Dark Mane Avoca

Dark Mane Avoca is a male Lion currently found in the Sabi Sands and Manyeleti Game Reserves. A former member of the Northern Avoca Coalition, he seems to have loosely split from his brothers and has been operating as a solo Lion since 2019.

Dark Mane is currently dominant over the Talamati Pride.

Early Years
Born in 2013 in the Timbavati Game Reserve, Dark Mane hails from the Avoca Pride and was sired by the Avoca/Giraffe Coalition. His littermates are the Northern Avocas and his older cousins are the Southern Avocas.

Adult Years
After dispersing from their Natal Pride, Dark Mane and his two brothers, Blondie and Mohawk ventured south until they reached the southern sector of the Manyeleti Game Reserve. It was here they gained control of the Talamati Pride in early 2018. The Talamati Pride at the time was without pride males after the disappearance of the last Selati Male in 2017.

In mid 2018 the brothers pushed further south into the Sabi Sands and gained control of the Nkuhuma Pride. Like the Talamatis, the Nkuhumas were also without any pride males after the Birmingham boys moved off seeking other prides in central Sabi Sands.

Some point after this, the three brothers would slowly start to spend less time together as Dark Mane would spend his time with the Talamatis, while his brothers would spend their time with the Nkuhumas. Reasons for this are unknown, but with Dark Mane being the dominant male in the coalition, it's possible Blondie and Mohawk moved away in order to gain more access to mating opportunities.

In 2019 Dark Mane suffered an injury to his right paw. The injury failed to properly heal and left Dark Mane with a permanent limp.

2021 brought the first pride challenge for Dark Mane, when the S8 Male began pushing south and mated with the Talamati lionesses. As of mid 2021, the S8 Male seems to have control over 3 out of 5 adult Talamati lioness while the other two have remained with the Talamati sub-adults and Dark Mane.