#sparta pride

[tsalala]

In many respects she was “the Iron Lady” of Londolozi. She was fathered by the infamous Sparta Males [aka West Street Males] and having been born towards the end of 2000 she was the sister and littermate of the now disbanded Mapogo coalition. Poignantly she outlived all of her sisters and all but two of her 6 brothers [i.e. Makhulu, Pretty Boy]. She guided her daughters through their first attempts at raising youngsters and in a place so wild and savage to the aspirations of lion, the fact that she can boast to have left a legacy is telling and alone makes her remarkable.

A supreme huntress, the lioness led the Sparta pride on this afternoon. She stalked straight through the middle of the clearing, using every scrap of cover. The waterbuck in the distance occasionally thought it saw something, but as soon as it raised its head, the lioness would freeze, sometimes with two paws off the ground, sometimes for 10 mins at a time. After a 50 minute stalk, the pride took down a waterbuck calf.

She endured the rangers and trackers of Londolozi and our sometimes muddled attempts to find her. For 13 years she suffered the attentions of thousands of cameras, pointed fingers and somewhat blasphemous exclamations of delight. She allowed us to follow her in the hunt, take a first look at her cubs and chatter away endlessly whilst she slept on those sunlit summer afternoons.

Words by Tom Imrie, “Remembering the Sparta Pride” (2013) Photograph courtesy to Londolozi Private Game Reserve

— [NOTE: As of 2021, the Sparta Pride is now extinct. Their legacy lives on by other names held by their descendants in the Tsalala, Mangheni, Kambula, Ntsevu, and other prides.]

[tsalala]

Fairly recently I found out that this cub was given the name Sparta. A coincidence, considering there was once an iconic pride of lions in Sabi Sands, South Africa that went by the same name. Like Sparta the Eurasian cave lion, the Sparta Pride is now also extinct: the last female cub died in June 2021. She presumably starved to death as she was too young to hunt on her own after losing her mother.

Another photo of the newly discovered Eurasian cave lion cub.

Notice how the fur ranges in color, there’s some more darker patches on the head (perhaps around the ears?) while the core is more pale/tawny.

Source

[artschoolglasses]

“Fine. If we must.”

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

[usurperss]

Kasseivor doodles? Kasseivor doodles...🩵🧡

[bagelvangr]

I wasn't going to post this because it was just meant to be a quick dumb thing to get me out of my art block, but I spent way too much time on my one stupid joke to not post it here.

...anyway, the joke [ tinyurl(dot)com/livegayreact ] (which I super duper pinky gay promise is not malicious, but don't feel obliged to click if you don't wanna) only works on desktop 🫠 I guess I should have checked if the execution was correct before I put that much effort into it lmao 😭

[thebabygronckle]

is anybody else getting tony/pepper vibes from odysseus/penelope?? bc this just clicked in my brain

[alkibiadessuperfan]

KASSANDRA? AND EIVOR? At pride??? More likely than you think!!!!

[hermesmoly]

Today I think of him (Nicostratus, son of Menelaus and Helen, scion of Ares)

[brasideios]

Happy Brasideia 2023 and Pride Month everyone! 🙌🏻

[fjordfolk]

Hello, I was just wondering if you could share more about the kind of training and preparation you did with your girls at home/on shorter walks to get them ready for long hikes. And out of curiosity, what were the traits you looked for in potential breeds/puppies to suit long hikes? 💜

Oof, I wish I had a good and technical system to present here, but the truth is that we live in a rural part of Norway where nothing is flat unless it was dug out and the asphalt cracks so fast the main roads count as mild terrain, so a lot of it just comes with the territory.

From early on I've pretty much just tried to let them learn and grow as naturally as possible and to not limit them too much, and all of our puppies have been active and come on short hikes since they were ~3 months old. Not like heavy, static, structured activity - but little off-trail mountain or forest treks focused on play and exploration. Shaping the dog I want from the start, basically.

Our activity levels fluctuate with the season and weather, so we only do really long hikes in the summer and early autumn. But it's not unusual to spend 3-4hrs going mostly uphill on a regular walk, so doubling that for a hike isn't that big of an ask as long as they're healthy and in good base condition. And once hiking season starts rolling around in June after eight months of snow/sleet/rain, I'm usually in worse shape than my dogs anyway lol. I know my dogs well and we start the season with a few warmup hikes, to see where we're all at.

As far as breeds go, idk. I just tend to like a relatively neutral, balanced build. I'm not personally into very large or heavy dogs. I appreciate a little athleticism. I want less prey drive and more handler orientation. The ideal dog for me is one that maybe doesn't Have To, but Can and Wants To. Over the years I've also learned that I like a little moderation in body and angulation, and I prefer a slightly careful dog over an overconfident one.

