Fate unknown

Manywele

Also known as Manywele of the Inselbergs · The Dark Mane of the Mara Triangle

c. 2013/14 – present

Born in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (believed)

Manywele is one of the five Inselberg Males, the coalition that crossed from Tanzania’s Serengeti into the Mara Triangle of Kenya around 2018. With his heavy dark mane he is the most photographed of the brothers, and after the death of Slit Lip in 2022 many guides and fans regarded him as the coalition’s most dominant male. He was also hard on his own brothers: in June 2022 Ruka’s left eye was badly damaged, presumably in a fight with Manywele.

The Inselberg Males take their name from the inselbergs, isolated rocky hills near the Kenya–Tanzania border in the south of the Mara Triangle. The five are believed to have come from the Serengeti, where fans say they were first filmed in the Lamai area around 2017, and were first recorded on the Kenyan side by the Mara Predator Conservation Programme in 2018. By January 2020 all five held the south of the Triangle, ruling the Nasipa, Egyptian Goose and Purungat prides, among others.

After 2022 Manywele led the surviving four east through the Triangle towards Serena and Maji Machafu, and by 2024 across the Mara River, where Angama’s guides found him chasing cheetahs off a kill. In late 2024 he was seen with a limp. In 2026 fans reported that he had not been seen for many months; his fate has not been confirmed. He is not the same lion as Manywele of the Black Rock Pride.

~8Years in the Triangle

5Males in his coalition

~12Age in 2026

2018First recorded

Profile

Identity

Name: ManyweleThe name he is best known by
Nicknames: Manywele of the Inselbergs
Origin of the name: Given by Mara Triangle guidesProbably from the Swahili for hair, for his mane; not confirmed
Sex: Male
Distinguishing features: A heavy dark maneA limp was noted in late 2024
Weight: Information not availableFor reference, adult male lions usually weigh 150–260 kg

Birth & Family

Born: c. 2013 – 2014Estimated; not recorded
Birthplace: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (believed)Fans say the Lamai area of the northern Serengeti
Birth pride: Information not availableNot known
Father: Information not available
Mother: Information not available
Siblings: Manywele, Ruka, Nusu, Olopolosie and Slit Lip (brothers or close relatives)Their relationship has not been documented

Reign

Pride king: Yes; often regarded as the dominant Inselberg after 2022
Prides ruled: Nasipa, Egyptian Goose and Purungat prides, among othersRuled with his brothers
Pride size: Information not available
Reign: About 8 years so far (c. 2018 – present)
Ruled with: His Inselberg brothers
Coalition: The Inselberg Males
Home range: The Mara Triangle, Kenya, from the inselbergs on the border to Serena and Maji Machafu; later across the Mara River
Territory size: Information not available

Death

Died: Information not availableReported unseen for many months in 2026; not confirmed
Age at death: Information not availableAbout 12 in 2026
Cause of death: Information not available
Place of death: Information not available
Burial: Information not available

Names & Meanings

ManyweleName

Probably from the Swahili nywele, hair, for his heavy mane; the meaning has not been confirmed by the guides who named him.

Manywele of the InselbergsFull name

Used to tell him apart from Manywele, the younger Black Rock Pride male who rules with Oloiborr.

Family & Lineage

Not knownParentsTheir parents were never identified; they arrived in the Triangle from the Serengeti as adults.

Inselberg maleManywelec. 2013/14 –

BrotherRukaTorn right ear; lost much of the sight of his left eye in 2022. Injured by the Kaskaz males in 2025.View record →BrotherNusuNamed for his half-broken lower tooth.View record →BrotherOlopolosieThe long-unnamed fifth male, probably the one also called Ginger. Reported unseen for months in 2026.View record →BrotherSlit LipCleft upper lip. Killed in July 2022, the first of the five to die.View record →

OffspringCubs of the coalitionFathered with his brothers in the Triangle prides, including the Purungat Pride’s sub-adults, noted in 2025 for being almost maneless. In a coalition, which male fathered which cub is not known.

Life Story

c. 2013 – 2014
Born, believed to be in the Serengeti, Tanzania.
c. 2017
Reportedly filmed with his brothers in the Lamai area of the northern Serengeti.
2018
First recorded with his brothers on the Kenyan side of the border in the Mara Triangle.
January 2020
All five Inselberg males held the south of the Triangle around the inselbergs.
2020 – 2021
Named by Angama’s guides and regularly photographed in the south of the Triangle.
June 2022
Fought his brother Ruka, who was left with a badly damaged left eye.
July 2022
His brother Slit Lip was killed. Manywele came to be seen as the leading male of the four survivors.
2023
Led the coalition east towards Serena and Maji Machafu.
Late 2024
Seen back in the Triangle with a limp.
Early 2025
Found by Angama guides chasing three cheetahs off a kill after crossing the Mara River.
2026
Reported unseen for many months. Not confirmed.

Legend & Truth

Two lions called Manywele

This Manywele, of the Inselberg coalition, is not the Manywele who rules the Black Rock Pride with Oloiborr. Both live in the Mara and are often confused.