Just before afternoon game drive my guests mentioned to me that they had met with other guests during the day who had seen a mother leopard and her cub and watched them playing. The other guests had taken “amazing” photographs and that they so hoped to see something like that! I told them that looking for those leopards again that afternoon was our plan all along. So, with hopeful hearts we went out searching for them.
The Ximungwe female, the focus of our search.
A while after setting out to find the mother and cub, we managed to find the young male in a similar area to where they were seen that morning. At more than a year old, he is now almost as big as his mother. This was already incredible for the guests as they had never seen a leopard before.
He lay in the grass with his head up, observing his surroundings. About ten minutes later, as I turned to say something to the rest of the vehicle, I heard another ranger who was in the sighting with us, Guy Brunskill, excitedly say “Look there’s another leopard!!”. The Ximungwe female had returned, and the sighting went from good to incredible…
The pair walk across a marshy area just after meeting up.
The Ximungwe female casts her gaze across the marsh to scan for danger before crossing.
They found some pooled water in a marsh and began drinking. The cub was restless because he could smell blood on his mother’s mouth. We started to realise that the Ximungwe female had probably made a kill at around midday, and might be leading the cub there.
The Ximungwe female walked out of the riverbed and her cub followed shortly thereafter… the excitement was building!
We started asking ourselves where the kill could be? How far was she going to walk with the cub? Everybody was bursting with energy at what was happening and at the prospect of what was to come.
The young male is first to return to the impala kill!
After following the two of them for a while we noticed the kill in the distance, so drove towards the carcass and waited for the leopards to approach…
The young male saw the kill and excitedly ran towards it. His mother allowed him to feed first.
Leopards will not feed together like lions; leopards feed alone.
The young male aggressively tossed the kill about.
The young male jumped on the kill and bit the neck of the already dead impala. This is how he practices killing.
The young male finished a surprising amount of meat in one sitting.
Here he pauses to look around for any threats between bouts of feeding.
We got some amazing views of his claws as he manoeuvred around the kill.
Another amazing look at the unsheathed claws. Leopards will unsheathe their claws when grabbing meat, climbing, playing, and bringing down prey.
Finally, after an impressive display of feeding from the young male, he walked off with a full belly and his mother the huntress, moved in to feed herself.
The Ximungwe female looks up after plucking a significant amount of fur from the body of the impala.
The sighting was mesmerising to everybody who had the chance to see it! For my guests who had never seen a leopard before, experiencing something so incredible involving two leopards, was certainly unforgettable.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
They both have nice eyes
A sighting they will never forget , lucky guests and good photos. A bit of blood always enhances the photo
How awesome for your guests. Lifetime of memories
We were also at the same sighting with Sandros which culminated in the mother taking the remainder of the kill up a near by tree! Altogether an amazing sighting from start to finish and one of the highlights of an another incredible stay at Londolozi
Gorgeous!
What an incredible sighting for your guests! Wonderful photos! I look forward to your BLOG posts everyday and would like to wish all at Londolozi a very Merry Christmas!!
Bruce, great photos of the leopards
It’s also amazing that the feeding by the leopard is much less violent than that of the lion.
Hi Bruce, what an extraordinary time and wonderful pictures!! Wish we could have been there. Hope you are well and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year. Victoria
That had to have been one of the best viewings of late. Wonderful series of photos Bruce. I’m in awe….
Some of the most excellent images I’ve seen of leading to the kill and the feed itself….even the practice of killing it again by the cub! I was not aware that leopards feed alone, unlike lions. You taught me something. Your guests were truly fortunate to see such a complete story when seeing their first leopard!
Wow Bruce! What an amazing sighting! Your guests expectations must have been super high after that! They were probably saying “what amazing experience is Bruce going to show us next!” High expectations for sure. Very cool to see the unsheathed claws so close up. Thanks!
a nice blog Bruce and what an experience for your guests to get to see these beautiful cats. Great pics also. Thanks for sharing with us. Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy 2020 to you and all at Londolozi.
Beautiful photos!!!