Unlike the Disney adaptation of Lion King, Scarface was the real lion king in the savannah. He lived for 14 years and unlike other male lions he died of a natural death. It should be noted that male lions live for 12 to 15 years.
They are normally killed by other up coming male lions and hyenas after ruling the pride for 2 to 3 years. Scarface, or scar in short, at the time of his death was the oldest living lion in the Mara. He roamed between Kenya and Uganda. He left his two younger brother lions.
He was named Scarface when in a fight he lost his left eye. The fight wa a famous battle called “Pride of the Pride.”
The world is mourning and celebrating his death as he was one of the most popular lions roaming the pride lands. He was well known as he had his own Facebook page and many wildlife journalists like George Logan had documented his life story on many documentaries including BBC’s Big Cat Diary.
He was sought out by many tourists when visiting the Mara like he was a real rockstar. His main attraction was his face and huge mane.
The Kenya Wildlife Service announced his death at 1 pm and they found out it was peaceful passing without disturbance from hyenas and vehicles.
George logan said “Lions are lucky to get to 15. For the previous week, we had been receiving messages, photos and videos from Kenya, showing Scar obviously struggling and nearing the end.
“It’s quite rare for a wild lion to die peacefully and of natural causes, but thankfully and fittingly, this is what has happened for Scar. He lived wild and free right to the end, in the land of his birth,”
“Even near the end, he defied logic by dragging himself 25km back in the direction of his original territory, near to where he was born. We feared the worst when we saw him near the Salas males [lions], a trio of the most ferocious young males in the Mara, but they respectfully let him be, even when he defiantly snarled at them,” said Logan.
“He had this exceptionally big mane, which apparently makes lions more attractive to females. He was quite unique and stayed at the top so long with this crazy appearance and big personality. I would say he was the most famous lion in the world,” he finished.