35 Comments

on A Brand New Leopard Cub

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Shirley
Guest

I am glad the cub is still alive. the cub is beautiful and very cute. Thank you for the wonderful pictures.

This is unbelievable- and the photographs just too amazing Tal!

John Maarschalk
Guest

What a great story and images to go with it.
Thank you.

Wow, very cool blog post! I’m just bummed that I never heard anything about this in my 6 nights there last week!

Sorry Rae that we kept it pretty quiet. To be honest the cub has only been seen around five times in total and not once in the last two weeks. I know even the rangers are still dying to see it. We did not post this or spread this news out of sensitivity to the cub and so as to not dampen peoples moods. It is indeed an incredibly special moment and Talley has been truly blessed to see it three times. I trust you had a great time when you were here – Adam

Monique
Guest

Talley, I am so delighted for you. I remember you saying to me a year ago at Londolozi that this was your dream….. And the pictures are incredible – thank you

Margaruta Doychinova
Guest

Happy news!!! Lovely cub and mum!!!

Jenny
Guest

It is such an honor and an extreme privilege to be the first human a tiny little leopard cub sees, isn’t it? Lovely story and photographs – well done Talley and Freddy and all the best to the Dudley Riverbank Female in her golden years, and her gorgeous little (female?) cub.

Tim Long
Guest

Tal- I don’t think you could have said “Us mere mortals with ‘normal’ vision had to wait until she actually moved out of the grass to see her.” any better.. I was there 3 weeks ago today.. can you tell I miss it greatly.. and we had the pleasure of having Tom and Jerry as our Guide/Tracker pairing.. The things that Jerry saw and heard was truly amazing.. truly superhuman.. that is what makes the pairings at Londolozi so darn special. Thank you for the story and the wonderful pictures.. I am dreaming of the day when I can come back to heaven..

Tim

What a TREASURE!! Those pictures capture such maternal tenderness!! Absolutely FABULOUS Talley!! Best wishes to the new Mum and her adorable cub and THANK YOU for sharing

karine GAY
Guest

MERCI BEAUCOUP TALLEY.. THESE PICTURES ARE SO GOOD AND I AM SO HAPPY TO KNOW A NEW LEOPARD CUB IS BORNED IN LONDOLZI…SOOOO CUTE….
ANOTHER DIRECT MISSING PART OF LONDOLOZI LIFE …
I THINK…I AM SURE,I WILL COME BACK IN OCTOBER …
BEST REGARDS ALSO TO ADAM FOR THE CHEETAH REPORT….SO INCREDIBLE…

ENJOY LIFE AT LONDOLOZI… YOU HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

gloria sapp
Guest

sweet pics of this. I so respect your views also on the sighting and vehicles comin in.It is special to see this and vey special to know the respect and awe you have of this precious new life. Im so glad you got your special moment with a new life.

Carol Robinson
Guest

Talley, thanks SO much. We were hoping to see this cub a month ago with Alfie and Bennet and waited a while while the mum was hunting. We weren’t worried at the time, but so hoped to see a photo of what we had “missed”. I hoped someone would be able to show me the picture of the baby cub. So thank you, this just completes the picture and wonderful, unforgettable experience we had at Londolozi.

Talley…Just TOO wonderful. Freddie is a treasure and this find reminded me of when he tracked Shayne and his brother and sisters. He is truly amazing. Two first sightings…amazing.

And I love reading about his sensitively to the situation. Of course, GREAT photos!

Looking forward to our discoveries on our next visit and updates on this new cutie.

Merle, it also reminded me of that day 🙂 I really wish you guys could have been there with us!

A question. I Googled as to how many cubs are in a normal leopard litter….answer 2-3. Were you surprised to find only one?

