The Leopards of Londolozi are more than just a favourite part of the Big Five: they’re part of the fabric of daily life both in and out of camp. Sit down with the staff at lunchtime, for example, and you’ll be thrown into the latest broadcast of local leopard news:
“Saw Inyathini male this morning in the south-east… Ximungwe young male getting to be independent… Nkoveni female shifting her territory…”
The Leopards of Londolozi; wowing guests, rangers and trackers for generations.
It might sound like the staff at Londolozi live for leopard gossip, discussing who’s living where and who’s pairing up with who (“You won’t BELIEVE who the Mashaba female was caught mating with!”), but the leopard affinity here runs much deeper. The lodge keeps detailed family trees of Londolozi’s leopard lineages and rangers and trackers can identify individual leopards not only from their spot patterns but from their behavioural quirks, their territorial habits, and even slight differences in their tracks. Staff identify with particular leopards, seeking them out in the bush; they photograph them, track their development, keep tabs on their mating patterns, and hope to see their offspring grow to maturity.
One leopard, often spoken about at Londolozi with great reverence (and perhaps just a trace of fear), is the Anderson 4:4 male. Unofficially (but notoriously) the largest leopard in the entire Sabi Sand Reserve – or at least Londolozi – the Anderson male has made a name for himself, but at the age of eleven is now getting on in years. He hasn’t been seen much lately, and I figured I’d missed my chance to encounter him in the bush.
The Anderson male.
Unofficially the biggest leopard in the Sabi Sands, the Anderson male is an absolutely enormous individual in north western Londolozi.
Then a few nights ago night, on my way to bed, James “Of The Blog” Tyrrell jogged past me on his way to fetch a vehicle: “We’re going out to find lions – leaving in two minutes!”
With ranger Greg Pingo at the wheel, our nighttime staff bumble set out on a mission to find the Ntsevu pride, which fellow ranger Andrea Sithole had heard in the distance earlier that evening. As we descended into the dry Sand River bed, the warm night air became deliciously cool, and after a bit of bundu-bashing over rocks and reeds, Greg cut the engine and headlamps. We sat in the riverbed in total silence, each of us quietly taking in the magic of the evening, alone in the bush, looking for lions under a glowing moon.
Our first pass through the river led to a dead end, but back on the riverbank we soon heard the rumble of mating lions and zoomed back down for another try. With lions on the brain, we were suddenly thrown a bushveld curveball in the form of a leopard lying just meters from where Greg had stopped the vehicle. Only at Londolozi can bumping into a leopard be such a casual event, though a closer look with the spotlight proved we were in the presence of a legend: the Anderson male.
It soon became clear, though, that things weren’t right with him: the leopard had a large gash on its neck and was breathing rapidly and heavily. Looking at his battle-scarred face and ragged tail, we realized Anderson was not long for this world; Greg estimated he had only a week left. A wave of sadness washed over our bumble as we came to terms with what we were seeing: almost certainly one of the last sightings of this mythical fixture of Londolozi’s leopard landscape.
Once again Greg switched off the headlights, leaving us to sit silently in the company of this still formidable animal at the end of its days, able to see only its hulking silhouette in the sand. That’s when the Ntsevu cubs arrived.
As the pride materialized out of the darkness, bounding over a crest in the riverbed, my heart pounded in my chest: over a dozen lions trotting toward us, and a leopard in the same sighting! But the lions were moving at a serious clip, and the excitement gave way to dread as we registered that they’d detected the Anderson male’s scent and pegged him as an easy target. We all held our breath and braced for a gruesome fight.
Whether it was our spotlight or the sound of the lions that tipped him off, the Anderson male dipped into whatever energy reserves he had left and zipped out of sight with one or two seconds to spare. As we let out a collective sigh of relief, the lions turned to the female nyala kill stashed under a nearby tree, attacking it with incredible ferocity. It was an emotionally charged moment, one that revealed the flip side of Londolozi’s bounty of leopards. It’s easy to become so attached to individual leopards here that this part of a leopard’s circle of life becomes hard to swallow.
But long after the Anderson male stops making headlines in the lunchtime leopard newsroom, we can continue to reflect happily on a wild life well lived and, even in his final days, the endless awe he inspired.
It will be sad when the Anderson male dies. It is always amazing to encounter lions in the night. It just feel different from in the daytime.
So very sorry to hear about the Anderson male. It is very hard not to become attached to these beautiful animals, so much more so for those of you who see them in person and on a regular basis. It is also hard for many of us, viewing via the blogs and from the other side of the world. The Anderson male has become a true legend in the Sabi Sands, strong, powerful, fast and ferocious. He is an absolutely beautiful leopard and I am hoping against hope that he will, somehow, be able to make a miraculous recovery and live to enjoy another couple of years…….Many thanks for keeping us informed.
Have never seen the Anderson male in our 4 trips. We had been hopeful about our next–unlikely now.
Sad to hear. He will always live on in the hearts and minds of his “family” at Londolozi. Please keep us posted.
Oh wow thanks for the article and update Michael.
Any viewing of Anderson since? And speculation to the cause of the gash?
Thank you for sharing your story. It was always my dream to see the magnificent Anderson at least once. I have had to settle for pictures. I have hopes for Anderson that for a little while he may be the leopard he once was.
It is sad to hear that Mr Anderson is nearing his end. At 11 yrs I thought he had a few more years. I am so very thankful we had the time with him that we did, and thank you Londolozi team for keeping us informed on this very special leopard.
Very relieved at the short term outcome but longer term looking grim
A powerful blog Michael, emoting the feelings of your “ bumble” entourage. Indeed seeing the infamous Anderson male is a thrill, but to see him injured and apparently weakening takes the air out of the balloon. Good to know he’s still sharp enough to move out of harm’s way….. will be staying tuned to learn what will happen to this bigger than life leopard!
The Anderson male is remarkable in size with dark foreboding eyes. Unforgettable and will be missed when he is gone.
Michael, I saw the Anderson Male on several occasions, he was alive and well – so sorry to hear that he died.
What is the status of the Anderson male? what caused the injury and how serious is it?
Great story Michael. Always sad to hear of one of the ”legends” demise… A close call for sure!
A really nice blog Michael and love the leopard diaries – they really are beautiful cats. What a nice evening you all spent out in the bush and it was fortuitous for you to stumble on the mighty Anderson. Brings tears to my eyes that he is in the final stages of life and sad that he has been wounded. He truly is a legend and will live on in our memories. Such is the circle of life in the bushveld. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
I am in a funny way pleased we never got to see this elusive leopard despite days of tracking. It adds to the mystery of the Bush. I will remember the other presents the Bush gave us when out tracking that were unexpected.
The Anderson Male, a true legend of the Sabi Sands. Fortunately he has offspring that will carry on for years to come. He will be greatly missed.
Understand nature has it’s cycles, but my heart silently breaks. In spite his current injuries, I hope his passing will be peaceful. Thank you for 11 years King Anderson. You were majestic!
How is the Anderson male doing, it will be a very sad day when he passes. I read your blog every day and my hope is that when I do come to South Africa some of the animals that you write about will still be around.
Hi Joanne,
We haven’t seen him in a few weeks and think he’s probably gone, sadly.
We’ll be releasing a post on him over the next few days.
Best regards