After the year that all of us have just gone through, the first few months of 2020 probably seem like lightyears away – at least that’s how it feels for me.
Many of my favourite wildlife encounters from early last year were consigned to the back of my mind while other, more pressing issues were at hand. Fortunately, my camera’s memory card didn’t forget anything and as I was scrolling through my photographs from the beginning of last year I stumbled upon a few forgotten sightings.
One in particular brought back fond memories; the day we found the Ximungwe female and the Ximungwe young male ten minutes after leaving camp. Since mother and son have separated with the Ximungwe young male now enjoying life as a newly independent young leopard, I decided to share one of the last sightings I had of the two of them together…
The Ximungwe female paused for a moment in the early morning sun as she contemplated her next move.
Satisfied with the lay of the land, the leopardess moves out into the open.
On this particular morning we turned onto a road that we knew the Ximungwe female had been on the previous day. I had barely finished explaining the aforementioned fact to my guests when tracker Life Sibuyi spotted the leopard in question off in the distance. We trundled down the road to meet her, slowing down as we approached. As she stopped on the edge of the termite mound the rising sun caught her coat and eyes as she surveyed the road up ahead. Moments later she crossed the road followed by her male cub who had suddenly emerged from the bushes.
The Ximungwe young male follows closely behind his mother. At this stage he was just over one-and-a-half years old. Now he is fully independent and is unlikely to be seen with his mother with the exception of the odd chance meeting.
The Ximungwe young male then proceeded to give his mother a hard time and she made it clear that she was not enjoying his boisterous behaviour.
The perfect juxtaposition. A calm and composed mother lies in the warm sun while her playful youngster refuses to settle down.
Looking back on that morning makes me smile because I now know that was one of the last times I saw the female and her cub together. She has done a great job of raising a cub from her first litter to independence despite numerous challenges, including the early loss of the female cub of the litter.
Now the Ximungwe young male is completely independent and it will be interesting to track his progress has he matures.
Additionally, we have seen the Ximungwe female mating again, so hopefully we can look forward to a new litter of cubs in the not too distant future.
Why are we seeing so many leopards and cheetahs?
Is this why your counting the lions and if the lions outnumbered the ,say Leopards, are we killing the lions or reintroduce to other reserves?
Fantastic photos Nick. It is always lovely to look back at older photos and remember.
Nick, I loved the leopard, I saved the leopard🤗
Great piece ….made me laugh as a mother myself of her boisterous male cub who was acting out!!!! They are so very beautiful ….they belong in the Wild….not on some arrogant, ignorant Human as a fur anything!!!! Thank you.
Hi Nick what a wonderful experience… it’s not commonplace also for a leopard to raise a young successfully. Have you got any news of the boy?
Nick, thanks for sharing your beautiful images. Glad they showed up as a reminder. We are thrilled that this young male will find his own way now and excited that he has made it this far. Will he get a name of his own now? We hope that he will find an area near you, so we can all keep track of his exploits!
How perfectly beautiful those leopards are! great shots of mother and nearly adult son.
Thank you Nick for those beautiful foto’s of the Ximungwe female and her male cub. It is so special to see mother and cub together. He is all grown up now and on his own. I am always so excited to see foto’s of leopards.
Thanks Nick….. lovely to look back over the past year at this gorgeous mother and son…. Thanks for sharing them with us…..
The Ximungwe female is truly beautiful. I have a great photo of her. The first photo herein exemplifies that.
I always enjoyed seeing her son’s antics, especially when he was younger. It will be interesting to see where he ends up since available “male” territory seems to be limited in Londolozi. I hear the Tortoise Pan male has been observed in your neighbor’s reserve. Looking back on photos taken in the past and never edited makes me feel as though I’ve just returned from my trip. Thanx for sharing these.
Great to see these archive photos of the Ximungwe cub and Mum. I remember the cub’s hilarious tree antics and learning hunt well. Hopefully, as you say Nick, there will be a new family soon 🙏❤️
Just gorgeous!
These are terrific pictures Nick. I’m so glad you were able to document this relationship just prior to the young male achieving independence.
👌
Such wonderful pictures, Nick!
I love the photos… you can look at them endlessly and never tire of them…
Thank you for the share…
Greetings Nick
I believe we were your guests for this sighting. I have some great shots of the same scenes. The interaction between the two was fun to observe. Thanks for rediscovering this. Stay safe. Regards to Life.
That’s a lovely sighting Nick!