Involved Leopards

Ximpalapala 4:4 Female

Ximpalapala 4:4 Female

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Tutlwa 4:3 Female

Tutlwa 4:3 Female

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Maliliwane 2:2 Female

Maliliwane 2:2 Female

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Dudley Riverbank 5:5 Male

Dudley Riverbank 5:5 Male

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Robson's 4:4 Male

Robson's 4:4 Male

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About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

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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7 Comments

on In Memoriam: Departed Leopards of 2016

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sorry to hear that the leopards have left us. They are marvelous creatures, but like you said when the old die the new come in.

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Beautifully written, On behalf of the Leopards,Thanks!

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In the past years these were some of my favorites. Ximpalapala and 4:4 were interesting enigmas. It is best to celebrate their lives although I can’t help feeling that Tutlwa, 5:5 (Airstrip male) and Maliliwane (Kwatile) died too young ( all were about 10 y or less). The leopards of northern Londolozi have dramatically changed!…Here is a question… Have you seen the Maliliwane young female[daughter] in the past 3 months? Even before her mothers death she was exploring a lot. In the first 6 months after her Mums death she appeared to go on a grand tour of the Sabi Sands. She wandered off Londolozi to the NE. Then she returned to Londolozi in June and July 2016, as captured in photos by Callum Gowar (June 24) and Kevin Power(July 13). Then she went south and popped up on Kirkmans Kamp and a month later on Umkumbe reserve. Now I have lost her. Her facebook page (under her northern name Tsakani) does not have recent entries. I’m not sure if it is normal for a nearly 3 y old nomadic female to lay low this long, but I seem to remember the Ndzandzeni female keeping a low profile before she became territorial. Any help is appreciated (even if bad news).

Hi Brian,
To be honest I can’t think of a recent sighting of her offhand. I’ll ask among the team and see if anyone can recall one, but off the top of my head I seem to remember the last one being from quite a while ago.
Having said that, the area the Maliliwane female used to inhabit is without a territorial female that we know of, so it is very likely that SOME leopard is living there. Unoccupied territories in a densely populated leopard area like the Sabi Sands won’t stay unoccupied for very long. Maybe it is the young female who has set up residence and we just haven’t been seeing her…

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It most often seems more often than not these Leopards often succumb to injuries from lions despite their ability to climb trees and get away from lions!How is it that you were able to have two nearly serious encounters with the Tutlwa female?Under what circumstances?

Hi Tim,
On both occasions we were tracking her on foot and I made a bad decision each time; thinking I knew what the situation was and not thinking things through. She had cubs with her both times and I nearly stepped on her, causing her to react very aggressively.

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Did the 5:5 male leopard leave behind any offspring I really want to know

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