Birmingham Male Coalition

The five members of the Birmingham Coalition in 2015

The Birmingham males, also known as the Gowrie Males are coalition currently composed of one remaining male, named Nhenha. Originally a coalition of five, four members, Tinyo, Nsuku, Mfumo and Scrapper have since passed away.

The sole remaining Birmingham male is currently in a nomadic coalition with offspring, the Nkuhuma Male (2016).

#### **Early Years**

The Birmingham/Gowrie males were born in 2010 and 2011 to the Birmingham Pride in the Timbavati Game Reserve and were sired by the Old Birmingham Males. They are the younger relatives of the Matimba Males, as well as the brothers/cousins of the original three Nharu Pride lionesses who broke away from the Birmingham Pride in 2015.

#### **Adult Years**

The Gowrie males dispersed from the Birmingham Pride around 2014 and as is typical of lions from the Timbavati, they began their journey south towards the Manyeleti and Sabi Sands Game Reserves.

In 2015 the five males made their first appearance in the northern Sabi Sands, which at the time was held by the Two Southern Matimba Males. Realising that numbers were against them, the two Matimbas vacated the area which was then quickly scooped up by the new males. Included in this territory were the Nkuhuma, Torchwood and Styx Prides. During this time three Styx cubs and one Nkuhuma sub-adult were killed, along with one (possibly two) adult lioness from the Styx Pride and two adult lionesses from the Nkuhuma Pride.

2016 saw the first death of the Birmingham Coalition, as the youngest member Scrapper was seen in poor condition and died shortly after. The exact cause of his death is still debated, with an injury caused by a Buffalo or some sort of disease being the two most common theorised causes.

The coalition spent the next few years in the north, siring many cubs with the three prides. Some of whom were unfortunately lost due to white muscle disease and severe bouts of mange.

In 2017 the four males began occasional forays south into central Sabi Sands, which at the time was the territory of the ageing Majingilane Males, during this time some cubs of the Kambula Pride were killed by the coalition.

By 2018 the last remaining Majingilane males had passed away leaving a vacancy in the central Sabi Sands. The four Birmingham males took advantage of this and pushed south, taking the Mhangeni, Kambula and Tsalala Prides. In doing so however, the males abandoned their prides in the North, and the Nkuhuma Pride was taken over by the Northern Avocas shortly after.

2018 saw the death of the second member Mfumo followed by the death of the third member Nsuku, in 2019. Mfumo disappeared after wandering north, reasons for his death are unknown. Nsuku died following a severe hip injury that prevented him from using one of his back legs, the complications from this injury caused him to lose condition and health until he passed away.

In 2021 the remaining two members successfully defended their territory from a takeover attempt by the Othawa Male, killing him in the process. This however would only mark the start of incursions into their territory that year. By mid-2021 the Northern Avocas had successfully pushed south from their territory in Northern MalaMala, forcing the two Birmingham males to flee southwards. Two females of the Kambula Pride were seen mating with the Avoca males, and two Kambula pride cubs were believed to have been killed during events.

Late 2021 would prove even more disastrous for the coalition as the four Ndzhenga Males pushed far north from their territory in the Southern Sabi Sands. The Birmingham males, finding themselves sandwiched between two coalitions, fled east towards the Kruger border. It was around this event that the second Birmingham male, Tinyo disappeared and is believed to have passed away from unknown causes.

#### **Offspring sired by the Birmingham Coalition**

There are currently 30 lions suspected to have been sired by the Birmingham Males

* Five females from the Torchwood Pride - born in 2016
* One male from the Torchwood Pride - born in 2016
* Three females from the Nkuhuma Pride - born in 2016
* One male from the Nkuhuma Pride - born in 2016
* One male from the Styx Pride - born in 2016
* One female from the Styx Pride - born in 2017
* One female from the Mhangeni Pride - born in 2018
* Five females from the Kambula Pride - born in 2018
* Four males from the Kambula Pride - born in 2018
* One female from the Kambula Pride - born in 2019
* One Male from the Kambula Pride - born in 2019
* One female from the Tsalala Pride - born in 2019
* Two cubs from the Kambula Pride - born in 2020
* Three cubs from the Kambula Pride - born in 2021