The Hobatere pride has been growing in the past year-plus. Monitoring by the Lion Rangers and MEFT shows the pride consists of three adult females (OPL-6, OPL-9, and OPL-10), two adult males (OPL-19 and OPL-20) and no fewer than eight cubs. The oldest two cubs are the offspring of OPL-10 (“Nalaili), likely sired by the brothers OPL-7 and OPL-8, who departed Hobatere in about March 2022. Around that time OPL-19 and OPL-20 immigrated from Etosha and took over the pride. They have likely sired the remaining cubs.

The Hobatere pride is an important part of the desert-adapted lion population of northwest Namibia. You can learn more about the pride and the desert-adapted lion population by reading the Northwest Lion Population Survey, completed in 2022 and endorsed by Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in 2024.