To see leopards mating in the wild is a very special event which only a handful of people ever get to see! To watch 3 leopards involved in this marathon act is something I had never even contemplated…
I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have witnessed this phenomenal event. Two unrelated females following a male taking turns to mate with him.
It was almost a case of “tag, your in”. Wherever he moved they would follow; taking turns to literally throw themselves at him. He led them further and further afield from their established territories mating continually. You could see that he was tiring as after an hour and a half he had mated close on 40 times! Textbooks don’t touch on leopard menage-a-trois and I certainly did not have all the answers. I smiled as I watched another nature curve-ball being hurled my way.
So who were the players involved in this Leopard Threesome…
Dudley Riverbank 5:5 Male (b. 2006)
Those of you who have been to Londolozi in the last year, or who are regular blog followers will be well aware of this up-and-coming young male. He has started infiltrating Camp Pan Male’s eastern territory and has already been involved in a number of battles including one epic clash that was caught on film. Dudley 5:5 is a relative new comer but he has hit the ground running and truly means business.
Maxabeni 2:2 Female (b. 1998)
This is one of Londolozi’s more famous leopards. She has been around for a long time and frequents the Maxabeni drainage line which forms such a prominant feature of the landscape, winding it’s way throughout much of the central Sparta. Her last success story, in terms of offspring, was in rearing the two Maxabeni Young Males to independence.
Tamboti Female (b. 2007)
This was the first time that I had seen this delightful female. She spends almost all of her time east of our boundaries and has certainly been lured into Londolozi following Dudley Riverbank 5:5 Male. Reports from the east confirm that this is one of her initial attempts at motherhood.
Dudley 5:5 Male mating with the Maxabeni Female by Adam Bannister
As I left the sighting there were still two questions burning in my mind…why had there been so little aggression between the two females and how did he remain so calm and collected with the two of them literally falling at his feet?
I am not sure what you make of this sighting, however if you have heard of, or seen this before, or just want to submit your thoughts please let me know in the comments section below…
Written and filmed by Adam Bannister
Never a dull moment in the bush. Wow this is crazy!
Thanks for this. It makes up a little bit for all the times I felt sorry for female cats who never have any choice in the matter. They are just so roughly taken all the time!
It’s very interesting, because he obviously would have had a negligible sperm count less than half way through that marathon. So intriguing!
Wow, some video footage, really amazing!!
that is awesome, and to film it is great!
guides in the Timbavati, where i work, love telling me a story from probably the early 2000’s of a leopard fivesome!!! four unrelated female leopards doing exactly what you explain here about these three…each female literally lining up, one after the other, as the male mated with them! what i wouldnt have done to have been there myself to view that!
That sounds incredible Chad, and here we thought three leopards was extraordinary. I definitely think that the dynamic between an older female and younger female allowed for a hierachy to take place and thus no fighting between the two of them. Thanks for your comments.
Great sighting, a few years ago we had Vomba and Mxabene both mating with Manyaleti male but not with the same frequency.
Thanks for that Greg, interesting to see the Mxabene female involved in this sighting as well. I wonder what the dynamic between the Vomba female and Mxabene female was during this encounter?
He’s obviously the Rudolph Valentino of the bush 😉
Hey adam my wife and I were fortunate enough to be at londolozi last weekend,and were at the sighting of the three leopards,was truly amazing to see,i couldnt believe how both females just accepted each other and were happy to go about their business with no issues,got the whole thing on video,was fantastic
Marc
Great footage Adam
Hi Rich, Vomba and Mxabene more interested in the male and not really hostile towards each other
It is quite clear that the spotted ladies love Dudley 5-5 . I saw him mating with Vomba.
Now I have a question about Tamboti female. This Tamboti is clearly the daughter of Sunsetbend female (Ngoboswan) born in 2007. (This is also the name provided by Mala Mala). But there was (and may be there is still) an other Tamboti female in Londo. This is a female I was twice (with Julius) in Londo in may 2008 and in may 2009. Kate Nicholson published on the web some good pictures of the same female (taken in MM in 2007). During my first sight this female was confuse with Xidulu/Kikelizi (but it was a mistake) . According to some info from Londo (in 2010) this female was seldom seen close to Lex extension/Old shangaan village. Do you have any info about this Tamboti (not the Sunsetbend daughter born 2007)?