Deceased

Mr. T

Also known as Satan · The Mohawk of the Mapogos

c. 2002 – 16 March 2012

Born in Londolozi and MalaMala area, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Mr. T was a male lion of South Africa’s Sabi Sand Game Reserve, on the western edge of Kruger National Park, and the most feared member of the Mapogo coalition: five brothers and an older half-brother who dominated the Sabi Sand from 2006 to 2012. He was recognised at once by the ridge of mane standing up along the top of his head like a mohawk, which gave him his name. With his brother Kinky Tail he was known as the most aggressive of the six, the first in when the coalition brought down a buffalo.

He was born around 2002 in the Sparta Pride, also known as the Eyrefield Pride, on the land of Londolozi and MalaMala. Around 2006 the Mapogos took their first territory in the northern Sabi Sand, killing one of the four resident males and the cubs of the pride, and went on to control as many as eight prides. Their reign was famous for its violence, and Mr. T was reported to have eaten cubs, behaviour that is rare in lions. After a fight with the coalition’s leader, Makulu, Mr. T and Kinky Tail spent about two years holding the eastern part of the territory as a pair.

On 8 June 2010 the two brothers killed a male of the five-strong Majingilane coalition, but that same night the four surviving Majingilanes caught Kinky Tail and killed him while Mr. T fled. He returned west to his brothers, killed the cubs he found there and earned a new name, Satan. On 16 March 2012 four young males known as the Selati males split the three remaining Mapogos at a buffalo kill, chased Mr. T for kilometres and caught him alone. He fought back but was left paralysed and dying, about ten years old, and his two brothers fled east, ending the Mapogo reign.

~6Years of reign

~10Age at death

8Prides ruled with the coalition

6Males in his coalition

Profile

Identity

Name: Mr. TThe name he is best known by
Nicknames: Satan (SaTan, Sataan), Mohawk, the Mohawk male
Origin of the name: Named for his mohawk-like maneWho first used the name has not been documented
Sex: Male
Distinguishing features: A mohawk-like ridge of mane along the top of his headScarred on the nose and ear in the fight with a Majingilane male in 2010
Weight: Information not availableFor reference, adult male lions usually weigh 150–260 kg

Birth & Family

Born: c. 2002Reported as one of the two youngest Mapogo brothers; some sources give 2001
Birthplace: Londolozi and MalaMala area, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South AfricaExact birth site not recorded
Birth pride: Sparta PrideAlso known as the Eyrefield Pride
Father: One of the West Street MalesA coalition of five males, also called the Sparta Males; which one fathered him is not known
Mother: Information not availableA Sparta Pride lioness; her identity has not been publicly documented
Siblings: Kinky Tail, Pretty Boy, Rasta and Dreadlocks (brothers); Makulu (believed half-brother)Sources do not all agree on the names of the six

Reign

Pride king: Yes, member of the Mapogo coalition
Prides ruled: With the Mapogo coalition: Othawa, Ximhungwe and other Sabi Sand pridesThe coalition reportedly controlled up to eight prides; he was also seen with the Tsalala Pride in 2010
Pride size: Information not available
Reign: About 6 years (2006 – 2012)
Ruled with: The Mapogo brothers; for about two years mainly Kinky Tail; from 2010 Makulu and Pretty Boy
Coalition: The Mapogo Coalition
Home range: Sabi Sand Game Reserve: the northern Sabi Sand, then the eastern sector around Londolozi, and from 2010 the western sector
Territory size: Information not availableAbout 70,000 hectares is often given for the whole coalition at its peak; not verified

Death

Died: 16 March 2012
Age at death: About 10 yearsAbout 11 if he was born in 2001
Cause of death: Natural: killed by the four Selati males in a territorial fightHis spine was injured and his back legs paralysed
Place of death: Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South AfricaReportedly on the Mackenzie cutline near the western boundary of Savanna
Burial: Information not available

Names & Meanings

Mr. TName

For his mohawk-like mane, the famous hairstyle of the American actor Mr. T of The A-Team. Who first used the name has not been documented.

SatanNickname

Reportedly given after he returned to his brothers in 2010 and killed the cubs he found in their prides. Also written SaTan or Sataan.

MohawkName used by lodges

Londolozi called him the Mohawk male. MalaMala did not give its lions names and described him as the mohawk-maned male.

