Jack – the handsomest lion
In real danger
In the last edition of Real Safari, I promised that this week I would write about the young lions known as Tom, Dick and Harry. Circumstances have taken an unexpected turn and I find myself obliged to tell you the story about Jack – the handsomest lion in Africa as the photograph above will doubtlessly confirm.
The story of Tom, Dick and Harry will have to wait another week.
Jack has been an Addo Elephant Park (AEP) favourite ever since he was born in September 2016. Regular visitors to the park have always exchanged messages about him on social media. Most of the time they don’t say much beyond that he is dozing next to a bush with his paws in the air.
Once in a while, visitors have spotted him walking from the Domkrag Dam or perhaps roaring in his deep powerful voice as he paced along the Nyathi fence. Those who are especially fortunate or patient have managed to take close-ups of his regal expression as he gazes over his domain – mostly the northern part of the main section.
Just short of five years old, Jack is hitting his prime as a male lion. It is the age when he is becoming really big and strong and it is the time in his life when he would normally seek out a pride to take over. Jack is ready to mate with lionesses and he is almost ready to fight for the privilege.
The problem is that there are only five other lions in the main section of the AEP so there are not any options about finding a pride. There are currently three females in the park, Josie and her two daughters Dawn and Duffy. I devoted a whole newsletter to them which you are welcome to read at: Josie and the girls. They stick together all the time – mostly in the southern section.
Two large males, Witwarm and Niklaas, dominate the attentions of Josie and the girls. They were brought in to the AEP in 2018 from the Karoo National Park. At around 10 or 11 years old, they are edging past their prime but they still make a formidable pair.
The two males usually stay close together. Occasionally they spend time with Josie and the girls but they haven’t managed to sire any cubs at Addo – mainly because park management has administered contraceptives on a regular basis.
In recent months, Witwarm and Niklaas have made sporadic forays into the north of the park in areas normally considered part of Jack’s territory. We are sure they must know about him because they have surely scented his odour and heard his roars.
They do not need any more territory because they occupy a large area with more than enough game to fill the bellies of five hungry lions. Witwarm and Niklaas decided to go north to find out who was making all that noise and whether there was a potential threat to their domain.
They walked north, spent about a day or so in the area and then it appears they returned to their area in the south of the park.
Addo fanatics became tense and chatting nervously on social media about a potential confrontation with Jack. Could he defend himself against two big males? He was getting stronger by the day, but was he fit enough yet to take on the two dominant lions?
After they returned to their territory, talk on social media reverted to conversations about finding a mate for Jack. He was lonely in his section of the park, but he was well fed and had all the space he required.
Jack would regularly prowl the northern fence of the main section that bordered on the Nyathi section of the park. He could smell, hear and sometimes even see the lions in Nyathi, but the fences and the road between the two sections kept them apart.
The pitch on group conversations rose once again in early May when park visitors spotted Jack tentatively moving south. He didn’t get too close to the southern part of the park, but he was exploring that side of his territory. People became anxious. Was Jack going off on a suicide mission? Was he going to get himself killed while searching for some female company?
The panic abated once again as he returned to his normal haunts around Domkrag Dam, Woodlands, Gwarrie Pan and the Nyathi fence-line.
The calm did not last long.
Field guide, Simnikiwe Nogaya, reported that three male lions were seen near Domkrag – Niklaas, Witwarm and Jack on Wednesday, June 23rd. He confirmed the sighting and noted that Jack had made himself scarce.
Social media panic ensued as those of us who frequently drove for hours on end looking out for Jack’s handsome mane imagined the worst. We loved sharing pictures of him. We appreciated Jack not only for his majestic appearance, but also because his first few years of life were hard.
A tough start for Jack the lion
Jack and Jill were born to a large lioness called Aardlam in September 2016. At 14 or 15, she was unusually old when she gave birth to the cubs. We’re not sure who their father was, but two brothers, Melvin and Gibson, were often seen with her and it is presumed that one of them was the father.
Both Melvin and Gibson have since been translocated.
