"4 Musketeers" The Masai Mara, Marsh Pride, male lions June 2012

I thought that before I become ensconced in front of the tv for the next 2 weeks for the Olympics I would do a quick posting of my pics. of the "4 Musketeers", the new rulers of the Marsh Pride, taken on my visit to the Mara in June.
Crossing into the Mara from the Mara North Conservancy, we headed towards Musiara Marsh and Governors Camp and saw a solitary vehicle with its occupants staring intently into the very long, wet grass with cameras at the ready.The object of this close scrutiny were male lions, relaxing and almost totally hidden in the grass. It was difficult to see how many or which lions they were until one of the lions briefly managed to rouse himself and take a cursory look at a passing solitary buffalo. From the markings on his face it was it was obviously Scarface, one of the 4 Musketeers, blind in one eye and with scars to match.. Not interested in the buffalo he soon flopped back into the grass, hidden from view. By this time the solitary Governors Camp vehicle had radioed for reinforcements and there were soon another half-a-dozen vehicles arriving at the sighting so we quickly moved on.
On our second sortie into the Reserve, a couple of days later, we were lucky enough to see the serval kittens (see my earlier post) and then headed to Topi Plains for breakfast. Unsurprisingly there were several herds of topi, hence the name, although one topi was missing as we soon found out when we saw three male lions tucking into their breakfast!! These were the other "Musketeers", Sikio, Morani and Hunter.Scarface we were later informed was off romancing one of the Marsh Pride ladies and so missed out on breakfast. Unusually for male lions on a kill, there was very little fighting and growling, only the sound of cracking bones. Having eaten their fill and after a quick drink from a nearby stream they headed off to find a cool spot in the long grass to chill out for the rest of the day.
I am sure these 4 guys will be a formidable coalition in charge of the Marsh Pride and it will be interesting to see which of them becomes the dominant male.
Safariman.
p.s. apart from Scarface I have no idea which is which of the others.

Hi Safariman, thank you so much for posting your account really enjoyed reading it and of course for posting your pictures, they are absolutely wonderful

You've maybe said in another thread but what dates were you in the Mara in June ? I was at the Intrepids from the 19th to the 24th. We headed over to the Marsh a couple of times but only saw Sikio of the 4 M's with a lone female, the other males were apparently out of the reserve when we were there so you were very lucky to see them all

A friend gave me this to help identify the 4 M's:

Scarface: Needs no descrption.
Hunter: Has a roundish face and a very dark coat, can't miss it.
Morani: Always, unless it rains, has the most unruly hairdo, it sticks up everywhere!
Sikio: Has a clip off the top of his right ear and a scar acoss the top of his nose just below his eyes. The scar may fade in time.

So from this I think your single lions are:
Pictures 1 to 3 - Scarface
Pictures 4 & 7 - Morani
Picture 5 - Hunter
Picture 6 - Sikio

What does everyone else think ?

I know I've a few posts of yours to catch up on Safariman and I will get round to doing so soon.

Doogs

Thanks for the identification Doogs, I was there at the beginning of June from 2nd-10th. I was staying in the Mara North Conservancy at Offbeat Safaris Mara Camp.

Safariman - wonderful photos and I love all the info you give us. Will have to ID later Doogs, waiting for the builder, but you're an expert on ID so I am with you! Scarface 100% for sure

Lai

Fantastic build up and photo's as always safariman and so pleased you posted them before we lost you to the Olympics......I may get a little lost in the next few weeks too......should have booked holiday really. Anyway, loving those photo's and the close ups are stunning. They really are handsome fellows aren't they and I am sure they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks for the ID's Doogs you are a star as always with the ID's on the Big Cats and yes I am also 100% with Lai........that is deffo Scarface he really has a rogueness about him doesn't he

littlewid-x-

We must stick together

Lai

Lai and get the jokes in before WS beats us to it

littlewid-x-

Another excellent set of pictures Safariman, thanks so much. I'm sticking with Doogs too guys! I'm starting to get the hang of the ID thing but for now I'll just totally agree with the rest of you, That certainly is Scarface! Ha Ha!

Ronnie

Another great post Safariman, again made by the story as you go along on your trip. Those really are a powerful set of images, the face close ups seem to ooze with the power of a Male Lion. I will also have to defer to Doogs on who's who.
Not sure what the are on about, me joke as if

Thanks again for sharing
WS

Great photos and narrative Safariman!

I love trying to ID the cats too. Scarface is a Legend.

SM