Grimace

Grimace was a male lion of Kenya’s Masai Mara and the youngest 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 as 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 for his lighter, blonde-tinged mane, which he shared with his brother Mighty Long, and for the expression that gave him his name.

When Notch was driven out of the Marsh Pride around 2007, Grimace and his brothers, Notch II, Mighty Long, Ron and Caesar, 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. According to one account told by lion followers, Grimace was at first called Bob, and earned his new name after his lip was torn in the fight for the Maji ya Fisi pride, which he reportedly led his brothers Notch II, Ron and Caesar to take while Notch and Long stayed behind.

In 2013 Notch disappeared while patrolling his territory. A few months later Grimace vanished during one of his excursions into a rival coalition’s territory in search of new lionesses, and he was never seen alive again. Accounts of his end differ: some lion followers say his remains were found later, possibly in 2015, with wounds that may have come from the horns of an eland. His three remaining brothers carried on without him.