If you were a guest at Rhulani in recent years, you may remember the two impressive male lions, which we called the "Kwandwe Brother's". Sadly we have to inform that one of the brothers has just died in a terrible fight with other lions, and the second was seriously injured a few days later.

"We all loved him", says Rhulani's Manager Gerda Kubirske, close to tears. Although lions are dangerous killing machines, and in particular the two brothers, they belong to our family and became dear to our hearts. "It is just too sad," says Gerda.

The Kwandwe brothers were an absolute highlight by their magnificent stature and the beautiful lion's mane. "They were born on 12 December 2009 and now have with six and a half years their prime age", tells us Sean Townsend, Rhulani's Ranger. For him, these lions mean much more than just a good sighting. He looks for the Kwandwe’s every day and finds them quite often. The guests love it.

At a young age, the two brothers were introduced in Madikwe. They were coming from Kwandwe Private Reserve, hence their name. Since the beginning, the brothers were inseparable, which is typical for male lions. They earned respect by their incredible strength and danger. They did not only hunt impalas or zebras. Buffalo and even elephants (!) belonged to their meal plan, which is rather unusual.

The brothers fought for their territory in the northwest of the reserve, which is the region where also Rhulani Safari Lodge is located. In heavy fighting with other male lions they created a vast territory and defended it successfully, side by side. In particular, they killed the former king of the region, called “Naledi”, who had become old at the time and could no longer fight.

We remember the moment when one of the brothers was seriously injured at the very beginning, and he had been treated temporarily in a boma. He had a few scratches on the face and body, and so we called him "Scarface" or "Limpy". His unscathed brother was called "Pretty Boy".

"Scarface" has, however, always recovered from all his fights, where he could count on his brother's help. But as we have now learned recently, Scarface has now lost his last, tough battle against other lions. We found the lifeless body in the savannah.

"For Pretty Boy it will be very difficult to defend the big territory as a single male, apart from the fact that he misses his brother," says Sean. And he is right. Just a few days after Scarface’s death, he was involved in another fight and got seriously injured, badly bitten between the hind legs. "He is now licking its wounds, and we just hope that he will come back on its feet".

There is at least a small consolation. The Kwandwe's will not completely disappear from Madikwe. They have left a wonderful heritage in the form of three cubs that can be seen with their mother.