Caesar

Caesar was a male lion of Kenya’s Masai Mara and one of the five sons of the legendary Notch. He was born into the Marsh Pride, the pride made famous by the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, while his father was its king, and he grew up to be one of the six males of the Notch Coalition, the rare father-and-sons alliance that dominated much of the Mara for about a decade. Lion followers remember him as the biggest and most handsome of the brothers, and some claim he was the largest lion the Mara has ever seen, though no measurement has been published.

When Notch was driven out of the Marsh Pride around 2007, Caesar and his brothers, Notch II, Mighty Long, Ron and Grimace, were only about two and a half years old. They left with their father and, as they grew, took over pride after pride, including Fang’s River Pride at Rekero, the story told in Disneynature’s African Cats. Caesar is often described as Ron’s closest brother. After Notch died and Grimace vanished in 2013, Caesar, Ron and Notch II moved south towards Lookout Hill and the Sand River, where Caesar held the Lookout prides.

After Ron was lost in 2016, Caesar and Notch II were the last two sons of Notch. In June 2017 Caesar was found limping badly near Lookout Hill, and a vet from the Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit treated an abscess in his right hind leg while Notch II stood guard so fiercely that two vehicles were needed to keep him away. In early August he was reported limping again with fresh wounds, thought to come from fights with rival males. He was last seen on the evening of 8 August 2017; a week-long search found nothing, and he is presumed dead.