Many of you would have noticed a new face popping up in our posts over the last few weeks; it seems that it’s a face that many of you are familiar with from Safari Live and other platforms; the Hosana male leopard.
First found in the northern reaches of Londolozi, which makes sense as that’s the direction he drifted in from, he was identified initially as “that unknown 3:3 male”.
The Hosana Male arrived in mid-2018 and is now dominant over Othawa, rarely seen on Londolozi's western boundary.
As many young male leopards do, he spent his first while in this new area drifting around in seemingly aimless movements, even turning up at the Nhlanguleni female’s densite, causing us a few nervous moments. Thankfully we can report that the cubs we were scared he might kill are both alive and well.
From there he moved back to the northern side of the Sand River, where he was seen a couple of times in the vicinity of Ximpalapala Koppie. Interestingly enough, another young male was often to be found close by; the Tamba male. Apparently before they became independent they were also regularly seen in close proximity. Technically speaking the Hosana male is the Tamba male’s uncle. The Hosana male was born to the Karula female while the Tamba male is her grandson through a different mother. Does that make sense?
The Tamba male. Slightly different facial markings and a different spot pattern separate him from the Tamba male, although their sizes are relatively similar. The Tamba male also has a distinctly pink nose.
Whilst we were hoping both young males would hang around – although it seemed unlikely given how frequently the area is patrolled by the massive Anderson male – only the Hosana male has continued to be seen regularly, right in the central regions of the north. So location-specific was he for awhile, that over the course of a few days he hoisted three different kills in the same Jackalberry tree; two impalas and an nyala!
Unofficially the biggest leopard in the Sabi Sands, the Anderson male is an absolutely enormous individual in north western Londolozi.
The Hosana male moving through the dense palm thickets of the northern Manyelethi river – an area where he has been spending a large amount of time.
The territorial Anderson male is apparently not the father of the Hosana male (although without genetic sampling this is extremely difficult to say for sure, as females will venture far outside their territories to mate with neighbouring males), so it is surprising that this young intruder has remained in the area for over a month now, unless the Hosana male’s mother (Karula female) did mate with him. The Anderson male has a large territory, so maybe a new male could slide around under the radar for awhile.
So far the bulk of the new male’s movements have been confined to the area around the Manyelethi River, although he has popped up further afield as well.
The denser purple area indicates where the bulk of the sightings have occurred.
Given that he doesn’t hold territory that he needs to patrol, the area he has been moving in is still relatively small, and sightings have been as consistent as we could have hoped. Whilst we doubt his presence will be tolerated by the Anderson male for the rest of the year, while he’s still here we definitely intend to make the most of it, and will continue to look for him every chance we get!
It is great news to have a new male leopard in the area. If he move south of the Sandriver will he encounter a resident male and which one will it be?
Hello James,
Nice post, as a safarilive fan I am very happy to hear from Hosana and Thamba even they left their natal area. Just for your information; Hosana is born in 2nd of February 2016, most likely fatherd by Tingana male leopard, a relatively old leopard dominant in Djuma area. And Thamba also a son to Tingana born in July 2016.
Thanks.
4TH OF February
James, This could make things very interesting! Are two males likely to confront each other, or will one just move away when they realize two of them are in the same area?
Hi Michael and Terri,
If you are talking about the Hosana and Anderson males, almost certainly the Anderson male would prevail, as he’s literally twice the size of the younger male. If you mean the young males, it could go either way as they are both similar ages (about 4 months difference)…
Hope you’re both well!
James
I thought we seen Anderson and Hosana ‘ve heard since then Anderson has not been seen or of since face off already when Anderson TRIED to steal a kill from Hosana but as we all seen in video Hosana was the one to prevail and retake his kill and as far as I Heard Anderson has not been seen nor heard from since that altercation and Hosana has been seen mateing with two different females and has claimed territory? correct me if I’m mistaken but its in video
Thamba was born to Thandi Female August 2016 Father thought to be Tingana Male. Hosana was born to Karula F 2 Feb 2016 father thought to be Tingana.. Hosana use to follow Tingana around and just hang out with him. ting would growl but allow him to hang out. We think he moved out of the area after a male now known as Hukumuri put pressure on him. Hosana would also try to hang out with Thandi and Thamba, but Thandi was not accommodating. I wonder if his hanging with others was due to the loss of his mother when he was 13 months and then his sister Xongile disappeared at almost 18 months. These leopards sure do give us some wonderful behaviors to think about. Thank you for this update
Looking forward to seeing him! He’s still rather young, isn’t he? Are his mother & sister still living?
Sadly no…Karula and Xongile went missing last year, and are presumed dead. Thamba’s mother, Thandi, has a new cub (Tlalamba) and is a dominant female in the northern Sabi Sands. If you read the comments on this post, you’ll see these leopards are practically celebrities on SafariLive. So fun to see them move through Londolozi where we get updates on them. Hoping they stay safe and choose to take up territory somewhere close by.
Thandi has also had two more sadly last year the first after Tlalamba came up missing but now presumbed to be nuraig another still well cross fingers mostly seen in torchwood and buffelshook now as her other leopardessess have taken up territory in djuma area so no more room basically left
Mary Beth, his mom Karula disappeared early when Hosana was just a little over a year old and it would be safe to say she is deceased. His sister and litter mate was Xongile and last August she was confronted by Thamba’s mom Thandi and they had a scrap in which Xongile faired rather well but that night was the last that Xongile was ever seen. Presumed deceased but there was never a definite verdict on that.
