Gijima Males

The Gijima males were a coalition of two male lions found in the north of the Sabi Sands and south of the Manyeleti Game Reserve.

At the time of their deaths they were dominant over the Nkuhuma Pride.

Adult years
Not much is known of the early days of the Gijima Males, they arrived in the northern Sabi Sands towards the end of 2009 as males in their prime looking for territory. By the start of 2010 the males had settled with the Nkuhuma Pride.

On February 18th 2011 a Gijima male and one male offspring were seen outside of the perimeter fence on the main road leading to Gowrie Gate. A security team was notified and the lions were darted and returned to the Sabi Sands. It was discovered they had escaped the area through a hole in fence of the Manyeleti Game Reserve.

The following morning the lions had once again escaped the park. A policy existed mandating the destruction of any animal that had broken out of the reserve more than once and as a result of this, a Gijima Male and one male juvenile were shot and killed, and the second Gijima male was shot but escaped back into the reserve. When he was finally tracked down days later, he was euthanized due to the severity of his wounds.

It is believed that none of the Nkuhuma cubs sired by the Gijima males survived due to the arrival of the Matimba Males shortly after.