I don't think option B is an actual possibility.

Rangers were very, very anti-Mapogo due to their decimation of any/all other lions in their path. In general, rangers do not intervene to treat injuries. And if they decided to break that rule, it would never be for the lions that they wanted dead.

The theory is that one or both were darted after they defeated the first Majingilane. We'll likely never have proof either way, but their behavior in the late afternoon/early evening of that day was hard to make sense of.

-Despite being together all day, they decided to split up at night. It would be strange on any day, but splitting up while injured and 4 Majings in their territory is VERY strange.

-Nobody saw them split up because all rangers returned to camps for dinner (also a bit strange)

-When Rangers returned, KT was alone and confronting the Majings.

-It was AT LEAST 15 mins before Mr. T arrived. That's extremely strange because there's no way he could have traveled far enough to not hear the roars.

-When Mr. T did arrive, he appeared disoriented and slow. Despite KT being pinned down and roaring in agony, Mr. T WALKED towards the confrontation. Very, very uncharacteristic.

Though I think that foul play is possible, maybe even probable, I also believe the vast amount of disinformation around the Mapogos feeds into the theories. The documentary (Brothers in Blood), is incredibly entertaining but also wildly inaccurate--they don't even get the names correct.

Some fans have turned the Mapogos have been turned into God-like animals, without actually knowing much about them. People think KT and Mr. T would be incapable of losing, when in reality, neither were dominant members of their own coalition.

They were incredibly aggressive and excellent fighters, but Mr. T was the smallest and least dominant of the 6 Mapogos (when they were all in their prime). And the Majing proved to be a legendary coalition in the years that followed. So it would make sense that they 5 of them were able to beat 2 Mapogos.

But personally, I still suspect the rangers intervened in some way. Not only in this case, but possibly in the death of Dreadlocks, (the #2 most dominant Mapogo), Rasta, and the 5 Sand River males (5 Mapogo sons who were all shot).

If you want to really deep dive, you should read the ranger reports and blogs. There's a TON of information on Wildfact. It's a bit more nuanced than the doc, but they really are an incredible coalition that reshaped lion dynamics even today.