Family & Lineage

Father’s coalitionWest Street MalesFive males, also called the Sparta Males, who ruled the Sparta Pride. One of them was his father, but which one is not known.

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

SatanMr. Tc. 2002 – 2012

Brother & closest partnerKinky TailAlso called Shaka. Killed by the four Majingilane males on the night of 8 June 2010.View record →Believed half-brotherMakuluThe oldest and largest Mapogo and the coalition’s leader. Last seen in January 2013.View record →BrotherPretty BoyOne of the last two Mapogos. Reportedly died in late 2012.View record →BrotherRastaDisappeared in late July or early August 2010; believed killed by the Majingilane, though some suspect poachers.View record →BrotherDreadlocksLeft the reserve in late 2010 and was killed by people outside it.View record →

OffspringCubs of the coalitionThe Mapogos fathered cubs in the Tsalala, Othawa and Sand River prides, among others. Individual cubs of Mr. T have not been documented, and his cubs in the east were reportedly killed by the Majingilane in 2010.

Life Story

c. 2002
Born in the Sparta (Eyrefield) Pride in the Sabi Sand, one of five brothers sired by the West Street Males. An older male, Makulu, had joined the pride in 2000 and grew up with them.
c. 2005 – 2006
Left the pride with his brothers and Makulu. As young nomads the six became skilled buffalo hunters.
2006
The Mapogos entered the northern Sabi Sand, killed one of the four resident males and drove off the rest, then killed the eleven cubs of the Othawa Pride. Mr. T was reported to have eaten some of them.
June 2007
Fought Makulu, the coalition’s leader, and lost; Makulu reportedly bit through one of his paws. The coalition split for a time.
c. 2008 – 2010
Held the eastern part of the Mapogo territory with Kinky Tail, around Londolozi, fighting off rival males.
8 June 2010
With Kinky Tail, caught and fatally injured a male of the incoming Majingilane coalition. That night the four other Majingilanes killed Kinky Tail; Mr. T arrived, was outnumbered and fled.
Late June 2010
The Majingilanes found him with the Tsalala Pride at Londolozi and scattered the lionesses and cubs. He escaped with light injuries.
Mid-2010
Returned west to Makulu, Pretty Boy, Rasta and Dreadlocks, who accepted him back. He killed cubs in their Ximhungwe Pride and became known as Satan.
Late 2010
Rasta and Dreadlocks were lost, leaving three Mapogos: Makulu, Pretty Boy and Mr. T.
23 February 2012
First clash with the four young Selati males from the south. The fight ended without a winner.
16 March 2012
The Selati males split the Mapogos at a buffalo kill and chased Mr. T alone for kilometres. They caught him, broke his spine and left him dying. Makulu and Pretty Boy fled east.

Legend & Truth

Reputation: the cannibal

Mr. T was said to have eaten cubs and rival lions. Killing the cubs of other males is normal for incoming males; eating them is rare, which is one reason the Mapogos became so notorious.

Fled once, stood once

On the night Kinky Tail died, Mr. T ran from four Majingilanes. Twenty-one months later, alone against four Selatis, he turned and fought, though the result was the same.

Kill counts: estimates, not research

Figures from about 40 to over 100 lions killed by the Mapogos are widely repeated. They come from lodge reports and a former reserve warden, not from published research, and no one counted Mr. T’s share.

Photographs

Photograph coming soon

More photographs

Film

The film of Satan’s life is coming soon

Animation

An animated story of Satan’s life is coming soon

Documentaries & Features

Documentary2015

Brothers in Blood: The Lions of Sabi Sand

Daniel Huertas

The rise and fall of the Mapogo coalition, filmed over many years in the Sabi Sand. Shown in the United States as the series Lions of Sabi Sands on Animal Planet.

View

Television episode

Lions of Sabi Sands — The End of the Mapogos

Animal Planet

The episode covering the arrival of the Selati males and the death of Mr. T.

Watch

ArticleMay 2008

The Mapogo story

WildEarth

An early account of the six Mapogo males and how they won the Sabi Sand.

View

Online videoMarch 2012

The Selati males and Mr. T

YouTube

Footage of the Selati males attacking Mr. T.

Graphic footageView

Sources

Where sources disagree, the most widely reported figure is shown, with other reports noted beneath it.

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