The time has come for a young female leopard to no longer be associated with her mother but to be recognised as a territorial adult on Londolozi and receive a name, a reference to her new territory. The female in question is from the very well known Sunset Bend lineage that has been followed for generations by staff and guests alike. The Tutlwa 3:2 young female is now known as the Nhlanguleni 3:2 female.
Initially skittish she spent a lot of time in the Sand River, now relaxed she makes up the majority of leopard viewing west of camp.
The Tutlwa 4:3 female the mother of the leopard in question. Simon Smit
The Nhlanguleni 3:2 female was born in May 2011, to the now more regularly seen and relaxed Tutlwa 4:3 female. The Tutlwa 4:3 female has spent her life in and around the breathtaking Sand River. The thick vegetation and sandy (hence the name) substrate around this great river sometimes means that the following of this female is tricky. Her preference for denning and raising cubs in the river gives her cubs a safer place to spend their very vulnerable first few months, this unfortunately makes the difficult process of finding a leopards den and cubs near impossible. These two factors have both contributed to the nature of her now mature cub.
The pink area denotes the territory of the Tutlwa female, and therefore the area in which the Nhlanguleni female was raised. The purple area is the section of Londolozi in which we are now seeing the Nhlanguleni female as she matures and becomes territorial. The disappearance of the Nottens and Maxabene females over the last two years have left this area largely vacant.
The Nhlanguleni female (pictured right) with her mother the Tutlwa female. Photos like this were very rare during the Nhlanguleni female’s youth, as she and her brother were notoriously skittish, and kept well secluded in deep drainage lines in their mother’s territory. James Tyrrell
When seen, the very elusive Nhlanguleni 3:2 female is cautious of the presence of vehicles, this is due to her limited exposure as a cub to vehicles in the tangle of vegetation that she so enjoyed as a young leaopard. This female still spends most of her time around the river and her mother’s territory. In the last fews months though she has been seen pushing further south. She has been seen scent marking in what used to be the Vomba 3:2 female‘s (her grandmother) terrritory. This new area brings less vegetation and the chance to see her more often. In the heart of this new area lies a road that is named after the most prolific bush found there, the Guarri bush.
The Nhlanguleni female, considered to be one of the more beautiful leopards around. Simon Smit
The Guarri bush is believed to bring good luck and is sometimes carried by the local shangaan people for this very reason. The safari team felt that this was something to consider when choosing a name for the maturing female but used the Shangaan name for the Guarri bush; “Nhlanguleni” was decided upon. As this female continues to mature, the dominant Marthly male will more than likely start showing interest in her in the hope of continuing his lineage. We hope to see much more of this beautiful female in the near future as she settle into life as an adult leopard on Londolozi.
Written by: Simon Smit
Photographed by: Simon Smit and James Tyrrell
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Beautiful leopard.
Stunning pics of this female. Thanks for the write up Simon.
Alright, a new Sunset Bend descendant to follow! Thank you for the beautiful photos of the elusive Tutlwa and the new Nhlanguleni female (the black and white of Tutlwa is really fantastic). The map showing their territories in relation to one another is very cool.
Amazing, that’s the first time I’ve seen a map of Londo, now I can picture the leopard territories much better. Not the primary purpose of the post, but thanks!
She is a beautiful leopard Simon! I look forward to hearing a lot more about her in the coming months. Thanks for a great blog and the fantastic photographs!
Glad you enjoyed the map, it puts thing in perspective quite nicely! She is stunning and her beautiful pink nose is such a stand out feature… Another Sunsetbend descendant and we hope that she will continue the lineage…
Thanks Simon & James. James, your pic of mother & daughter is just beautiful. Look forward to seeing more of her in the coming months <3