Coalition · Status uncertain

The Inselberg Males

Also known as The Ngiro Are Males · Mara Triangle, Kenya

c. 2018 – present

Origin: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (believed)

The Inselberg Males are a coalition of male lions in the Mara Triangle, the western part of Kenya’s Masai Mara. They take their name from the inselbergs, the isolated rocky hills near the border with Tanzania’s Serengeti where they first held territory, and are also known as the Ngiro Are or Ngiroare males. There were five of them: Manywele, Ruka, Nusu, Slit Lip and a fifth male usually called Olopolosie. Each is easily recognised by his scars: Slit Lip by a cleft upper lip, Nusu by a broken lower tooth, Ruka by torn ears.

Their origin is not certain. The Mara Predator Conservation Programme first recorded them in 2018 along the Kenya–Tanzania border on the Triangle side and believes they came from the neighbouring Serengeti; fans say they were first filmed around 2017 in the Lamai area of the northern Serengeti and were born around 2013–2014. By January 2020 all five were established in the south of the Triangle, where they took over prides including the Nasipa, Egyptian Goose and Purungat prides.

In late July 2022 Slit Lip, who often spent time alone with the prides, was caught and killed in a clash in which one of the young Nyati males also died. As the remaining four moved east towards Serena and Maji Machafu, the Nyati males took their old ground. By 2024 the Inselbergs were crossing the Mara River into the National Reserve, and in early 2025 Ruka was injured in a fight with the Kaskaz males from the Serengeti. The Purungat Pride’s young were all fathered by them. In 2026 fans reported that Manywele and Olopolosie had not been seen for many months; their fate has not been confirmed.

Members

M Often seen as dominant after 2022 Manywele c. 2013/14 – Dark-maned. Reported unseen for months in 2026. Read the full record R Torn ears Ruka c. 2013/14 – Lost much of the sight of his left eye in 2022, reportedly in a fight with Manywele. Injured by the Kaskaz males in 2025. Read the full record N Broken tooth Nusu c. 2013/14 – Named for half of a lower tooth. Read the full record O The fifth male Olopolosie c. 2013/14 – Long unnamed; also reported as Ginger or Mkia. Reported unseen for months in 2026. Read the full record S Cleft lip Slit Lip c. 2013/14 – July 2022 Killed alone in a clash with rival males, probably the Nyati males. Read the full record

5Members at their peak

4Members after 2022

~8Years in the Triangle

2018First recorded

Profile

Coalition

Members: Manywele, Ruka, Nusu, Olopolosie and Slit Lip
Relationship: Information not availableBelieved to be brothers or close relatives; not documented
Origin / birthplace: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (believed)Fans say the Lamai area of the northern Serengeti; born around 2013–2014
How it formed: Arrived together from the Serengeti; first recorded in the Mara Triangle in 2018

Reign

Area: Southern and central Mara Triangle, from the inselbergs on the border to Serena and Maji Machafu; later across the Mara River around Lookout
Prides ruled: Nasipa, Egyptian Goose and Purungat prides, among others; the Maji Machafu and Sand River lionesses
Took over from: Information not available
Reign: About 8 years so far (c. 2018 – present)
Territory size: Information not available

End

End of the coalition: Information not availableSlit Lip died in July 2022. In 2026 Manywele and Olopolosie were reported unseen for many months; not confirmed
Successors: Information not availableThe Nyati males took part of their former territory after 2022

Names & Meanings

Inselberg MalesCoalition name

After the inselbergs, isolated rocky hills near the Kenya–Tanzania border in the south of the Mara Triangle, where they held territory.

Ngiro Are / Ngiroare NomadsOther name

Used by the Mara Predator Conservation Programme and some guides.

RukaMember

From ruruka, which Angama’s guides translate as “tear”, for the tears in his right ear.

NusuMember

Swahili for half, for the half-missing bottom right tooth.

Slit LipMember

For his split upper lip, possibly a birth defect.

OlopolosieMember

The name later used for the fifth male, who was long unnamed. He is probably the male some reports call Ginger or Mkia; this is not confirmed.

Story of the Coalition

c. 2013 – 2014
Born, believed to be in the Serengeti; fans place them in the Lamai area of the north.
c. 2017
Reportedly filmed in Lamai, northern Serengeti, with the first pride they took over.
2018
First recorded by the Mara Predator Conservation Programme on the Kenya side of the border in the Mara Triangle.
January 2020
All five established in the south of the Triangle around the inselbergs.
2020 – 2021
Guides at Angama began naming them: Manywele, Ruka, Nusu, Slit Lip and an unnamed fifth male.
June 2022
Ruka’s left eye was badly damaged, presumably in a fight with his brother Manywele.
Late July 2022
Slit Lip was caught alone and killed by rival males, most likely the Nyati males, who lost one of their own in the clash.
2023
The four survivors moved east, establishing themselves from Serena’s Sundowner Hill to Maji Machafu and coming into conflict with the Serena males.
Late 2024
All four were reported back in the Triangle, Manywele limping. They began crossing the Mara River into the National Reserve around Lookout.
Early 2025
Ruka was injured in a fight with the Kaskaz males from the Serengeti. The Purungat Pride’s sub-adults, all fathered by the Inselbergs, were noted to be almost maneless.
2026
Fans reported that Manywele and Olopolosie had not been seen for many months, leaving Ruka and Nusu. Not confirmed.

Legend & Truth

Two lions called Manywele

Manywele of the Inselbergs is not the same lion as Manywele, the young male who rules the Black Rock Pride with Oloiborr. The two share a name, and both have lived in the Mara, which causes frequent confusion.

Who killed Slit Lip?

Angama’s guides describe a clash between the Inselbergs and the Nyati males in which one male from each side died. Some fans thought the Bila Shaka males might have been responsible. Both coalitions were in the area at the time.

One male, several names

The fifth Inselberg male was unnamed for years. Later sources call him Olopolosie; others list a Ginger or a Mkia in the coalition. They are probably the same lion, but this has not been confirmed.