Once a mighty “king” at the head of a herd of many individuals, the tragic image of the old lion in his last days of life made many people feel sad.

The tragic images at the end of the life of Lubyelubye, the oldest male lion in Kruger National Park (South Africa), were recorded by female tourist Storm Zackey during a visit to this nature reserve.

“On the way back to the camp, we encountered a male lion, but the staff said it was not an ordinary lion, but Lubyelubye, the oldest male lion alive at the Park. Kruger nation”, Storm Zackey shared about the moment he encountered the Lubyelubye lion on the road.

“The animal appeared in quite bad condition, its body was weak, its steps were hobbling… but it still had enough strength to raise its head to glance at us,” Zackey added.

Tragic image of the old “lion king” in the last days of his life (Video: Kruger).

According to staff working at the Kruger Nature Reserve, Lubyelubye was once the “king” who ruled over a powerful lion pride about 10 years ago. However, this old lion has just gone through a power struggle with younger male lions.

Defeat after the battle not only injured Lubyelubye, but also caused it to leave the herd and hunt on its own without the services of other members of the herd.

Images from the clip show that Lubyelubye’s hind leg is injured, causing the animal to limp.

Obviously with this condition, Lubyelubye is no longer able to hunt. Even if its legs were not injured, this lion would hardly have the strength to hunt because of its age and slowness.

The tragic image clip of Lubyelubye was recorded on June 9 and since then, no further news or images of this lion have been recorded. Experts say that Lubyelubye most likely died of old age or starvation.
The image of Lubyelubye being sick and skinny because he can’t hunt…

… in complete contrast to the image of the mighty “king” a few years ago (Photo: Kruger).

The alpha male lions are considered the “kings” of a large territory. They do not need to personally hunt, but this task belongs to the female individuals or the nearly mature male lions in the pride.

The mission of the alpha male lion is to protect the territory and members of the pride from encroachment by other lions or predators such as hyenas, African wild dogs…

When the alpha male lions get old and weak, they will be challenged for power by younger, stronger male lions, sometimes from the males themselves within the pride. Power struggles are part of lion life, where the strongest rule.

Leading male lions can be bitten to death in the battle for power, or will be kicked out of the pride if they lose.

Members of the pride can be threatened and bitten to death by newly ascendant male lions if they refuse to submit to the newly ascended rulers.

Normally, the average lifespan of male lions in the wild is 10 years. Therefore, the fact that the Lubyelubye lion can live up to 15 years in the wild is considered a miracle.

However, the tragic image of the once famous “king” of the steppe in the last days of his life also made many witnesses feel sad.