We set out early one morning with the intention of trying to find a cheetah. As we got closer to where one had been seen the day before we spotted a shape on a termite mound in the distance. I lifted my binoculars, half expecting it to be a log yet secretly hoping it would be the cheetah. To my surprise, and after a double take, it was actually a male leopard.
Our initial thought after the unexpected find was that it was most likely the White Dam Male which is the dominant male in that area of the reserve. As we got closer we were quite surprised to see that is was a much older male and therefore could not be the White Dam Male. Tracker Freddy Ngobeni (who has worked at Londolozi for many many years) instantly recognised the male we were looking at as he had seen him and his brother were cubs. I could definitely tell that is was a male I had never seen before.
It was the Makhotini male.
A much younger Makhotini Male taken a few years ago when we would still see him around the south-western part of Londolozi before he shifted his territory more south beyond Londolozi’s boarders.
We sat with him for a while, watching as he slowly moved around the termite mound, quietly checking the entrances of the burrows (presumably warthog burrows) for any sign of an easy meal.
As he moved we could clearly see the many scars all over his body which painted a picture of the life that he has lived.
He soon disappeared into one of the burrows so we looped around to the side of the entrance expecting him to come back out but he was nowhere to be seen.
After about 20 minutes of waiting we were starting to doubt ourselves that he was still in the burrow so we decided to try get a bit closer to shine a spotlight down the hole to see if we could see him. It wasn’t an easy task but eventually we got a small gap where we could see into the hole and about two metres down I just saw the flick of his tail. Eventually, after about an hour of sitting and and waiting, he emerged from the burrow with a bit of blood on the side of his face, which would explain why he was in there for so long. This is the time of year that female warthogs give birth to their young in burrows just like this one and I can only imagine that is what he found down there and took advantage of the easy meal.
The Makhotini Male was known to go from termite mound to termite mound in search of warthogs.
Given his age (about 12 years old) and all the scars on his body it is likely that he has started losing control of his territory to a younger male, which is inevitable for any leopard of his age. Having been dominant over the southern section of the Sabi Sand Reserve for the past four or so years but now living a more nomadic lifestyle, it was a pleasant surprise to see him as he hasn’t been seen on Londolozi for a few years now. Hopefully this means we might get to see a bit more of him before his time comes.
The Makhotini male moves through the long green grass back in 2017
Wow! This is exciting news. I have seen the Makotini male a few times. Him and his brother hold a special place in my hart. His father Camp Pan was my favourite male leopard.
A great story about this still very beautiful leopard.
Thanks Tayla, I’m thrilled to bits to see this! We saw him on our 1st trip to Londolozi in Feb 2010; he was with his mother Maxabene and sibling TuTones. The brothers were about 16 months old then and clearly irritating their mother. I was lucky enough to see him again in 2011, 2012 and 2013! I have a framed photo of him and he’s also on a fridge magnet, so I see him all the time!
Must be wonderful to have one of your ‘old timers’ back in the area..well done Freddy Ngobeni for recognizing him instantly! Will be super if he remains in your area and is left alone to enjoy his last few years in peace. Thanks Tayla 🙏🏻💕
Goes to show everyone loves Londolozi so much that they always come back
Spectacular photo at the intro!
Recall the story of the Maxabeni Leopard Brothers. Liked their names as I like Freddy’s name NgoBENI. He is our most memorable tracker–full of wisdom–and a great man!
Great to see Maxabeni has returned home. I mainly saw Max at Sabi Sabi in recent years. Do you remember when he hoisted the hyena in the tree, while his brother Tu Tones was sitting at the bottom? That happened shortly before they started their nomadic lives a young males.
Hi Allesandra,
Yes, we’ve put the link to the old bog post in the first paragraph! 🙂
Great to see a new Leopard face ! Always interesting to see who’s around
Tayla, I loved all the photos🤗
Great sighting Tayla! Londolozi posts never fail to interest the mind and excite the imagination! It will be fascinating to hear of future sightings of the Makhotini male leopard!
It must be a homecoming of sorts for the Makhotino leopard to return to his former territory. After achieving this level of life, I suppose finding small game is not as stressful as the larger species. I hope he isn’t forced out by the younger leopards who have taken away his territory and his ability to hunt. Fingers crossed!
What a great surprise. I haven’t seen him since he and the Tu Tones male were still juveniles.
We all love these old distinguished male leopards. Tingana is our old dominant boy around Djuma and we are enjoying his return to his home these days!
Dat a BIG kitty! 🙂 Considering his long life, The Makhotini Male looks very healthy!
Thanks for the update Tayla! What a handsome leopard and it’s nice to see him again!
A nice blog Tayla and a magnificent looking leopard. How fortunate for you all to see him. Thanks for sharing with us.
Tayla – we were thrilled to see this post. With Dave Strachan and Judas, we had a thrilling view of the Makotini male mating with two female leopards June 21st 2015. This was during our 2nd trip to Londolozi and was our first clear view of a mature male leopard. We’d seen his father (?) the famous Camp Pan male during our first trip 2 years earlier (with James T and Mike Sithole) but that was Xmas time and was obscured by the long grass. We were due to be with you again for our 4th trip this Xmas / New Year but have had to postpone due to the pandemic – while we are sad that we can’t be with you, we hope everyone there is safe and well and are already re-booked to come and spend Xmas / New Year 2022 with you. The Watkins
Hi Jared,
I remember that Camp Pan sighting…
Correct me if I’m wrong but I seem to remember we tracked the Sparta pride on Christmas day as well; no luck in the morning but we got on their trail again in the afternoon and found them?
Sorry you guys had to postpone but looking forward to seeing you next year hopefully!
Best,
James
Great recall James ! You are absolutely right, you and Mike tracked the Sparta pride on that memorable Christmas Day and found them with a couple of the Majingilane males in tow. We would have been heading your way now if plans had not been disrupted – but we are re-booked so will wait impatiently to get there again.