While Jack and Jill were not yet two years old, Aardlam was severely mauled as she was defending her cubs against two adult males who apparently wished to mate with her. Serious wounds on her back had become infected, and taking into account her advanced age, park management decided to put her down. Her passing was widely mourned on Addo related social media. She was one of the first lions introduced to the AEP in 2003.
It was not certain that her sub-adult cubs would survive. They were young and had to learn to fend for themselves very quickly. They kept together and looked after each other. There are plenty of prey animals in the park.
Soon Jack was noticeably larger than his sister and his light coloured mane added to his imposing presence. His size was useful as on more than one instance he had to help Jill fend off aggressive hyenas. On one particular occasion at Hapoor Dam, 16 hyenas were counted harassing the still sub-adult twins. Jill was rapidly losing ground to the pack but Jack managed to save his sister and the day.
Jack and Jill were seen together often and people sometimes thought they were a couple. It is somewhat unusual to have a brother and sister coalition, but they roamed the park together and appeared to be thriving even after the sad loss of their mother.
Then just over a year ago, park rangers noticed that Jill’s radio collar did not appear to be moving. Signals were coming from just one spot. They tracked down they collar but found no Jill. It was just lying there in the bush.
Jack was around and was frequently sighted by guides and visitors, but no Jill. Some people thought she might have lost the collar in a fight, but no one spotted her.
As the weeks slipped by, we came to accept that Jill had probably died. Park management did not join in speculation as to her fate but social media comments suggest that either she was critically injured while hunting large game, or perhaps the hyenas had finally achieved their goal in eliminating her.
I enquired several times about what happened to Jill, but to my knowledge, her body was never found.
Jack patrolled his territory alone for about a year. He hunted successfully as he looked strong and healthy. He ate well, but without any company for dinner. He had no pride he could turn to for help. He had no lioness that he could mate with to ensure the continuation of his genes.
He roared at the lions in the Nyathi Section. They surely heard him but could not answer his challenges.
Niklaas and Witwarm, enjoying the company of Josie and the girls at their leisure in the south of the park, heard Jack and they could answer his challenges. There was no man-made barrier blocking their way.
A violent confrontation seemed inevitable. The older southern lions were preparing an attack against Jack. Surely the two experienced lions could finish off their young rival?
Swift action to save Jack
Soon after Simnikiwe Nogaya reported that the three males had been spotted near Domkrag Dam, park management acted to avert certain bloodshed and probable death of one of their big cats.
They chased Witwarm and Niklaas away and darted Jack with a tranquiliser so that he could be translocated.
He was quickly moved to the nearby Shamwari Private Game Reserve where he will be introduced to their Northern Pride.
SANParks issued a statement explaining that Jack’s translocation is part of the Carnivore Management Plan of the Frontier Region. This plan aims to restore or mimic the natural social dynamics of lion behaviour that would be found in large conservation systems.
For example, the tenure of dominant pride male coalitions is on average three years and therefore pride take-overs are mimicked by switching male coalitions across the managed parks, as was done in the Region in 2018.
SANParks is a member of the Lion Management Forum (LiMF), that coordinates the management of wild lions in South Africa. It ensures lion meta-population guidelines are adhered to and lions will only be relocated to parks or reserves who are members of LiMF.
The public outcry about Jack’s removal was at times quite heart-rending. He was arguably the most popular animal in the park and suddenly he was gone. Some of us wanted to see him one last time, and others lamented that we’ll never be able to see him again in Shamwari – an expensive private establishment.
We are dreadfully sad, but at the same time we know it was for his own good. He probably would not have survived an encounter with Witwarm and Niklaas.
Now only five lions remain in the main section of the AEP – Josie and her two daughters, Dawn and Duffy as well as the two males, Witwarm and Niklaas. Word has it that due to drought conditions, there are no plans to introduce new lions to the park – although there are rumours that one of Josie’s daughters might be pregnant.
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Thank you very much for this beautiful article of Jack and Jill. It was a pleasure to read it
I was fortunate to have a fabulous sighting of Jack on the Sunday prior to his move. Live l a long and happy Jack!