We had not seen the Ximungwe female for well over a month.
For a female who was seen very often on the reserve – in fact almost certainly our most frequently found female – to have no sightings of her certainly sparked some worry in the guiding team. Although leopards are elusive cats and secretive by nature, at Londolozi are extremely lucky to view them almost on a daily basis.
Towards the end of last year we saw she was spending less and less time with her male cub and has now left him to become nomadic; to fend for himself entirely. This is not new behaviour, but what is very exciting is she was seen mating a few months back and that is generally the sign that she is officially finished looking after her offspring and ready to raise a new litter again.
It was not long after we had seen her mating that she disappeared and sightings of her became more sporadic. The recent rains have not made it any easier finding her – along with other leopards – as the grass is now well over a meter high in most areas of the reserve and even higher in thicker areas. We knew she had to be somewhere and sooner or later we would find her.
Here one can very easily see the size comparison between the female(left) and her male son (right). Its no wonder she has now pushed him out to fend and catch food for himself. With him now being nomadic, it gives room for the Ximungwe Female to raise a second litter.
Are we going to be having sightings like this over the next few weeks? This was taken when her now nomadic off spring was only a few months old. The landscape wasn’t nearly as thick as it is now but she sure knows how to choose good hiding places for her cubs.
That day came a few days ago when tracker Shadrack Mkhabela and I found a drag mark in a dry river bed; on closer inspection Shadrack told me in was a female leopard who had made the kill and the drag mark was very fresh.
We both paused and looked at each other, both suddenly very alert now. We followed up and out of the river bed where the undergrowth got very thick. It was a few minutes later, tracking through the long grass, that a leopard suddenly sprang out of a particularly dense stand of Panicum maximum and slunk carefully away from us.
We had found her and the kill.
We headed back to fetch the vehicle, and when approaching the site once more we thought it likely this was the Ximungwe female once again, after not seeing her for such a long time.
It was! We were thrilled, to say the least.
This female has been viewed consistently on Londolozi since she was born in 2015. She has already found breeding success by raising a cub from her first litter to independence.
She picked up the kill and began dragging it, and we followed her through some seriously long grass until she stopped and scanned and found a Jackalberry tree into which she hoisted the impala carcass. It was not long before she descended the tree once more after grooming herself for a few minutes.
This behaviour was not abnormal once again, but then she didn’t stop and lie down nearby; she just started walking with what seemed to be a lot of intent in the opposite direction. We followed her for as long as we could until she walked through a Tamboti tree thicket which was just too dense to manoeuvre a vehicle through.
Later that evening I got chatting with fellow guide Tayla Brown who had been with me in the sighting. While discussing what had happened, along with the rather odd behaviour, Tayla said she “seemed to think the Ximungwe Female may have had suckle marks but could not be for sure”.
This statement would explain exactly why she was behaving the way she was and possibly why sightings of her of late have been so erratic. Has she found a very secure and safe den? Could she have a new litter? Was she going back to her den? Was it suckle marks that she had?
All we are waiting to see now would be a scene similar to this one above where her cubs are brave enough to venture around with her and start playing. I can only hope this theory is right and we might be seeing some leopard cubs in the near future.
A very thick and lush eco system can provide numerous hiding places and dens for leopards to stash thirty cubs. With it being the thickest it has been in the last 5 years, one only only imagine she is spoilt for choice if it is the case that she is denning somewhere on the property.
Hopefully all of these questions will be answered in the coming days and we will be fortunate enough to witness sightings like the pictures above! Stay tuned to see if this is all true and we have new leopard cubs on the reserve!…
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
These lovely pictures made my day! A sure sign that spring has come… Good luck to that beautiful and caring mum!
Fingers crossed for more cute photos
Love your leopards but I came under the charm of Tsalala and her surviving daughter who should be 2 years old now. Can you tell me if they are still alive. Hope to see them in September during our stay
Hi Roger, yes they were both seen last week and doing very well. Her female offspring has grown to nearly😍 the size of her mother.
How exciting, Guy! Who did you see her mating with, and how long ago was that?
Hi Suzanne, I saw her mating with the Senegal bush male. she has also been mating with him over the last few days as well.