Hosana is my favorite leopard. I’ve seen him since his mother first brought Hosana and his sister Xongile out of their birthing den. He is quite the character. A gentle soul. Born in February 2016 With his mother and sister gone, he took care of himself since he was a year old. Please watch out for him and update us when you can. Thank you for letting us know Hosana is doing so well. ❤️
Sharon, I agree with you!!!I am so excited HOSANA is ok!!! He is beautiful and also a HOOT!!!! I think he is going to be ok! He has shown us he is a SURVIVOR!!!!!
Love that Hosana and Thamba are doing well. Hoping they both find territory of their own over time in Londolozi so we can keep tabs on these much loved SafariLive characters. 🙂
Hi Lisa,
We hope they settle here too!
James
That’s exciting news. It will be interesting to see how the other established males will deal with this youngster over the next several months. At what age will he be ready to mate and who would be a likely female? Or perhaps he will wander off into one of the neighboring concessions where he can carve out his own territory.
Hi Denise, He should be thinking of mating in a year or so, although younger matings have bene recorded. More often than not though, the territorial females will recognize his youth and therefore smaller chance of retaining territory, which will make them more reluctant to mate with him.
Best
James
May I ask if Hosana was scent marking?
Hi Donna,
He hasn’t been seen scent-marking as far as I’m aware, which may be part of the reason he has remained undetected for so long, or even tolerated.
He’s probably too young too exhibit territorial behaviour for awhile, but anything could happen…
thank you for your response, only time will tell, this young leopard has a special place in many hearts
Hi James
I have seen Hosana grow up on SafariLive. He is by far my favorite leopard. I am glad to hear that his hunting skills are getting more honed. I believe he is 2yrs old and is trying to find his footing in the leopard world. When he comes into his prime he will be a force to be reckon with. How awesome to have him in the Londolozi territory. Enjoy him and keep us all updated. He is one entertaining leopard.
HI Gemma,
We hope he sticks around too as most of the sightings we’ve had of him have been great value.
Best,
James
Hosana is quite the character. He seems to seek company. So much so we thought he was trying to start the first leopard coalition. I am so happy he chose a spot where there is constant reporting and we will be able to keep up with his wellness. Thank you for helping his fans stay informed.
Hi Earline,
You’re welcome. We’ll keep sending updates on him as they come…
Best,
James
There is so much wonderful news making my day a happy one!! I loved the “first” safari, we felt the same. There is magic at Londilozi which calms and amazes us each time we come!☺️Victoria
Wonderful to see and read about Hosana. He was wonderful to watch grow up around Djuma. Thank you for the lovely write-up and excellent photos.
One thing i have seen is Hosana and Thamba have a low tolerance to each other even though theyre half brothers. Same father Tingana. Hosana is the son of Karula and Thamba is the son of Thandi who is the daughter of Karula. Hosana just wants company. Hes not a fighter at all. He always longed for leopard company. Not ready to mate or get territorial yet. Everybody loves Hosana.
Always interesting when a new leopard expands it’s territory. In the end, I’m hoping for no more adult or cub deaths. Only time will tell. Any further news about the status of the Tamboli female? That’s one thing about nature in the bush….change is constant.
Thank you for the card. I have seen Hosana a few times in the northern se tor. He is such a nice character. I hope he stays on Londolozi. And Thamba as well.
Us too Alessandra!
We were wondering if this might be the unidentified young male we saw during our visit in late May, but we saw that male in the south and I believe it came from Mala Mala so it was probably not the Hosana male
Hi Phil,
If I remember correctly that male was the Nweti male, who originally came in from the west of the reserve. He was the one photographed kissing the buffalo in this post: http://blog.londolozi.com/2018/04/02/leopard-kisses-buffalo-unbelievable/
Best,
James
Thanks James. I have been writing up the story of our trip in my FB photo album for our trip and had been referring to this leopard as “Unknown Male”. Now I can add a name. And we certainly remember the buffalo post. Looking at my pictures, looks like Nweti is a 3:2?
He definitely seems to be a special cat, after that sighting that Alex Jordan and Marlon Du Toit had of him hunting recently!!
Oh my. How I miss Hosana in Djuma making us all laugh at his characteristics and his Photo sessions.. he does like being on camera. This 3 yr old leopard has a very warm spot in many. Though we are happy to see he is expanding and learning that there is more than just Djuma. Miss that little one.. What a character he is.
We miss our Hosana on Safari Live. We watched him grow up and go through his stages into adulthood. He is such a sweet goof at times. So friendly. His mother and sister died when he was around a year old. He has a father who tolerates him hanging around. And an older sister. Without his mother he would try to make friends with unlikely companions like hyena, if I recall correctly. Tonight I looked at film of him a few months ago before he dispersed. He didn’t seem happy. I think he wanted to disperse, and finally did the day before his third birthday. His eyes look happy in the Londolozi blog photos. I hope he secures a territory soon so he can have the life he deserves where he can be happy and fulfilled. We love him very much.
I watched Hosanna and Xongile grow up together. It killed me when “the little chief” left for the 3rd time. I’m afraid he will not return to Djuma. If he wont come to me, I will follow him.
so I know you’ve seen and have updates on Hosana why dont you have any for us in 2020 lol no pressure but during these virtual drives for this length of time you’re saying you’ve not seen him once?
After following him for years live on drive the recent tragic news really hit hard. Run free,Hosana!