[ukdamo]

In 200 B.C.

Constantine Cavafy

"Alexander son of Philip, and the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians--"

We can very well imagine that they were utterly indifferent in Sparta to this inscription. "Except the Lacedaemonians", but naturally. The Spartans were not to be led and ordered about as precious servants. Besides a panhellenic campaign without a Spartan king as a leader would not have appeared very important. O, of course "except the Lacedaemonians."

This too is a stand. Understandable.

Thus, except the Lacedaemonians at Granicus; and then at Issus; and in the final battle, where the formidable army was swept away that the Persians had massed at Arbela: which had set out from Arbela for victory, and was swept away.

And out of the remarkable panhellenic campaign, victorious, brilliant, celebrated, glorious as no other had ever been glorified, the incomparable: we emerged; a great new Greek world.

We; the Alexandrians, the Antiocheans, the Seleucians, and the numerous rest of the Greeks of Egypt and Syria, and of Media, and Persia, and the many others. With our extensive territories, with the varied action of thoughtful adaptations. And the Common Greek Language we carried to the heart of Bactria, to the Indians.

As if we were to talk of Lacedaemonians now!

[tsalala]

Tsalala Young Male (“Solo”) with one of the three Sparta Breakaway cubs.

The Sparta Breakaways (“2 and 3”) were formed upon the death of the Sparta Pride’s longest-lasting resident male from the Rollercoaster Coalition. Solo, an unrelated lion seemingly adopted by the Rollercoaster male, was left to defend the pride just when Mr. T and Kinky Tail of the Mlowathi Mapogo Coalition were set on conquering them: their own natal pride. Two Sparta lionesses had intercepted the Mlowathis, their own relatives, and this let the rest of the Sparta Pride escape. Eventually the two lionesses birthed three cubs with whom they remained to avoid attracting the Mlowathis to the rest of their family.

After a time, the breakaways had reunited with the main pride. Surprisingly, Solo tolerated the Mlowathi offspring whereas most other pride males would have killed rival males’ cubs.

[elinda96]

[artschoolglasses]

Happy Pride from your favourite bisexual sword-wielding ladies! ☺️

[wishlisted]

“Mountains of Pride” soy wax candle from Sparta Candle Co.

Notes: raspberry, blackcurrant, vanilla

[starry-songs-canvas]

Take Care of Him

The boy, who had Damian’s face, couldn’t be more different than Dick’s (alive?) baby brother.

Aside from his Snow White hair, he smiled and laughed freely, making puns on top of his embarrassing story about his supposed twin brother.  

(“Clones don’t have childhood memories right?  So if I have an embarrassing story or two, that’ll give you a way to check that I’m not a clone AND give you ammunition for teasing!”)

“—And that’s how his face—and his pride—was forever wounded by Sparta the warrior cat!”  Danny finished his story with a flourish, cracking up immediately after.

“Huh, and to think he left it at “training”, obviously he didn’t think anyone would let the cat out of the bag.”  Dick said, laughing even as he eyed the lookalike.

Danny snorted.  “Yeah, I doubt he thought anything as Cat-astropic as that would happen.”

They sat in silence for a moment, overlooking the buildings below, with the Dalv. Co. Labs smoking in the distance and the breeze blowing past the two, yet only seeming to affect Nightwing and not the phantom beside him.

“Is he safe?  Is he happy?” Danny murmurs as he looks up at the stars, looking every bit the forlorn ghost he claimed to be.

“…We keep each other safe.  And I’d say once he got past the stabbing faze, he’s pretty happy in Gotham.”

“But I’m sure it’d make him happy to see you again.”  Dick thought back to the comments the vampire-ghost they’d fought earlier.  It didn’t sound exactly, “happy” or “safe” for Danny.  Or anyone else involved.

Danny shook his head.  “Nah.  He’s… moved on.  And with how crazy my after-life is?  I’m already dealing with ghosts, ghost-hunters, and my—err—that frootloop from earlier.  I do not need to add furries and murder-ninjas to the mix.”

Danny sighed as he floated into a standing position.  “Speaking of which, if you could just, maybe not tell him you saw me?  Better to let dead dogs lie.”

Danny’s piercing Lazarus green eyes looked at Dick and he saw the exact same expression B had on whenever he “had to do it alone”.

“Just, take care of him, Kay?  Or I’ll haunt you to the ends of the universe!”  He said, throwing up a peace sign as he turned invisible.

Dick snorted, “Yeah, sure kid.”

Dick got up and started off toward the bat-plane.  He had a brother to interrogate, and another brother/clone of his brother to find.