What is a Super Pride of Lions?
A “Super Pride” of lions is a group with 15 or more members, with at least five or six males ruling the pride. Not many lion prides reach Super Pride status, and only a handful have been documented in Africa. The phenomenon requires the right conditions, such as enough territory and plenty of prey.
Photo credit: Chris Fallows / @chrisfallowsphotography
How big can a Super Pride of lions get?
Big! The largest pride of lions has about 20 members.
Over the past five years, we’ve been fortunate enough to have had two Super Prides close to our camps in the central Serengeti, namely Namiri Plains and Dunia.
We have seen Super Prides of between 24 to 43 lions. Guests Chris and Monique Fallows witnessed the Super Pride of 43 Lion close to Dunia, and captured this spectacular moment as seen in the image above.
The Super Pride of Namiri was run by six males called Wauwaji (“The Killers”). They split their time between the pride of Namiri (24 lions) based close to Namiri Plains and the pride of Kibumbu (32 lions) 15km west of the camp, closer toward Seronera — making the Super Pride a staggering 62 members big! Although the Namiri and Kibumbu prides would never mix socially, this was still a huge number of family members to be looked after by the six head honchos.
Why does a Super Pride form?
A Super Pride forms out of the necessity for survival, protection, and ownership of territory. Once formed, their ultimate goal is to keep their cubs alive to maturity. The greatest threat to a lion cub is that of another lion. It therefore benefits the group to have as many eyes and ears available as possible, to keep watch over the cubs.
How Often Does a Lion Super Pride Need to Eat?
The average pride needs to hunt every three to four days. With a Super Pride, they hunt every day or two, preying on larger animals. The Wauwaji favoured killing huge buffalos and elands, often within a stone’s throw of the camp.
The Story of the Serengeti’s Largest Lion Pride
What Happened to the Super Pride of Namiri Plains?
Late in 2018, the Wauwaji disappeared. We’re not sure why, but we believe they moved northwest of Namiri Plains camp. Now, the Namiri pride is much smaller but is still a very respectable size of 15 lions, run by two older males known as the Grumpy Men. The pride of six females, the two Grumpy Men, and their numerous cubs and young adolescents spend a lot of their time in front of our Namiri Plains camp.
The Kibumbu Super Pride split into two smaller prides. Punda is run by two younger males that are about seven or eight years old, there are six females and 10 sub-adult cubs. The remaining 20 members of the Kibumbu pride were originally run by Bob Junior – the son of the infamous Bob from the duo Bob and Ziggy. Although this pride has over 15 members, it’s not technically a Super Pride, as it doesn’t have the usual five to six males ruling it.
Bob Junior originally ran the Kibumbu pride on his own, but later he let a nomadic lion, Marley, join his pride. Joining a pride is no easy feat. As the outsider, a nomadic male must take his time introducing himself to the existing pride. There are numerous fights between him and the ruling male, but eventually, the new lone male will be allowed to eat with the leader. When he has finally made it into the pride, the ruler will allow grooming to take place.
Hamza, one of our Head Guides, later saw Bob Junior and his new partner grooming each other. So, Marley had made his way into the new Kibumbu pride.
Photo credit: Asilia guide Hamza Raza / @hamzavisram
Where Should I Stay to See the Biggest Lion Prides?
Namiri Plains
The Namiri Plains camp offers 10 spacious stylish tented suites (including one family tent) overlooking the Serengeti plains. Each tent has sliding doors running the width of the room, opening onto an expanded viewing deck with its very own standalone resin tub, perfect for an alfresco bubble bath with a chilled glass of fizz.
Before Namiri Plains was built, these grasslands were closed for 20 years to allow the cheetah population to revive. This conservation project was a great success and now Namiri Plains is known as a big cat haven, with plenty of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the area. With the next nearest camp over an hour’s drive away, you can experience the vast plains all to yourself.
Dunia Camp
Dunia is an African first. Its claim to fame is that it’s the original camp in Africa to be run entirely by women. The team is an inspirational example of what women can achieve in a male-dominated industry.
Located on a major migration corridor in the heart of the Serengeti, Dunia offers easy access to the scenic Moru Kopjes and the game-dense Seronera region, plentiful in lions and other big cats as well as elephants and various buck. You can start your day soaring over the plains in a hot-air balloon and end it dining under the stars in the bush. With eight spacious tents overlooking the Serengeti National Park’s vast golden plains, you can kick back on your private seated veranda with a chilled drink and enjoy the peace and stillness.
We look forward to welcoming you to one of these two spectacular camps in the Serengeti – book your Asilia safari today and get to know some of the biggest lion prides in Africa.
