Whenever I grow world-weary, I revisit legendary figures that keep my spirit engaged and committed to live my own life with inspiration, determination and courage.
Back in September of 2006, I mentioned the story of a lion named Ntchwaidumela (n-twy-du-MAY-la) in a conversation here. Ntchwaidumela’s name translates into English as, “He who greets with fire”. One of my personal favorites here was similarly inspired by the story and encouraged me to write the account of this lion’s life for the community.
I've been thinking about Ntchwaidumela's style a lot lately. Although every prominent member of the pride he became known for reigning with is just as impressive in their own ways, I'm going to concentrate on Ntchwaidumela as just one example of what real heroism through hardship looks like.
It’s late afternoon on the Botswana marshland of Savuti. The air, thick and pungent with the scent of wild sage and countless animals, hulks over the grassy plains. A prodigious lion named Mandevu has wandered away from his pride, patrolling a clearing without his brother; standing nearby is a ferociously bold new hyena matriarch. An incredible drama is about to unfold under the alert eyes of two formidable lionesses: Maome, the pride’s dominant lioness, and a pride daughter Motsumi.
The newly established hyena matriarch is taunting the pride male, aggressively scent-marking against him. Cross-species scent-marking is unusual, but this matriarch is engaged in more than marking boundary for her clan. She’s defiantly challenging Mandevu’s dominance of the area. It's a high-stakes psychological game and she is winning.
Mandevu is an enormous lion but he is alone and, after being harangued to edge of safety, he trots away to avoid being attacked by the gathering clan of hyena’s responding to the matriarch’s unmistakable rallying cries.
Motsumi, the pride’s keenest hunter, leads the lionesses out onto the grasslands to confront the hyenas as Mandevu departs. She makes a few faint-hearted pursuits of lower ranking hyenas before turning her attention to the matriarch. She flanks the clan and crouches, zeroing in on the matriarch’s movements. Her muscles coil and launch her into a full run after the hyena.
Ntchwaidumela has heard the frenzied racket of hyenas and shows up to investigate. He emerges onto the clearing and immediately bursts into a gallop to join Motsumi in the hunt for the matriarch. Motsumi lunges forward and unsheathes her massive claws, snatching the hyena’s hind leg and spinning the matriarch around near a termite mound. Motsumi pulls up short as Ntchwaidumela takes over the chase. The matriarch instantly regains her orientation and takes off again. She pulls ahead briefly but Ntchwaidumela ultimately closes the distance with several strides and tackles the matriarch. Within seconds her windpipe is being closed in Ntchwaidumela’s powerful jaws.
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That is not a gratuitous recount of harsh wildlife reality. Ntchwaidumela became known as “the hyena killer” because he showed a pointed aggression towards hyenas. But the phenomena of Maome’s pride warring with this clan of hyenas preceded the takeover by Mandevu and Ntchwaidumela. Previous pride males also warred with this clan. And there may be a reason for it apart form the normal animosity that exists between predators that routinely clash and scavenge from each other.
Calculating the weight of Maome’s pride versus the clan of hyenas provided an astounding alternative reason that Ntchwaidumela might have targeted hyena matriarchs specifically in his lethal charges. The clan of hyenas had the advantages of being both a stronger presence on the plains and also the better odds for successful hunting. That is overwhelming competition, from another super predator, for a limited food supply.
Killing hyena matriarchs, as Ntchwaidumela did, disrupts the clan’s social structure. It can take months for a new matriarch to emerge from within the group. Without a matriarch to help coordinate the exploitation of chaos, the swarming style of the hyena hunt is nowhere near as effective.
So what kind of character was Ntchwaidumela, aside from being Savuti’s legendary “hyena killer”? He was smaller than his brother Mandevu, but he was still the most beautiful lion I’ve ever seen. With other lions in his pride he was laid-back, even deferential, and yet he took his duties as hunter and protector very seriously. He had terrific instincts for maintaining the balance of power in disputes and he took extraordinary risks to defend himself and his pride.
Ntchwaidumela's tour de force style had him charging a raging bull elephant at a watering hole, making a habit of challenging buffalo, and harassing the pride’s most able competitors. That qualifies as leading a remarkably brave life, especially in a place where one terrible injury most often results in certain, agonizing death.
Ntchwaidumela's courage had purpose within a core group of extraordinary lions that tried to keep the odds working their pride's favor. As long as they remained together, they did have remarkable success in Savuti.
Mandevu and Ntchwaidumela reigned confidently with Maome’s pride for several years afterwards. Harmony within the pride was so strong that the two lions allowed a beloved old male to return to Maome's pride for his final days of life. But Maome’s pride suffered greatly after Mandevu and Ntchwaidumela were pushed off.
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Maome's pride was taken over by an unusual, roving band of brothers that split their attention between two prides. They would often disappear for long periods between appearances while Maome’s pride struggled to survive without the protection and hunting assistance; the results were predictably unfortunate.
Savuti lions, both males and females, participate in hunts. Motsumi tried valiantly to keep her pride from succumbing to starvation without the males around but she was gored by a buffalo on a desperate hunt. The grand dame of the pride, Maome, was last seen starving to death along with her pride sisters; her once fierce presence was barely recognizable beneath her gaunt frame and dimming amber eyes.
Mandevu and Ntchwaidumela, like most ousted lions in Savuti, wandered northward from one territory to next, through a network of territories that eventually requires these older lions to cross a government-sanctioned hunting ground.
Trophy hunters killed both of the long-reigning lions, from the safety of vehicles, as they moved from one protected preserve to another in 1991.
I know that wherever Ntchwaidumela’s skin hangs, on a wall somewhere in the U.S.A., perhaps, the new owners have no idea of the life that this lion lived. The daily heroics, the matings, the battles with elephants and buffalo, and, of course, his almost nightly vendettas against hyenas can never be seen on his fading skin.
Dereck Joubert, ‘Hunting with the Moon: The Lions of Savuti’
And so it goes.
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I'll tell you what motivates me most about Ntchwaidumela’s story: he was more than he appeared to be.
Mandevu towered over Ntchwaidumela but that did not keep Ntchwaidumela from being the bravest of souls, willing to work as a team member and take personally dangerous risks to shoulder responsibility for the welfare of his pride. His instincts and his behaviour made a legend of him.
Success and glory are never guaranteed. But I take heart in knowing that good instincts, an indomitable spirit and a sense of duty can make legends of those of us that are trying to do the right thing, for the right reasons, too.
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The true account of Ntchwaidumela’s life would never have been known to me without those dedicated to documenting and preserving it.
For more about these lions and many others associated with this pride: Read the vividly written book, filled with stunning images, 'Hunting With the Moon: The Lions of Savuti,' by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, or watch the heart-rending and inspirational film 'Eternal Enemies: Lions & Hyenas,' produced by National Geographic.