Leopard cubs are fragile little animals. We hesitate to publicise the birth of a new litter as, sadly, the chances of them surviving to even a month old are slim. Such a high level of parental care is required in the first weeks of these cat’s lives that more often than not they are simply never seen, and a brief period of visible suckle marks on the female leopard or a few obvious months of pregnancy is the closest we get to seeing the cubs before they are lost.
The Tutlwa female lost a litter of three earlier this year. The Vomba female’s current cub is the first in a number of years to reach an age at which we can view it, as she has lost multiple litters to floods and unknown other dangers since she successfully raised the Mashaba female. In fact, in 2010, there began a long period in which leopard cubs became as scarce as hen’s teeth.
The dearth of these beautiful and shy young animals went on for about two years, until one day in May 2012, tracker and wizard of the bush Freddy Ngobeni followed some female leopard tracks to a rocky section in the Tugwaan Drainage, and with ranger Talley Smith and their guests were the first to view the Dudley Riverbank female’s latest cub. The Dudley Riverbank female is directly descended from the original Mother Leopard of Londolozi, making her female cub the great, great granddaughter of that first iconic leopard.
The Dudley Riverbank female was another successful cub of the 3:4 female that reached old age, eventually passing away at just over 17 years
The first time I ever saw the cub was about 2 months after it was first found by Freddy and Talley. Completely unfazed by the presence of the vehicle it sat out in the open, just staring at us and melting our hearts.
For months, this elusive little cub and its mother were the hottest property on Londolozi, with never a drive going by without one of the vehicles heading down into the deep South to try and find them.
The standard view of very young leopard cubs. A whisker or two, an ear and a curious pair of eyes peer out from behind a bush as the little cub slowly relaxes in the vehicle’s presence.
As fashions come and go, however, so too does the prominence of certain animals in the bush, and as 2012 moved on, new leopard cubs were discovered, belonging to the Maxabene, Ximpalapala, Piva, Vomba and Mashaba females. A very young cub is always a rare and exciting thing to see, so as the Dudley Riverbank cub grew and younger cubs living closer to camp became relaxed and viewable, the Dudley Riverbank female’s star and that of her youngster began to fade.
The blood around its mouth and on its whiskers show of a recent feed. Leopard cubs begin eating meat at between 2 and 3 months, and here the cub had been feeding on a duiker that its mother had hoisted into the boughs of a jackalberry tree.
Most dismounts from trees are relatively awkward affairs while the cubs are young…
The wonderful thing about the cub is how relaxed it became at an early age. Although the territory in which its mother keeps it is thick and a tough area to find leopards in, the fact that the mother favoured the Mad Elephant Donga drainage system as a base made beginning the search each day far easier and sightings were frequent.
In this sighting, the cub had been treed by a hyena that rushed in to steal its mothers kill. Leopard cubs are extremely vulnerable to hyenas during their first few months of life, as their climbing skills have yet to start emulating that of their mothers.
Older now but certainly not forgotten, the cub – who is approaching its first birthday – is still very dependant on her mother, and tracks of the two of them together are often found in the riverbeds and on the dusty roads and game-trails of Londolozi’s south-east.
Although the mad rush to try and view the cub as often as possible has past, a sighting of the relaxed young female and her wise old mother playing with each other amongst the jackalberry and leadwood trees that dot their territory will still certainly leave anyone with a memory to last a lifetime…
My last view of the Dudley Riverbank cub as she and her mother approach ranger Dan Buys and tracker Like Gumede. This was a couple of months ago, and although other rangers have seen the cub far more recently, I am still waiting for my turn…
Written and photographed by James Tyrrell
“…tracker and wizard of the bush Freddy Ngobeni…”
That’s him exactly! Can’t wait to be back in November to see the growth of all the babies.
James, I love your blogs they are so informative and we appreciate how you keep us abreast of the development and lives of these magnificent creatures. Thank you.
LOVE the first pic as the cub posed for a portrait!
Thanks!
Oh bliss !! A whole blog on leopard cubs, my faves !!
Thank you so much for the update and spectacular photos James! I was one of the first guests gifted with the experience of sighting this cub June 2, 2012. It was a moment that will stay in my heart forever and one for which I will always be grateful to Talley and Robert. The magic of Londolozi …
Talley and FREDDY.
Awesome photos and story… How are all the other cubs doing? Jealous much!!
Love!!
Yet another reason to come back!
Thank you James; I’m delighted to hear they’ve both been spotted recently. When I came to Founders in February we searched for them in Dudley but without success, as the grass was so long. I was lucky enough to see this cub at just 1 month old, at the end of April, thanks to Sandros and Lucky. I’ve been following her progress ever since, so I really appreciate this blog!
Hi James,i am new to the week in pictures and have to know how you get the animals to pose for you. Hope to spend time with you in October.
Hi John,
If it were only that easy… 🙂
Patience is the key in the bush. Often when we find an animal it is in a thicket or an area where visibility and certainly photographic opportunities are poor, but we are very fortunate to have a large property with relatively few vehicles on it, and so pressure on sightings is minimalised. As a result we are able to spend significant amounts of time with the animals, which gives us an insight into their behaviour and is far more likely to result in them moving into an area or position where we are able to capture a few photos.
Believe me though that for every decent photo we get, there are hundreds of average ones that get deleted!
James