Thanks Guy – but if she’s been mating recently, it doesn’t sound like good news for the cubs?
Guy, I loved the leopard
Guy, I loved the leopard🤗
Thank you Joan.
The Ximungwe Female Leopard carries a very attractive face. As does her sister. Let’s hope she is nursing Cubs and will carry the line forward. Shadrack and Guy were our first Ranger and Tracker Team. Great memories and hope to catch up on the next visit.
Hello Susan, I hope you are keeping very well. I must agree with you, she does have a very attractive face and I’m sure there will be more litters to come. Hopefully she will be as successful as her first litter. I look forward to having you back to visit us soon. Do you know when you are coming back?
I hope so! Are there currently any cubs still under the care of their mothers? I can’t recall having seen any mentioned for awhile, it maybe it’s just me.
HI Chelsea, the most recent have been the piccadilly female and the makomsava female who had cubs. We still not to sure about the Ximungwe Female as we thought we had found the den but there has been no further signs. To answer your question, at the moment its only the piccadilly youngster who has been seen in the north.
Guy, what an exciting update. We agree that it would make sense that she might have cubs after successfully letting go of the young male that she cut loose. We will look forward to further updates and have no doubt that you will find the answers!
Hi Michael and Terri, the search is still on. With the bush being so incredibly thick it certainly makes finding dens slightly more challenging, let alone leopards. I trust you are both keeping well.
Lovely that you have found her again Guy. Hoping too to get a glimpse (on camera) of a new litter very soon 🙏🏻💗💗
That is so exciting I can not wait to see if she has cubs, that would be absolutely wonderful. She is so beautiful, can just imagine how gorgeous the cubs would be. Wonderful sighting thanks Guy.
Look forward to the next chapter. She was one of the first cubs I ever saw,
Beautiful images Guy!
The pictures of mother and cubs are so cute! I do hope that she will have new little ones.
What happened to the leopards other cub
Are you meaning her previous litter?
Great post Guy, and exciting news, potentially, for the Ximungue female and you all at Londolozi! Looking forward to hearing any progress, and best of luck to the newly independent Ximungue young male as he figures out how to survive on his own!
We thought we had found her den as two of the rangers and trackers followed her back to some rocky boulders but we have had no further sign of any cubs there. So, We are still searching and if something changes I’m sure there will be an update.
Thank you Guy! Will stay tuned!
That sounds like very good news indeed. I enjoyed the photos with the two cubs…..because I was at that sighting too! Many great memories from that morning.
Sorry for the late reply Al, I remember you being in that sighting with us. Some great memories. Hopefully we will be able to share more when you are able to travel again.
Can’t wait to find out about new little spotties!
Fingers crossed the Ximungwe female has indeed birthed cubs. It’s been just over two years since I was with you and Shadrack, viewing her tiny, fluffy cubs that were tucked into a rocky alcove, with binoculars. I’m arriving in just weeks now so perhaps if she does have little ones, they will be old enough to view more easily. Great tracking you two!!
Hello Denise, We unfortunately have not had any further sign of the cubs but she has been seen mating again so we are still unsure of the outcome. I look forward to catching uo when you return. What dates are you going to be here?
Hello Guy! I return to Founders Camp,April 1, for a week – I’m so thrilled to be returning, getting out into the property to explore and breathe fresh African air!
Can’t wait to be updated!!
She is such an beautiful leopard. I can’t wait to get an update, and hopefully it is a positive outcome “which mean cubs”. Field Guide Guy, what does Ximungwe mean? And I hope her son will make it out there on it’s own. Thank you for the blog!
Hello Wian, we are still unsure about the outcome but with recent sightings of her mating again it could mean she may have lost them, or she is trying to keep the male away. Ximungwe means bateleur – a lot of the leopards birthed on our property have a name given to them with some meaning, either from the area on the property where they we’re born or features about them that make them stand out.
Hi there Guy. Thanks so much for this. She is a really LOVELY looking Leopard, isn’t she? We hope to see pics of her with (hopefully) her latest litter one of these days! Wendy M
Happy to have my lover back after 3 months of breakup, thanks E-mail: Robinsonbuckler11 (@) gmail com…
This is exciting! I am just catching up on posts so hopefully I will get to one with cubs!