{"id":15879,"date":"2023-11-24T15:16:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T15:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/?p=15879"},"modified":"2025-01-13T15:22:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T15:22:19","slug":"super-sized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/super-sized\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Sized"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hubble-live-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/eae\/image_asset\/file\/525\/content_Kafunta_Safaris_Big_price.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A super pride is a pride of lion numbering more than 15. A pride this size is formidable, able to dominate a large territory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conditions have to be near perfect to support and maintain a super pride &#8211; a great indicator of an ecosystem&#8217;s overall health.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Famous super prides include those in Namiri, Serengeti in Tanzania, The Greater Kruger, South Africa&nbsp;and the Okavango Delta, Botswana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Resurgence of&nbsp;Big Pride&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the South Luangwa, home to Zambia&#8217;s largest lion population,&nbsp;&nbsp;a super pride ruled the valley for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At its peak, a decade ago, led by the Nsolo coalition, there were as many as<strong>&nbsp;30 lion<\/strong>&nbsp;in the pride.&nbsp;The pride&nbsp;was affectionately dubbed &#8216;Big Pride&#8217;. It was a spectacular sight to see so many lions together and the pride was a huge attraction for visitors.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is entirely normal for prides to go through cycles and Mfuwe Big Pride has been no exception.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, changes in leadership coalitions and ageing females resulted in the group splintering and a dwindling birth rate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this year the fortunes of&nbsp;Big Pride changed &#8211; it&nbsp;welcomed 12 cubs taking&nbsp;its total number to 18. There are 2 males, 4 females and 12 cubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Coalitions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gangs of males, known as coalitions,&nbsp; and usually comprising 2 to 4 brothers or cousins, challenge for the right to breed&nbsp;with a pride&#8217;s females, taking over a pride if their challenge is&nbsp;successful. These coalitions enjoy a period of dominance before being challenged by another coalition. Males are in their prime at around 4-5 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Females can breed from the age of 2 years old until around 15 years old&nbsp;but their reproductive health is optimum from around 5-10 years old.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Image: Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) and Kafunta Safaris<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>We support the work of Zambian Carnivore Programme and Conservation South Luangwa in this area.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To explore trips to South Luangwa please\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/support-us\/travel\/africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here>>><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A super pride is a pride of lion numbering more than 15. A pride this size is formidable, able to dominate a large territory.&nbsp; Conditions have to be near perfect&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,517,545,44],"tags":[30,357,360],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Super Sized - Explorers Against Extinction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Big Pride, an iconic pride of lion, is regaining strength in South Luangwa in Zambia after a period of decline.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/super-sized\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Super Sized - 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