Deceased

Bibi

Also known as The Grandmother of the Marsh · Matriarch of the Marsh Pride

July 1998 – 6 December 2015

Born in Bila Shaka lugga, Musiara Marsh area, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Bibi was a lioness of the Marsh Pride, the lions of the Musiara Marsh in Kenya’s Masai Mara that became the most famous pride in the world through the BBC series Big Cat Diary. Large, pale-coated, with tattered ears and no tuft at the end of her tail, she was one of the easiest lions in the Mara to recognise, and viewers followed her for almost her whole life. Her name is the Swahili word for grandmother, and in her last years she was the oldest lioness in the pride, the one who kept the youngsters in line.

She was born in July 1998, one of eleven cubs in a crèche along the Bila Shaka lugga, and survived the day a herd of buffalo stormed the crèche and killed several of the cubs. As a young adult she conceived out of step with the other lionesses and, with very small cubs, found herself shut out of the pride. Big Cat Diary followed her through this time as a lone mother, a story presenter Simon King told on screen; her cubs were later killed by incoming males. Bibi was eventually accepted back and became one of the cornerstone females of the Marsh Pride. In 2012 she gave birth to Kabibi, “little Bibi”, most likely fathered by Scarface of the Four Musketeers.

On the night of 5 December 2015, after the pride killed cattle that had been driven into the reserve, members of the Marsh Pride fed on a cow carcass laced with the pesticide carbofuran. The next morning Bibi was found panting and foaming at the mouth, and she died, aged 17. The lioness Sienna and a young male, Alan, also died. Two herders were charged, the first prosecution for poisoning wildlife in Kenya’s history according to zoologist Jonathan Scott, who called her death the end of an era. Her line continues through Kabibi.

17Age at death

11Cubs in her birth crèche

~17Years in the Marsh Pride

1996Big Cat Diary began

Profile

Identity

Name: BibiThe name she is best known by
Nicknames: The Grandmother of the Marsh; reportedly one of the Blonde Sisters
Origin of the name: Swahili for grandmother
Sex: Female
Distinguishing features: A large, bulky lioness with a pale coat, badly torn ears and a missing tail tuft
Weight: Information not availableFor reference, adult lionesses usually weigh 110–180 kg

Birth & Family

Born: July 1998Born in the 1998 crèche of eleven Marsh Pride cubs
Birthplace: Bila Shaka lugga, Musiara Marsh area, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Birth pride: Marsh Pride
Father: One of the Marsh Pride males of 1998: Scar or ScruffyOne account names the pair Brown Mane and Scruffy
Mother: Information not availableA Marsh Pride lioness; her identity has not been publicly documented
Siblings: Grew up among the eleven cubs of the 1998 crèche, including the lioness Red; White Eye is listed as her sister or cousin

Pride Life

Role in the pride: Cornerstone female; in her last years the oldest lioness of the pride
Prides: Marsh Pride
Pride size: Information not availableThe pride numbered more than 20 lions at times around 2011
Years in the pride: About 17 years (1998 – 2015)Including a period as an outcast with her cubs
Pride-mates: White Eye, Red, Charm, Sienna and Joy, among others
Coalition: Information not available
Home range: Musiara Marsh and the Bila Shaka lugga, northern Masai Mara, Kenya
Territory size: Information not availableThe Marsh Pride’s range stretched beyond the reserve boundary onto Maasai land

Death

Died: 6 December 2015She ate the poisoned meat on the night of 5 December and was found dying the next morning
Age at death: 17 years
Cause of death: Poisoned: ate a cow carcass laced with the pesticide carbofuran, set by herders after the pride killed cattle
Place of death: Musiara Marsh area, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Burial: Information not availableA Kenya Wildlife Service vet carried out a necropsy; no burial was reported

Names & Meanings

BibiName

The Swahili word for grandmother, and also used for a lady or a wife. Given by the people who followed the Marsh Pride; who first used it is not documented.

KabibiHer daughter’s name

Her daughter, born in 2012, was named Kabibi, “little Bibi”, after her.

One of the Blonde SistersShared nickname

Fan accounts describe Bibi as one of the pale lionesses known as the Blonde Sisters. This comes from a fan wiki and is not confirmed.

Family & Lineage

FatherScar or ScruffyThe two Marsh Pride males of 1998. Scruffy defended the cubs when the buffalo attacked. Which of the two was her father is not known.

LionessMotherA Marsh Pride lioness whose identity has not been publicly documented.

Grandmother of the MarshBibi1998 – 2015

Crèche-mateRedAlso a survivor of the 1998 buffalo attack and the pride’s most accomplished hunter. Killed by farmers in 2010 after taking livestock.

Sister or cousinWhite EyeThe lioness with one blind eye. In 2011 she and Bibi were the last two of the original Marsh females.

DaughterKabibiBorn 2012, most likely fathered by Scarface of the Four Musketeers. She became a core member of the Marsh Pride.

OffspringHer outcast cubsThe small cubs she raised alone in the Big Cat Diary years were later killed by incoming males.

OffspringMany cubsOver 17 years she raised many cubs within the pride; most are not individually documented.

Life Story

July 1998
Born into the Marsh Pride, one of eleven cubs in a crèche along the Bila Shaka lugga.
1998
A herd of buffalo charged into the crèche and killed several cubs. Bibi survived; the pride male Scruffy defended the cubs.
1999
Scruffy was killed by Maasai herders after taking livestock.
Mid-2000s
Gave birth out of step with the other lionesses and was shut out of the pride with her very small cubs. Big Cat Diary followed her life as a lone mother. Her cubs were later killed by new males, and she was eventually allowed back into the pride.
2008
Big Cat Diary ended after twelve years, with the Marsh Pride as its longest-running stars.
2010
Her crèche-mate Red was killed by farmers.
February 2011
Recorded by the Mara Predator Project as one of the two remaining original Marsh lionesses, with White Eye.
2012
Gave birth to her daughter Kabibi, most likely fathered by Scarface.
5 December 2015
After the pride killed cattle driven illegally into the reserve at night, eight Marsh lions fed on a cow carcass laced with carbofuran.
6 December 2015
Found panting, foaming at the mouth and fitting, and died. Sienna and the young male Alan also died; the rest were treated by vets.
December 2015
Two herders were charged over the poisoning.
2022
Her story was told in the BBC/PBS documentary Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride.

Legend & Truth

The heart of the Marsh Pride

Jonathan Scott, who had followed the pride since 1977, said Bibi’s death ripped the heart out of the Marsh Pride. She had been part of it, on screen and off, for almost two decades.

Who was her father?

Jonathan Scott names the 1998 pride males as Scar and Scruffy; another interview names them as Brown Mane and Scruffy. Either way, which of the two sired her is not known.

A first in Kenya

The charges brought over her death were described as the first prosecution for poisoning wildlife in Kenya, and the case drew worldwide attention to retaliatory poisoning of lions.