The Nottens Female (a.k.a. The Shaw’s Female) has just turned 17 years old! This is an incredible achievement for a leopardess in this area. Not only in the wild, but in one of the most dense and competitive leopard populations in Africa. This officially makes her the oldest territorial leopard at Londolozi and I’m sure that she must rank pretty highly within the entire Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
Textbooks throw around figures of longevity/lifespan such as:
10 -15 years for a wild leopard
up to 20 years for a captive leopard
Taken on the 30th October 2012 – The Nottens female on the prowl in the maxabeni Drainage
Well the Nottens Female, born in October 1995, is still going strong. Her mother, the legendary 3:4 Female previously held the record. She died back in July 2009, just one month short of her 17th birthday.
The first cub of the legendary 3:4 female, the Nottens female grew to be the oldest recorded leopard on Londolozi (18yrs)
3:4 Female 2009 – Graeme Marais
3:4 was arguably the greatest leopard to have ever lived; she shared her entire life with us, allowing us a window in to the secretive lives of Leopards. John Varty (JV) spent countless hours following and filming her. Later on, he would produce a documentary entitled ‘The Leopard Queen‘, one of the most moving nature documentaries I have ever seen and a fitting obituary to her marvelous life.
Maxime Gaines, an old Londolozi Ranger wrote this fitting piece upon hearing the news of 3:4’s passing
“I am compelled to think of the many trees that bear the imprint of her claws as she climbed their branches to survey what was hers, or to drag a kill away from other predators. I have placed my fingers into those same sacred marks many times in the past and drawn energy from them.
Those imprints remain to tell her story, for those who care to look for them.
And the sands of the Tugwaan – No longer will they be pressed down with the imprint of her four feet, but so many grains have been touched by her over the years, her energy lingers in the spin of their atoms still. Each one carries a part of her inside them forever – just as they carry a part of her mother, who touched them before her. Her daughter walks the same paths now and touches those same grains of sand. They are all a part of 3:4’s story. It is a story that continues still, through the lives of her cubs and their cubs. “
One of the cubs that 3:4 left behind was the magnificent Nottens Female. Nottens’ territory is exceptionally large and she extends throughout much of the south and eastern sections of Londolozi, and indeed south of our traversing area too. Much has been written of late about whether she is possibly too old to have any further litters. Numerous times throughout the last two years she has been found mating but with no result. However, even though she may not be able to produce any further cubs she still provides us with wonderful sightings and has done so for many years.
Nottens – Sept 2009
This descendant of the ‘blue royal lineage’ of Leopards at Londolozi is the great grand-daughter of the Mother Leopard – the very first leopard viewed at Londolozi. It is for this reason that she will always have a special place in the hearts of all rangers and trackers who have worked here.
Litters:
1998 – 2 Cubs – Both females reached independence
2001 – 2 Cubs – Both cubs lost
2002 – 2 Cubs – Both cubs lost
2003 – 2 Cubs – Uncertain if made it to independence
2005 – 2 Cubs – One taken by Martial Eagle
2008 – 2 Cubs – Both Lost
So whilst the life of this queen may be slowly drawing to a close, we are all so excited that her very first cub, born back in 1998, has returned to Londolozi. Known by us as the Piva Female, this leopard is at the prime of her life and appears to be showing a tendancy to carrying on where her mother may well leave. The genes of longevity and survival are deeply embedded in this lineage so until the sad day comes when we no longer see her tracks we will continue to celebrate the long life of the grand old lady…the Nottens Female
Feb 2010
Close up of her aging face – Oct 2012
Happy birthday nottens leopard!!!
Happy Birthday Nottens Female, you are still beautiful.
Spectacular beauty! Thank you for sharing! Happy Birthday and many more!
Happy Birthday Notten Leopard,
Those eyes are incredible…imagine all the history behind them.
Be well Notten Female…xoxo
Happy Birthday Nottens Female
beautiful Queen
Beautiful Queen
happy birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS OF THE FOREST.. 🙂
IS SHE HAS CUBS?-
NOTTENS YOU’RE A JEWEL OF THE FOREST
What a great milestone for her – happy birthday!
I wonder if she will live long enough to outdo Safari who was believed to be 18/19 when she died last year, or White Cloth who was around that age too ? Happy Birthday Nottens, you’re still looking good !
I have a framed photograph of Nottens female just before she left her mother 3:4. That day she made a guest weep she had spent her life savings to come to Londolozi to see a leopard. Try as we might we had little success and on the last morning we found her sticking her head out of the branches of a jacket plum. The guest was crying with the sheer beauty and surprise of it all whilst I managed to get a reasonable photo of the Nottens female. When I first guided at Londolozi, I often followed her and 3:4 female along with Nottens females brother and we watched them grow up to be successful leopards. 1hat fond memories. Happy Birthday Nottens female.
Thanks so much Byron for this. It was great to see you the other day! Gentle lowveld rain is soaking through to the trees roots as we speak
She is a beauty. I should look so good when I’m her age (human years)!
Happy Birthday beautiful lady!
A milestone for a magnificent lady, a life, a leopard worth celebrating!
Happy Birthday Nottens!
Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday Nottens, I hope you will stay with us for many more years in good condition.
This beautiful birthday Queen will go into my Londolozi book full of wonderful pictures.
Still GORGEOUS! A true regal beauty! Happy Birthday!!
Thanks for sharing!!