Mbombela’s notorious rogue lion has finally found his happily ever after.
This as he not only to conservationists’ surprise formed a coalition with three other lions in the Kruger National Park, but DNA tests also confirmed he shared genetics with some lions from the Kruger.

While nobody knows for sure how he ended up in Mbombela, the DNA results prove he is not a captive-bred lion that escaped, as many had speculated.
A Kruger spokesperson, Isaac Phaahla, explained that many lions in smaller reserves or captive lion populations also have Kruger genes, so the fact that he has them does not mean he necessarily escaped from the Kruger itself. It does, however, allay concerns the Kruger’s conservation teams had about releasing him there.

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After being captured at Sekelbos Estate in Mbombela on November 2 and spending seven weeks in captivity, a botched attempt at releasing the mystery predator in Mjejane Game Reserve on December 17 led to him being temporarily released in the Crocodile Bridge section. Fitted with a satellite tracking collar, SANParks rangers closely monitored his movements. Not knowing whether he was a Kruger lion, they were concerned he might be pushed out or killed by dominant prides, or worse, introduce diseases into the ecosystem.

Fortunately none of this happened. Phaahla said, after being released near Crocodile Bridge, the lion remained in the area for a while and fed on the carcase of an elephant that had died naturally. He then moved a little further north to Lower Sabie, where he lingered for a while. Then, out of the blue, his collar suddenly pinged near Tshokwane – an estimated 45km further north.

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Intrigued by the lion’s ramble, SANParks immediately sent the Tshokwane section ranger to investigate. That was when they made the astonishing discovery that the wayward lion had formed a coalition with two lions and a lioness, which puts them in a position to establish their own territory.

Since his release into the Kruger, the lion has migrated nearly 80km north, a statistic that leads Phaahla to believe he could quite possibly have made the journey from the park all the way to Mbombela.
He explained the Kruger had a strong lion population of about 1 800. In the park, he said, young male lions often encounter dominant males when they leave their mothers and the safety of the pride. “This is normal in lion society, but can lead to some males leaving the Kruger to explore new areas. Whether this lion did that is unknown,” said Phaahla.

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