging on his regular attachment with the rest of the pride. In their tenure, he and his older chump had done really well and, a brand new generation of cubs were flourishing there. The pride proved quite an incredible range of hunting success by grabbing a buffalo cow- having Kali, the oldest and the experienced one holding the position of muzzle suffocation, a "kiss of death"; and Kijana, Simba's grown-up male heir, adding some much-needed power to subdue it. Kijana, at the age of two-and-a-half-year-old, was able to stay within the pride and in the absense of a profound protector, sparing an extra muscle to Simba.
Simon King expressing his concerns for the predicament of Simba in Big Cat Week 2003.
Photo Credit: BBC
A martial eagle closely investigating Bibi's den at the fig tree, scanning the prospect of snatching one of her cubs, which was failed.
Photo Credit: BBC
Towards the end of the series, having some trouble posited by the elephants, the pride moved straight in the area where Bibi was staying with her cubs. The one-year-olds were keen enough to try to identify the cubs- whether or not they should be accepting them in the heart of the pride. At the end, the cubs were spared. Bibi was nowhere to be seen at the moment of harassment. She shifted herself with the expectation of having spared her cubs in her absense. The pride lost interest. The cubs moved away and was eventually reintegrated with their mother. Their chance of being seriously harmed was just reduced after having a rough introduction with the rest of the pride. At the end, in Programme 5, the Marsh Pride showed off an extraordinary scene by grabbing three wildebeest in a row, assuring a satisfying meal for the wholeness of the family. Bibi's cubs seemed to be doing well and apartmently safe; and Simba, their father, had remarkably fulfilled his commitment as a pride male and a protector despite all seemingly odds. It was a real sigh of relief to see him at least in unharmed condition. But those two males, or any new group of invaders were expected to be there very soon. Whether Simba would stand and fight, or would he eventually run for his life was still to be seen.
The Golden Four: Red, Bibi, Lispy and White Eye
Photo Credit: Jonathan and Angela Scott
Now in 2005, the Marsh Pride was blissed to have their successful core constellation of four adult females, often referred as to the Golden Four – White Eye, Red (Mama Lugga), Lispy and Bibi – all from the litter, born in 1998, the survivors from the debacle with the buffaloes, filmed from the second series of Big Cat Diary as the tiny cubs. They were to carry forward the legacy of the Marsh lions with eight cubs – five males and three females (who would have to gone on to be the most shining stars in the chronicle of the Marsh Pride). But above all, it all happened with the strong protective shield, conjured up by Notch and his coalition partner, the two new pride males. Bibi was eventually reintegrated with the pride but, her two cubs soon went missing, probably perished by the new males.
Notch as the newly estimated pride male in 2005.
Photo Credit: BBC
The eight cubs were ranging from three to ten-month-old and were born between January to June 2005. The youngest members of the pride was Moja, a tiny female cub (later named Charm) along with her brother and belonged to either Bibi or Lispy. To add more about the sub-adults filmed in the 2003 series, they all fled along with Kijana and the two female cubs (named Maridadi and Young Girl) after the rupture created by the opponents of Simba, their father and protector. They were able enough to put a healthy distance between them and the invading males. Nsu Nsu, another female from the 1998's crèch, seemed to act like a bridge up between the new males and the core pride but soon she too got chased off and later on, disappeared. Simba was found at Rhino Ridge, mortally wounder by some young adversaries and vanished. Now, after a natural cycle of restructuring and re-framing, the Marsh Pride represented a true picture of contentment.
The pride of contentment, with three of the Golden Four and the mob of cubs, sired by Notch and his coalition partner.
Photo Credit: Jonathan and Angela Scott
But this scene of contentment might be a bit misleading. 2005 was turning out to be a strange reproduction of the situation of 2003. Like Simba was left alone to fend for himself and the pride after the death of his elder companion, Blondie, Notch too faced a vulnerable predicament. He did have a coalition partner along with him, often referred to as Light Mane. A few months before the commencement of the filming of Big Cat Week 2005, his companion was attacked and killed by three adult males from Paradise Plain area. The lions can count the number of the presence of their kinds by differentiating the roars. A group of scientists, in order to testify the hypotheses, set up amplifier to reproduce the sound of lions' roar, hearing which, three males came to investigate and eventually Notch's partner had a nasty altercation with them, having the most fatal consequence, losing his life. The scientists never repeated such procedure of survey since these are preoccupied with the chance of getting lions killed at times. The cubs that were born during the aforementioned period, were fathered by both Notch and his coalition companion, so it is safe to assert that not the whole bunch, but some of them were sired by Notch while the others were either his nephews and nieces or merely some young relatives because we do not know whether Notch's companion was bearing a blood relationship with Notch or not. In the early days in Mara, at least fifty per cent of the lion pride were accompanied by two pride males and forty-five per cent of them were not having a direct relationship with each other. The seemed to have form a coalition while roaming in their bachelorhood. Same might be the scenario with Notch and his mate.
