This is just a brief update, not a full disclosure.
The Mashaba female has been hiding her cubs in the Sand River in front of Pioneer Camp, on and off for the last week or two. Vehicle access to the little outcrop of rocks is, unfortunately, impossible. Tracks of the female moving in and out of the river have been fresh and regularly found, but like her mother the Vomba female, she has been favouring the deep drainage lines to the south-west of camp for her hunting forays, and sightings have been infrequent. The new summer flush after the rains of a few weeks ago have thickened up the vegetation, making a leopard moving through the scrub difficult to spot. There has been no significant sighting of the mother and both cubs for a good few days.
Having a sibling is of immense value for young leopards as play forms a vital part of their development.
After a scuffle between the Anderson male and the Robson’s 4:4 male (the father of the cubs) last week in which the 4:4 male was seen fleeing, concerns were raised that the new, much larger male from the north would be a major threat to the young leopards. Although the 4:4 male seemed to be holding off the incursions of the Gowrie male from the far bank of the Sand River, the Anderson male seems like a much greater threat now that the Gowrie male has disappeared.
A rare shot of the 4:4 male in the open. He tends not to patrol down roads like some of his more relaxed counterparts, but prefers rather to patrol drainage lines and smaller game trails, making tracking him a difficult exercise at best.
No sign has been had of the Anderson male since that incident, yet dangers to young leopard cubs are plentiful in this area. Snakes, lions, hyenas are but a few. The Nottens female even lost a cub to a Martial eagle once.
So it was with a heavy heart that ranger Andrea Campbell bumped into the Mashaba female with just a single cub near the access to Pioneer Camp during morning drive. Both individuals seemed fairly agitated, and the single cub kept looking back the way it had come, suggesting either pursuit by another animal or something dangerous back in that direction.
Tracks of the female and cub moved away from the area and back into the river that afternoon, but no sign was seen of either, and we are pretty sure the mother is once more stashing the cub in the river in front of Pioneer Camp where vehicles cannot follow.
Is it possible the missing cub will be reunited with its sibling and mother? Let us hope so, else photographs of the three of them together will be a thing of the past…
Although the outlook is bleak, it is not uncommon for leopard cubs to be separated during an incident and reunite with their mother at a later stage. It is too early to draw any firm conclusions about the missing cub’s fate.
We will have to wait and watch, and hope…
Written and Photographed by James Tyrrell, Londolozi Ranger
It will be so sad if one cub is missing, but it is nature and only one usually survive. But it is still not easy to accept.
Hopefully the little one is fine,but the future of this litter is not very bright,the Robson’s 4:4 male is too weak to protect them,Anderson goes wherever he wants to at the moment,in my opinion he is easily the most impressive male in the Sabi Sands.
My heart breaks for Mashaba. She is such a good mother. Hope all is well in the bush for the little one, but time will tell.
Fingers crossed for a happy ending to this story
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the title of today’s newsletter. I held my breath as I read on. My sister, Marilyn Hamly and I saw these little wonders in August. We were privileged to have spent an entire morning with ranger Garrett, tracker Life, and our wonderful traveling companions, a family from London, as we watched with absolute glee this family of three. It was the highlight of my entire 19 day trip (and as Garrett said, it was the highlight of his year!). I would like to think that the missing little one will suddenly pop up, but I fear this is probably a dashed dream. I can only hope and pray that the remaining cub lives to see a lifetime full of glorious days roaming over every inch of Londolozi.
Thanks for the update James – hopefully it will be superseded by good news. Fingers crossed all 3 will be seen together again soon.
The photo of the 2 cubs above brings back special memories!
Hi Deborah,
It was such a treat seeing those cubs for the first time with you and Michael! Let’s hope the missing one turns up again.
Oh once again this is sad news, but the laws of the bush are very harsh! :'( I hope next time will be good news. Thanks for the post