The male lion we call Marvin has been dominant in these parts for years now. Over the last year he has got into the habit of heading south into the territory of the next pride and giving the young male of that pride a good beating. Of course this means that he can extend his control over that pride too, breeding with the lionesses. As for the young male, somehow he has managed to survive and has stuck around, learning to back off from any confrontation with Marvin.
Recently, though, the young male has had a change of fortune. Another young male has come into the southern part of the park and he has teamed up with him. Together they are a force to be reckoned with and everyone is counting the days until they defeat Marvin and take over even his own pride. Sad for Marvin but good for the younger males – and it will certainly be good to have some new blood in our local lion pride.
We will keep you posted on developments regarding the inevitable decline and fall of Marvin. This is a photo of him in one of his favourite poses… obviously not too worried yet…
