THE KING HAS DIED
21 February 2019
I remember Mika’s arrival, almost fourteen years earlier. He was paired with another male, Kgala, and were procured from the Madikwe Game Reserve as a strapping four-year-old. This introduction was part of a project to re-introduce big game, absent for many years, back on Kaingo. A little while later, the elephant would also arrive…
Initially, the two males set out to explore and claim their territory. Lion tracks were found at all the extremities of the reserve. They had nothing to fear. They replaced the shy and elusive leopards as apex predators, expertly hunting their prey at will.
When, a little while later, two females arrived. Mika and the two females became an inseparable force on Kaingo. They ruled the hills and valleys. By now Mika was in his prime. The testosterone coursing through his veins made his mane almost jet black, with the typical golden halo of his Kalahari heritage around his head. He walked the reserve with pride. He hunted with pride as well, not reliant on the females to take care of his hunger.
He could often be heard around Elephant lodge, the echo of his roar sending vibrations through the buildings and our hearts. Sometimes he would walk past the reception area, leaving his pugmarks in the sand as a reminder of his passing.
Alas, time is the eternal enemy…
As Mika was ageing, it became clear that Kaingo needed some new blood. In 2018, a young lion, Simba, was introduced – click here to read more about Simba’s release. Mika was not impressed with this intruder on his turf!
At five years old, Simba was already a fully grown male. He had to fill out somewhat, but he was lean and strong. We waited for their first encounter with bated breath after releasing Simba from his quarantine boma.
The morning after his release, at about three AM, Simba and Mika were seen walking east past Elephant lodge. Both had bloody faces. Both had scars of their recent fight. Both survived.
Simba ran for the hills. Mika vocally proclaimed an even larger portion of Kaingo as his territory. Whereas Mika only very occasionally moved to Tamboti plains North of the lodge, he was now a frequent visitor. His tracks were found far and wide, keeping young Simba confined to the far Eastern reaches of the reserve.
Mika intensified his territorial marking, walking greater and greater distances every week. Gone was the potbelly gained by lazing around after a big meal. In its stead, he gained the crucial element of being a lion- the look of a killer in his eyes.
He became lean and strong. And fast. At times he would cover ten to fifteen kilometres in a single day. The two females initially tried to keep up, but soon the lure of sleep and food had them part ways with Mika. He would only occasionally be seen with them, and then only for a little while.
About a month ago, January 2019, we saw a change in our old warrior. He no longer moved with the consummate grace we were used to.
The meat and muscle dwindled from his frame. His skin became too large. His voice, once so imposing, became gruff. The yellow eyes that could look right into your soul became dull. Only flickers of the light and energy he commanded over the years remained.
Mika, the lion king of Kaingo, died somewhere between Monday 11 February, and Wednesday 13 February 2018.
Sleep well o’ king – we will meet again in the stars.
BUSHVELD GREETINGS