Jaco van Schalkwyk
View Artist Biography
Sold:
SOLD
Title:
KAMBALA BROTHERS - ELEPHANT PLAINS
New:
NEW
Medium:
Oil on belgian linen
Category:
Original paintings
Category:
Oil
Size:
62 1/2 62 3/4
INV. #:
JVS30956
The Kambula Males
During a recent safari at Elephant Plains, we awoke to the thunderous roars of male lion coalitions locked in a territorial battle. Without even pausing for morning coffee, we set off to follow the sound.
Through the mist, the reverberating roars led us to the Kambula males—young lions asserting their claim to the land. The Kambulas carry a proud lineage in the Sabi Sands, and this coalition of four holds
immense promise for the future. Yet their path is fraught with challenges: the relentless struggle for survival in the wild, compounded by the ever-present threat of human–wildlife conflict.
Recently, these young males were driven from their territory by older rivals into an area plagued by poaching. One fell victim to anthrax; another was caught in a snare but survived thanks to the intervention of conservation groups. Their greatest obstacle remains the shrinking wilderness—territory lost to human encroachment leaves little space for these magnificent creatures to thrive, making battles for land and survival more desperate than ever.
My own journey with the Kambulas began long before I met them. Born to an area we did not regularly visit, I followed their story from afar—tracking updates of the pride, hoping that one day they would settle in a place where they could be safe, yet still close enough for us to witness their lives unfold. When the time came for them to move out of their natal territory, I dreamed of meeting them along the way. That
dream became reality on this morning, when I finally stood face-to-face with the Kambula males.
The two lions pictured here are among the three surviving Kambula males. My wish for them is to rise like the morning sun, breaking through the mist that surrounds them, and step into a future where they can thrive—safe from human dangers, free to live, and able to leave a legacy as enduring as their fathers and those who came before them.
During a recent safari at Elephant Plains, we awoke to the thunderous roars of male lion coalitions locked in a territorial battle. Without even pausing for morning coffee, we set off to follow the sound.
Through the mist, the reverberating roars led us to the Kambula males—young lions asserting their claim to the land. The Kambulas carry a proud lineage in the Sabi Sands, and this coalition of four holds
immense promise for the future. Yet their path is fraught with challenges: the relentless struggle for survival in the wild, compounded by the ever-present threat of human–wildlife conflict.
Recently, these young males were driven from their territory by older rivals into an area plagued by poaching. One fell victim to anthrax; another was caught in a snare but survived thanks to the intervention of conservation groups. Their greatest obstacle remains the shrinking wilderness—territory lost to human encroachment leaves little space for these magnificent creatures to thrive, making battles for land and survival more desperate than ever.
My own journey with the Kambulas began long before I met them. Born to an area we did not regularly visit, I followed their story from afar—tracking updates of the pride, hoping that one day they would settle in a place where they could be safe, yet still close enough for us to witness their lives unfold. When the time came for them to move out of their natal territory, I dreamed of meeting them along the way. That
dream became reality on this morning, when I finally stood face-to-face with the Kambula males.
The two lions pictured here are among the three surviving Kambula males. My wish for them is to rise like the morning sun, breaking through the mist that surrounds them, and step into a future where they can thrive—safe from human dangers, free to live, and able to leave a legacy as enduring as their fathers and those who came before them.