With just under 15000 hectares or about 37000 acres of land to traverse we are lucky to have a lot of options when it comes to where we should head out on game drives. The very pleasant dilemma of which direction means there are a number of factors that come into play when deciding on which direction to head.
Sometimes you have been tracking the whole morning without success and head back into the same area that afternoon to try again. Sometimes you hear from the other rangers about a particular sighting they had on their drive and you try your luck for that same animal on your next drive because you know where to start. Sometimes predators are found on a kill and you know that most likely they will stay there for some time until the meal is finished and then sometimes your ranger or your tracker or even both will have a gut feeling on where to go and this is when you you should just go with it.
A gut feeling is often unexplainable. It could be because of the amount of time you have spent tracking a particular leopard that you start to feel just a tiny bit more attuned to its movements. But don’t get too confident or cocky about this feeling because it can disappear and then you can’t help but feel one step behind the whole time. It might just be a brief thought that you can’t shake away or it could be stirred from a previous sighting that you had. Sometimes a gut feeling will come from an urge to drive a road that you haven’t driven in a while and when I had that exact thought recently on a game drive it paid off handsomely!
Schotia Road is a beautiful track in the far south of the reserve that takes you through some lovely grassland. As it snakes through a thicker riverine area there is a big termite mound which has a Weeping Boer Bean tree growing out of it. It is from this tree that the road derives its name as Schotia is the family name for the Weeping Boer Bean. I had only driven that road a few times over the years but each time I did so I always thought how great it would be to see a leopard lying on one of the branches.
The first view we had of a leopard in the Weeping Boer Bean on Schotia Road.
One particular morning I set off on game drive with my guests when I suddenly pictured that tree and got this urge to drive down there. It wasn’t a dominant thought and I certainly wasn’t confident that there was something there. It was just an urge to head into that area because it was a beautiful area to drive and we wanted to explore.
We meandered our way through the grasslands of the south-western parts of the reserve before turning on to the old Selati Railway line that now serves as one of the main routes to launch an exploration into the south. As we turned on to Schotia road we stopped to appreciate a crash of rhinos grazing next to the road. After a few minutes Rich turned around to me from the tracker’s seat in the front and asked me to pass him the binoculars. I could tell he was excited and had spotted something but just wanted to make sure for himself. He brought the binoculars down away from his eyes and looked at all of us with a big smile. “Would anyone like to see a leopard?” he said as he pointed to the prominent Weeping Boer Bean growing out of the large termite quite some distance away. I’ll let the pictures do the talking from here…
We slowly got a little bit closer to try and work out which leopard Rich had spotted. It turned out it was the White Dam male which was the first time Rich and I had seen this particular leopard.
We spent a good half an hour with him as he rested on the main branch of the tree.
He was born in 2014 and his father is the Makhotini Male who used to spend quite a lot of time in that same area a few years back.
After some time he jumped down onto the termite mound below where he could rest in the shade.
With a relatively symmetrical 2:2 spot pattern we were able to identify him when we got a closer look.
These days when I get a similar gut feeling, I simply go with it and hope it works out for the best…
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James he is beautiful. Is his mither the White Dam female as he is named White Dam. He will be Camp Pan’s grandson. We love to drive out and see what the bush give us. Sometimes we do not see much and sometimes fantastic sightings. The best is to be out in nature, no matter which road you took.
Hi Marinda, Yes is Mother is known as the White Dam female. I agree with you as well about it doesn’t matter which road you take as long as you are exploring!
“Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?”
Hi Ian, it really does make your day!
James, what a wonderful blog! I saved the leopard the Leopard in the tree, the Leopard going down the tree, and Leopard on the in the grass🤗
Hi Joan, we were very spoilt that morning for sure.
Good call James. It’s only partially about luck. Never underestimate skill. Nice photos
Hi Andrew and Daniel, thanks so much!
Hi James , I just put some foto’s on instagram of our magical safari together !
Hi Dina, I will definitely go and have a look!
‘Go with the gut instinct’ is normally a wise adage! It worked out that day for sure. I love the pic of his leap down to the termite mound! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Darlene, glad you enjoyed it!
Intuitive ‘knowing’ and what a beautiful sighting it has produced. Leopards are elusive and solitary, and how privileged we are to see this handsome leopard relaxed and happy in his natural habitat. Thank you Londolozi.
Hi Annie, it really is a privilege!
fabulous pictures!!! you reinforce my feelings when getting into the car in the morning and you are asked what do you want to find. my answer is always let’s go and see what you can find. there is always a great surprise thanks to your expert knowledge. Victoria
Hi Victoria, I do love that feeling of anticipation at the start of a game drive!
You know, James, I cannot tell you how many times we have looked for leopards in trees with NO success whatsoeve over many years in the Bush! At Londolozi – just judging from the number of Leopards we have seen in pictures – you seem to grow trees with resident Leopards in them all over the place! (Perhaps I am exaggerating a little bit!) Wendy M
Hi Wendy, it does seem that way a lot of the time. It is certainly quite a sight to see and hopefully you get a chance next time!
Hunch = Gut instinct= Premonition = Experience = Knowledge etc etc etc. It all comes down to just another reason Londolozi’s ranger/tracker teams are THE BEST!!!
Thanks Bob and Lucie! We are very lucky to have a lot of experience in our ranger/tracker teams. Some of them have been here for over 30 years!
Great sighting, James. I was thrilled to see this male’s presumed father is the Makhotini male, who I saw as an adolescent cub with his mother the Maxabeni female and sibling (who I believe was later named Tu-Tones?) Guess he’d be about 11 years old now. Do you ever get reports on him from neighbouring reserves? – I’d heard he’d moved off Londolozi but stayed fairly close, but that was a long time ago.
Hi Suzanne, yes you are absolutely right. The Tu-Tones Male and the Makhotini Male were brothers and the Tu-tones Male dispersed to the east of our reserve where he unfortunately succumbed to injuries in a fight with baboons quite a few years back. The Makhotine Male held onto territory for quite some time in the southern most parts of the reserve before being pushed even further south and out of our traversing area. As far as I know he is still around which is very impressive for a male leopard because that would make him 12 years old. Hope you are well!
Brilliant! As always, thank you for sharing the process along with the results!!
Thanks Paul!
Hi James, thanks so much for sharing this experience with me. My dream is to come to Africa and see all these magnificent animals first hand, but with all that is going on right now, who knows when travel will be allowed again. But until that time, I enjoy all the pictures and stories from all of you. Thanks for bringing Africa to me.
Hi Joanne, its an absolute pleasure and I also hope the world returns to normal again soon and we can share these sightings first hand with everyone again!
Hi James, just caught up with your blog/video this morning. I’m a total believer in gut instinct coupled with experience and what I found from my first visit to Londolozi is that each drive yielded something special, from Ingrid Dam female posturing in a tree to a beautiful gray heron with a freshly caught fish in his mouth… go out, explore and nature will deliver her gifts.
So true Denise, thanks for sharing!