James T
Guest

Merle 2-3 cubs is a pretty standard litter size in younger leopards, but older females generally cannot cope with the strain imposed on their bodies by birthing and raising 2 or 3 cubs, so 1 becomes the norm. The extra energy demands of raising more are simply too much.
The Dudley Riverbank female is approximately 14 years old, and given that it takes roughly 18 months to 2 years to raise a cub to independence, and female leopards cannot usually expect to live much beyond 17 (which is the age of our oldest territorial leopard at the moment, Dudley Riverbank’s sister; the Nottens Female), we can most likely assume that should she raise it successfully, this will be her last cub.
Knowing Dudley Riverbank’s age, we were pretty sure that if we did manage to find the den, one cub was all we could expect to find.

Thanks for your knowledge and expertise James, very interesting to learn that the litter sizes decrease owing to a female’s age. I look forward to tracking this cub with you and also getting my first glimpse!!

Senior Digital Ranger

Thank you so much for this post and the photos to go with it.. I find leopards to be amazing creatures, and love hearing about them..

I am grateful to you all for sharing your wildlife experiences with us..

James T
Guest

Still haven’t seen this little critter, despite numerous attempts to find the new densite and a 7 hour track the other day.
Supremely jealous Tal, must have been an amazing moment!

Wonderful post Talley and some truly stunning pictures of this beautiful little cub!! I hope to be able to film it in the near future. rich

Sheena
Guest

So pleased for you Talley and Freddy, you deserve the first viewing, you have treated us to so many
beautiful images from Londolozi and these certainly shine as bright as the little star they introduce us to.
What a team!

Thalia
Guest

So thrilled to see you talking about the cub we discovered with you all those weeks ago. How did you keep quiet for so long!!
It looks so much bigger and less vunerable, but just as stunning and endearing. We look forward to hearing more about it’s progress.
Good to see Freddie is just as amazing as usual – he has a sixth sense!
Thalia & Angela

Claire-M. Lepage
Guest

Oh thank you so much for sharing your emotions as well as your sightings. Beautifully told. And … take care of Fred!!!

Claire-M. from Québec, Canada

Andrea Zanker
Guest

Thank you for the Great pictures! It is so Sweet !!

“Freddie is a treasure and this find reminded me of when he tracked Shayne and his brother and sisters. He is truly amazing. Two first sightings…amazing.

And I love reading about his sensitively to the situation.”

I am absolutely not surprised that Freddy found mom and cub. He amazed me with his ability to track and spot when I was there in Nov. of 2010. Looking forward to seeing him again in December of 2012. The photos are beautiful.

Judy we can’t wait to see you all!

Talley, thank you for sharing your story and photos. I feel like I was in the truck with both you and Freddy! I can imagine the whole experience! You two are the best.

Hugs to all, Jenifer

Thanks so much everyone for all the comments. We will keep you updated as to if and when we find them again. We know the general area where they are, and we checked yesterday afternoon but unfortunately there were too many elephants in the area to look properly on foot! The suspense continues!

John Holley
Guest

Amazing! Insanely Jealous! Obviously an early birthday present! Shame Tal you must let some of the other rangers try find some cubs for once..

Pej
Guest

Hi Adam,

Please don’t tell me the video of the cub that was just posted was taken on the day we left you guys or today for that matter. If it was, I may have to change my plans for the rest of my trip and fly back out to Londolozi tomorrow – lol! FYI, I heard the Sparta orphans are being well taken care of by their aunt. Apparently, she was feeding with them on the hippo and was also quite affectionate with them.

Linda Holland
Guest

Wonderful pictures…the little cub is beautiful.

Jane West
Guest

This is so beautifully written and accompanied by the most stunning photos. Talley, your “baby” is adorable!!

TED SWINDON
Guest

HI TALLEY, THANKS FOR THE STORY AND FOR THE MAGNIFICENT PICTURES! I CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK TO LONDOLOZI WITH THE HOPES OF SEEING THIS BEAUTIFUL CUB!
KIND REGARDS,
TED.

Jono Harper
Guest

Hey Tal
Epic. I know the feeling and it is very hard to get the words to describe it.Great story.

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