Maroni, The Oldest Lion In The Maasai Mara Appears In Awe Striking Photos

The Mufasa of the Maasai Mara stuns in majestic photos.

Elisha

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 21, 2021

Our wildlife friends are fascinating, yet none is as majestic as a lion, it's virtually impossible to find a wild creature as kingly as a lion. He called the king of the jungle for a very good reason and when the word 'wildlife' pops up, lions definitely come to mind first, these majestic beasts define the wild and have been a source of inspiration for many photographers.

Recently, Leighton Lum, a 33-year-old wildlife photographer captured with his camera the oldest lion known, and the resulting photos are nothing short of incredible. This photographer from Hawaii traveled all the way to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya for a unique encounter.

The award winning reserve has been Africa's Leading National Park for more than seven times in a row. Famous for the great wildebeest migration from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to Kenya, it boasts of an estimated 900 lions and many other individual celebrated animals.

None of the cats in the Maasai Mara, not even the deadly five-member cheetah coalition who prowl the reserve can match the awesomeness of the lions. Scarface and his three brothers Morani, Sikio and Hunter form the coalition of the "Four Musketeers".

Their tenacity, bravado and ferocity struck fear in all the animals, sadly, Morani is the only 'Musketeer' still alive, Hunter died in 2019. 14-year-old Morani recently gained the title of the world's oldest lion, after the death of his brother – the famous Scarface.

The pictures captured by wildlife photographer Leighton Lum thrilled as many people as viewed it, and we hope they arouse as much interest in you too.

Anthony Tira is a wildlife photographer who can identify quite a number of animals in the reserve by their names. According to her, Morani is the last surviving 'king' of the four brothers fathered by the Notch male lions. Morani and his three brothers have dominated these grounds for the past decade.

The photographer said:

“Morani was a part of a coalition of four males and he’s the only one remaining out of the four. He is a lone male who has been pushed out of the pride by younger, stronger males which is a natural process in lions as the strongest males will control the pride.”

Daniel Karino had worked as a tour driver and guide in the Mara for 12 years now, he says that it's a natural phenomenon in the lion society for younger, stronger males to push the older ones out of the pride. Guess that explains why Morani lives in solitude.

Of the 900 lions estimated to live the Maasai Mara, Scarface was the most respected and "sought after" by tourists.

Scarface, so named because of the deep scar under one eye and his dark scary face as well as after the famous character played by Al Pacino in the 1983 American crime movie bearing the same name. He earned his name from the scars on his face which are an undeniable proof of the tough life he lived.

Then Scarface slowly began to lose weight, walked with a limp, a sign that old age was catching up with the king. He succumbed to old age.

Leighton said:

“Just by looking at his face, you can tell this guy has been through a lot. He went from a young stud leader of a pride, a king, to a retired old man who still fights for survival in the Mara.”

Though old, Morani still looks stronger than ever.

The gestation period of female lions is 102-112 days, their litter size ranges between two and five cubs. Lions reach sexual maturity at age two and mate all year round.

Generally, adult male lions are naturally lazy, leaving the lionesses to hunt, and they sleep up to 20 hours a day.

Morani spends most of his time sleeping and resting. “They [the lions] are lazy by nature and can sleep for 20 hours a day,”Leighton shared.

He said:

“We spotted him in the morning, then went back at the very end of the day only to find him no more than 15ft from where we left him. Even when he does get up and sit down, it is a rather slow process.”

Morani's story is even more impressive, and inspiring when you find out he stood out, and earned the 'Lion King' title amongst hundreds of lions living in the Mara.

Help show Maroni to the world by sharing this post, show some love to the big cat, don't hesitate to share with your friends and loved ones. Remember: To Share is to Care.

Elisha