For the first time in a long time I got a taste of what it is like to spend similar time, that John Varty and Elmon Mhlongo did, with the Mother Leopard. It took hours of patience and perseverance with the Mother Leopard in order for that leopard to allow them into a window of her life. Respect is the only word that comes to mind when I think about all that John and Elmon did.
The original viewable leopard of Londolozi, if not Africa. In 1979 this leopard appeared as if by magic, allowing vehicles to view her.
This situation is different as this particular female is already relaxed around vehicles. Any recent guests who have had the privilege of tracking and finding the Ximungwe Female will know that this has proven almost impossible. After spending almost 8 hours with her on this particular day I finally understood why.
The Ximungwe female provides the iconic photo as she crosses the airstrip. We spent most of our morning following her as she lead us in many different directions. It was worth our patience when we got to capture this image.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Here is some background to this female…
Daughter of the Mashaba female, the Ximungwe female is currently raising her second litter after having raised the Ximungwe young male to independence. We view this leopard in the central parts of Londolozi and prior to the birth of this litter, we used to see her quite regularly. She currently has one cub that is estimated to be around three months old. We noticed similar behaviour to this once before when she lost her one cub in her previous litter. For almost three months after the incident with her cub, we would hardly see her.
With no time to waste we had breakfast on the go. Our guests, Ray and I were happy as ever with the new delicious breakfast bagels as we followed the Ximungwe female.
With the best tracking team in the world this female has managed to be a nemesis to the whole team. We found her early one morning by following the sound of squirrels alarming. Ray and I were so busy looking at which way the squirrel was looking we almost missed the leopard in the road. After many guides and trackers had been trying to find this female for a few days we decided to stick with her. She scent marked along the road, cutting off every now and again to smell and then back to the road, typical behaviour of any leopard. Then her behaviour changed as she began actively searching and checking every bush, this involved her crossing the airstrip twice.
The back and forth began. She started heading down to a nearby pan, I presumed to drink. As she got to the pan she turned away to rest in the shade, but soon she was up again. FINALLY she lay in the road. We sat for hours with her, then eventually followed her again as she took obscured routes through the reserve. This proved to be difficult for us as we tried to keep up with her and at last she headed straight towards where we presumed she had been keeping the cub. Just before getting there, she stopped and rested in the shade for at least three hours. We waited… nothing but a few more up and down movements in the same block. It wasn’t until she started to show interest in a herd of impala in the thicket that we decided to leave her. We did not want to interfere with her chance of a meal especially considering she is raising a cub.
The Ximungwe female provides yet another iconic photo as she by passes the Londolozi entrance sign. This was late morning as we followed her hoping we were on our way back to the den site.
After an hour and a half break we went back out. GONE. She stumped us all again with tracks heading in many directions which wasn’t surprising after watching her movements that morning. This leopard continues to be difficult to track. We bumped into her by taking a ” lottery ticket drive” as a I called it through a thick block. My guest spotted her and it wasn’t long before she led us back towards where we thought the cub was. Again we were wrong, she walked straight past and into thicker block, simply scent marking.
An image from 2019 with her previous litter that we used to see often in similar areas to where she is presumably denning now.
It was an interesting learning curve for me in particular. This is something I tell myself everyday, “there is so little we actually know about the behaviour of these animals”. Everything I predicted, she did the opposite of. She surprised us with completely out of the normal behaviour. Why is she such an enigma as of late when she was relaxed with her previous litter? What is the reason for diverted routes while scent marking? AND WHERE IS SHE KEEPING THE CUB? Maybe it is something we will never get the answers too.
Having questions and trying to solve them are some of the best parts of being in nature. It is a constant ever changing environment that keeps you wondering and educates you each time.
you all showed considerable patients! so frustrating to work and wait so long! but kudos to you all !!! Victoria
“Maybe it is something we will never get the answers too”
The word enigmatic was coined for leopards
Hope we’re able to follow the Ximungwe female to her den wen we arrive next month!
The Ximungwe dam looks a wonderful ambassador for Londolozi! What a treat to see her cub! Leopards are considered with evidence very smart animals. She must be very alert for her cub. Do you know is it a male or a female?
This kind of mystery is why we cannot wait to get up early in the morning and go on drive! Waiting for cats takes such patience but oh the rewards that can come!
I feel your story Dean. During my stay there a couple of months ago, we had been spotting leopards morning/afternoon but the Ximungwe female eluded us until the fifth day of my visit, and then, it was a crazy, looping drive through the tangled maze of cropped trees and grass. We spent less than an hour following her before she disappeared into the dense drainage line, perhaps heading off to her cub who had not been spotted at that point. I suspect she lost one of her cubs, thus her behavior is following the similar pattern she exhibited in 2019 – just a thought. At least you and your guests saw her.
It could be that the Ximungwe female may not be ready for you or others to view her cub(s). When she’s ready, you’ll seen them soon enough.
Dean, leopards🤗
Dean, Of course, she is beautiful – she is Mashaba’s daughter! We are so impressed that you stayed on track and didn’t give up! A true commitment and patience. We have no doubt that you will find the cub!
It just goes to show she does not want you to know where the cub is or she is clever enough to lead you in all different directions. They are such beautiful cats and yes I admire J.V. and Elmon for spending so much time with the leopard that he loved so much. Patience and perseverance pays off in the long run. The Ximungwe female is secretive and yet so majestic. Her mother on the other hand does not mind being followed and watched, I think she quiet enjoys it.
This will always be one of the most memorable days of my life! What a blessing to spend so much time with her.
The bagels look delicious. Nice for your guests that they had the opportunity to watch this leopard all day long!
I’m certainly no expert Dean, but it does sound awfully like she may have lost a cub and is behaving in the same manner that she did in 2019. I do hope I am wrong and that you get a second chance to spend 8 hours zigzagging through Londo, enjoying not only her but perhaps her and cub ‼️🙏🏻💕
Well there’s a nature drive for you! 🙂
Ever get the feeling that leopards are just “playing” with us? They are so smart and canny and savvy…..leading us around and around and avoiding their dens to protect their little ones….hopefully Ximungwe will be successful with this litter of cubs!