Big Cat Diary & Big Cat Week
BBC
The BBC’s long-running big cat series made the Marsh Pride famous, and several sources report that Scarface and his brothers appeared in the BBC’s big cat programmes after taking over the pride.
Reported appearance
Deceased
Scarface
Also known as Scar · King of the Masai Mara
c. 2007 – 11 June 2021
Born in Masai Mara, Kenya
Scarface was the most photographed lion of Kenya’s Masai Mara and one of the most famous wild lions that has ever lived. Guides could recognise him from a long way off by the deep wound across his right eye, which he received in a territorial fight in his prime and which never fully healed.
He did not rule alone. With his three brothers, Morani, Sikio and Hunter, he formed a coalition that guides called the Four Musketeers. Together they took over the famous Marsh Pride, the pride made famous by the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, and later the Paradise Pride, holding prime land along the Mara River for the better part of a decade.
On 11 June 2021, aged about 14, Scarface died peacefully of old age in his own territory, an ending that is very rare for a wild male lion. In his final days younger males came close but left the old king in peace. He outlived Hunter and Sikio; Morani, the last of the four, disappeared about two years later.
~9Years of reign
~14Age at death
—Lionesses in his pride
4Males in his coalition
Profile
Identity
- Name
- Scarface
- Nicknames
- Scar, King of the Masai Mara, The Real Lion King
- Origin of the name
- Named by guides for the scar across his right eye
- Sex
- Male
- Distinguishing features
- Deep scar across the right eyeReceived in a territorial fight in 2011–2012
- Weight
- About 180 kg
Birth & Family
- Born
- c. 2007Some sources give 2008
- Birthplace
- Masai Mara, KenyaExact birth site not recorded
- Birth pride
- Information not available
- Father
- Believed to be one of the Notch malesNot formally confirmed
- Mother
- Information not available
- Siblings
- Morani, Sikio and Hunter (brothers / related males)
Reign
- Pride king
- Yes, leader of the Four Musketeers coalition
- Prides ruled
- Marsh Pride (from 2011–2012), Paradise Pride (from 2016)
- Pride size
- Information not availableThe Paradise Pride had around nine lionesses with cubs in 2016
- Reign
- About 9 years (c. 2012 – 2021)
- Ruled with
- Morani, Sikio and Hunter
- Coalition
- The Four Musketeers
- Home range
- Musiara Marsh, Paradise Plains and the Mara River, Masai Mara
- Territory size
- Information not availableFigures between 400 km² and 400 square miles circulate but are not verified
Death
- Died
- 11 June 2021
- Age at death
- About 14 yearsSome sources say 13
- Cause of death
- Natural: old age; he had become thin and frail
- Place of death
- Masai Mara National Reserve, KenyaReported near Musiara Marsh and the Mara River
- Burial
- Reported buried in the reserveA memorial tree was planted for him in the Garden of Remembrance at Angama Mara
Names & Meanings
ScarfaceName
Describes the deep scar across his right eye, received in a territorial fight, which made him recognisable from far away.
ScarShort form
The shortened name used by guides and fans.
King of the Masai MaraTitle
Given for his long, dominant reign over the Masai Mara.
The Real Lion KingTitle
From the August 2020 BBC Wildlife Magazine cover story by Jonathan and Angela Scott.
Family & Lineage
Believed fatherThe Notch malesGuides believe he was fathered by the Notch males, the famous Mara lions of the 2000s. This is not formally confirmed.View record →
LionessMotherHer identity has not been publicly documented.
ScarScarfacec. 2007 – 2021
BrotherMoraniThe last of the four. He disappeared around 2023 and was never found.View record →BrotherSikioDied after a fight with rival males.View record →BrotherHunterThe first of the four to die, in 2017.View record →DescendantsHis lineGuides say several young males in the Mara carry his bloodline, but individual sons are not formally documented.
Life Story
- c. 2007
Born in the Masai Mara, Kenya, one of four related males who would grow up together.
- 2011 – 2012
The four brothers, only about four years old, took over the Marsh Pride from the males Romeo and Clawed. Around this time Scarface received the wound across his right eye that gave him his name.
- 2016
The Four Musketeers took over the Paradise Pride, a group of around nine lionesses with cubs.
- 2017
Hunter died. The coalition, now three, continued to hold ground along the Mara River.
- August 2020
Featured on the cover of BBC Wildlife Magazine in “Scarface: The Real Lion King” by Jonathan and Angela Scott.
- 11 June 2021
Died peacefully of old age in his territory at about 14. Younger males nearby did not attack him.
- c. 2023
Morani, the last of the Four Musketeers, disappeared, ending the era of the coalition.
Legend & Truth
Myth: he killed 400 hyenas and 130 lions
These numbers are repeated widely online, but they appear in no research and no documentary. He was a large, long-lived and successful male, which is remarkable enough on its own.
Fact: he died of old age
Most wild male lions are killed by rivals, injury or hyenas long before they grow old. Dying undisturbed in his own territory at about 14 made Scarface’s ending exceptionally rare.
Photographs
Film
The film of Scar’s life is coming soon
Animation
An animated story of Scar’s life is coming soon
Documentaries & Features
Scarface: The Real Lion King
BBC Wildlife Magazine — Jonathan & Angela Scott
A cover story written and illustrated by the renowned Marsh Pride chroniclers, telling the story of Scarface, the Four Musketeers and the lions of the Masai Mara.
Scarface: Story of the Most Famous Lion Ever & His Brothers
YouTube
An independent documentary on the Four Musketeers coalition: Scarface, Sikio, Hunter and Morani.
Scarface: The 4 Musketeers
YouTube
The story of one of the most famous lion coalitions of the Masai Mara.
Sources
- Ilora Retreats Journal
- allAfrica
- Wikipedia — Jonathan Scott
- Herz in Afrika
- A-Z Animals
- Big Cat Wiki — Marsh Pride
Where sources disagree, the most widely reported figure is shown, with other reports noted beneath it.