Old days of Big Cat Week 2005, featuring Simon King as the presenter of the lions' tale.
Photo Credit: Xavier van der Veken
Simon King had a gut feeling that at any moment, the apparent piece of the Marsh Pride might have been shattered since some of the spotters had reported that a pair of two handsome young male lions were located nearby, looking for trouble and, a fight could take place any time during this Big Cat Week. His assumption came true. Towards the end of Programme 1 of the 2005 series (again chronologically slipped out as 2006 in the programme), Notch was found confronting two young males lions of nearly three-and-q-half-years-old. They were not still fully ready to proclaim a domain on their own. Having an altercation with a full-grown pride male like Notch could also have serious consequences. He was alone, but determined to stand his ground. The invaders, on the other hand, though lacked experience and tenacity, were more in number. The table could certainly be turned on the solo fighter, Notch. A sense of brooding danger was built up gradually. But, the Marsh Pride male was found safe and unharmed the next day. Furthermore, to add a twist in the plot, he was being accompanied by a single young lioness (later named Tamu, the star of the next series). Whether the strange female was a part of the Marsh Pride or not, was anyone's guess at the moment. What was inevitable was that Notch was supposed to make most of the opportunities of having an affair with his new girlfriend. After a number of familial harassments, the Marsh Pride with Notch, the pride male, seemed to acquire a fragment of piece on the block. They seemed to be satisfied with the hunting opportunities presented to them and, their commitment of motherhood was a thing to be reckoned with. Notch, after losing his coalition partner, seemed to keep a low profile and used to hang on with the adult females. At one occasion, Red and the rest of the pride were seen killing a wildebeest and when Notch approached the kill, it was quote uncanny of a male lion. Simon empathically reassures:
Here comes the big fellow, slowly. Interesting – Notch has definitely lost something of his power in this society. He's right at the back of the group. We expect the adult male in the pride to muscle in and to take the intended lion's share. When he used to be with his buddy, the two of them would be charging in, and nobody would get in their way. Now, it's almost as if he's too nervous to eat! Notch, you really do need to get some of your confidence back. If those younger, bolder male lions turn up, which at some point, they must definitely will, you're going to be beaten up, driven out and, have your family scattered and killed! (Emphasis added)
White Eye and Bibi on the prowl with the cubs.
Photo Credit: BBC
Keeping a seemingly low profile and roaring in a limited range might have helped Notch to get a safeguarding but, as the series drew to an end, they all seemed contented and the stability of the family looked apparently safe. It was really heartening to recall a rainy play session of the eight lion cubs, absolutely drenched, and playing with full of intensity — "It's really is the kids going off and playing in the street together. Not from the same litter, not from the same mother but, very, very close" — the essential kernel of a pride to succeed. What strikingly astonishes us is Simon's firm assurance on the pragmatism of the pride after the earlier bunch of the older cubs were scattered, and Bibi's two offspring were likely killed by Notch and his coalition partner. The four lionesses had their own losses in terms of letting the cubs away from the core of the pride, but they would have to go on with it, that is the pragmatism of lion-life.
One of the rare frames of Light Mane, Notch's coalition partner, who eventually got killed by three males from Paradise Plain.
Photo Credit: Julian Aizpurvs
Credits
Sound Recordist: Tom Jessup
Dubbing Mixer: Joe Siddons
Dubbing Editor: James Spooner
Colourist: Daniel Gill
Online Editor: Edward Gibbs
BBC wishes to thank:
Governors' Camp, Porini Lion Camp, Tangulia Camp, Angela Scott, Marguerite Garrick, Stephanie Arne, Charlie Hamiton James, Jake Grieves Cook and Mohanjeet Bhar, Jayne Savage, Masai Cultural Arts, London, Mara Predator Conservation Programme, Kenya Birds of Prey Trust, Kenya Wildlife Trust, Dr Irene Amoke, Dr Nic Elliott, Kenya Wildlife Service, Olare Orok Community
Director of Photography: Brendan Easton
Composer: Samuel Sim
Editors: Ian Garvin, David G Hill
Producers: Ceri Hubbard, Jonathan Skuse
Archive Producer: Tracey Li, Amirah Daley
Archive: Mutual of Omaha, 6 Medias, CGTN Africa, AP Archive/ CCTV+, ITV Archive, Fremantle, KTN News, 60 Minutes/ Veritone
Head of Production: John Bryans
Production Executive: Dulcie Arnold
Production Managers: Arpana Paterson, Catherine Stringer
Production Coordinator: Laura Bunce
Edit Assistants: Greg Slater, Adam Bell
Commissioning Editor: Sreya Biswas
Director: Pamela Gordon
A BBC STUDIOS NATURAL HISTORY PRODUCTION
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