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James Tyrrell

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James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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11 Comments

on Is This Londolozi’s Most Enigmatic Leopard?

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He has lucked into a prime leopard territory with the downfall of the Marthly male, although he has done a good job in defending it from other males until now,a remarkable feat considering his size.I thought that the Anderson male would have pushed him more south by now,but it will eventually happen,big males seem to be drawn by the river.

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How big his territory is!

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Thanks James. Has the Anderson male been seen recently? We spent many an hour searching over New Year for him without luck but were privileged to have seen the Robson Male before one of the female adult Mhangeni came in and chased him out of the tree and took his kill. I really enjoy the territory maps and did not realise how far north of the river the Robson territory goes.

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Hi Mike,
I remember that sighting, and if I’m right that was the last time he was seen. Given his nature, though, we don’t worry if we don’t see him for awhile, he tends to turn up again in the end!
As for the Anderson male, I think he has been seen once or twice since New Year but no more than that. I think he’s been spending time north and west of us…

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It’s the first time I have heard the name Nkoveni female, who is she?

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Hi Danny,
Well pointed out. The Nkoveni female is the Sand River Female or Mashaba Young female. We originally called her the Sand River female since she spends so much time there, but after much deliberation we decided that that name was in fact too generic, as the Mashaba, Tutlwa and Nhlanguleni females all spend time in the Sand River within their respective territories. Nkova is a river in Shangaan, and Nkoveni being the diminutive, we thought it a more appropriate name for a young female, so duly changed it.

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Thanks a lot!

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So what does the name Robinson Male have to do with anything? Perhaps he should be called Enigma Male. 😉

Hi Julia,
The name is “Robson’s” male; it is the name of the property to the northwest of us, where he has been viewed before.

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Great to read about him. I was with you at your first sighting of 4:4 male in the North in 2014 when he was chased by the Tsalala pride. I recognized the pictures: my pictures are almost identical. I know that last year I saw 3 males South of the river: Piva male, Inyathini male and a skittish male which I now realize is the Robson’s male. I never realized that he was the same male as we saw being chased by the lions. It’s always nice to see the history of the animals. Thanks.

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Nice shots James!

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