About the Author

Jemma Thorpe

Londolozi Creative Hub

Jemma grew up on a farm in the Midlands Meander in Kwa-Zulu Natal and studied at the University of Cape Town. With little bush experience but with many hours of au pairing, teaching English and forming a love for travel, Jemma found herself ...

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33 Comments

on Fatherly Lessons From The Father’s Of Londolozi

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This article is great but such a great pity we don’t see the Inyathini leopard any more…

Francesca Doria
Master Tracker

Hello, I guess my dad was alike a lion. Far but working hard throughout the day for us. I lost him recently and i do miss him. Thank you so much for this special and moving blog. Above all i love the leopard with the cub, the lion and son and the jacana with chicks. Leopards are so expressive they make me wonder what their real feelings are ..

Lisa Antell
Master Tracker

This is a wonderful Fathers Day story-message!

Valmai Vorster
Master Tracker

Happy Father’s day to all fathers, being it ,humans, or carnivores, or herbivores, or birds. May the fathers protect their young at all costs, no matter what. Humans can learn a lot from nature and will be surprised how much both parents are needed to survive and to be loved and protected. Early days the human fathers were always working to be able to support mom and children, they hardly saw him or had spent very little time with him. Today mom also has to work to be able to keep the bills payed, and hopefully ease the burden of only one parent working. Happy Father’s Day to all Fathers.

Marc Grawunder
Senior Digital Ranger

The image of the Inyathini male with the cub is one of my favorite leopard pics.

Mary Beth Wheeler
Guest contributor

There are many meaningful messages here in the quotes from Londolozi fathers. I can add that, since the loss of my Dad, I now know and appreciate that the influence of a Father extends well beyond his life. Fatherhood is a powerful role indeed.

Barbi Evenson
Senior Digital Ranger

Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers all over the world!

Cheung Yc
Digital Ranger

The Leopard father is the cutest one

Judith Guffey
Digital Tracker

Ke a leboga. Wonderful to see these portraits of some of the fathers at Londolozi. Wishing all of you a very special day filled with love and joy.

Suzanne Gibson
Guest contributor

What a lovely blog! Was that Tortoise Pan with the Inyathini male? – such a fantastic sighting.

Sean Zeederberg
Blog Editor

Hi Suzanne, thank you. Yes it is the Inyathini male and the Tortoise Pan male when he was a cub.

Marc Grawunder
Senior Digital Ranger

Hi Sean,wasn’t the Tortoise Pan male born in 2016 ?
https://leopards.londolozi.com/leopard/tortoise-pan-43-male
Isn’t the Inyathini/cub pic from around July 2019 ? If that’s true (that’s when the image first appeared on the blog) it cannot be him or is there more than one TP around ?

Sean Zeederberg
Blog Editor

Hi Marc, correct he was born in the winter of 2016. The image of the embrace between the Inyathini male and at the time the Ndzandzeni cub was taken by Alex Jordan in July 2019 though. I do not know of any other Tortoise Pan males around.

Bob and Lucie Fjeldstad
Guest contributor

Humbleness, leadership, patience, forgiveness, tenderness, tolerance and the importance of unconditional love.

Jemma Thorpe
Londolozi Creative Hub

Thank you for sharing your lessons with us Bob – a balance of each of these.

Christa Blessing
Master Tracker

What a beautiful and moving article! I wish all the fathers at Londolozi, from the bullfrog to Dave Varty a wonderful fathers’ day tomorrow. Lovely pictures!

Joan Schmiidt
Master Tracker

Guy, lions🤗

Marc Grawunder
Senior Digital Ranger

Is Inyathini still alive ? Last time I’ve heard from him was around October/November last year.

Sean Zeederberg
Blog Editor

Hi Marc, The last we heard he was seen a couple of months ago on the neighboring reserve. He has been pushed out by the Senegal Bush male, Nweti male, and the Maxims male and as a result, he was rather roaming around as a nomadic non-territorial male when he was still here. If we see him again or find out any news of him we will let you know.

Sean Zeederberg
Blog Editor

Sorry and yes this is the Inyathini male, with the Ndzandzeni female’s cub who is now the Tortoise Pan male.

Marc Grawunder
Senior Digital Ranger

Thanks for the reply,Sean. Hope he is still around somewhere out there.

Michael and Terri Klauber
Guest contributor

Thank you Jemma for an inspiring blog. We so appreciate the commitment and words of wisdom that you shared with us from some of the leaders of the Londolozi team! From Dave Varty to all the rest of the Dads – well done gentlemen! Mixing their words with stories about your wildlife was brilliant.

From Michael: As a father, I have always believed that if we are lucky, we will be able to create positive experiences for our children. Recently Terri and I uncovered the travel journals that our kids wrote (Max was 15 & Mikayla was 11) on their first visit to Londolozi in 2011. They were both overwhelmed and inspired by the experience and both of them used the words “life-changing” in their journals! As a Dad looking back, it is one of the experiences that I am most proud of. My Dad always taught me to “give more than you expect to get back” as a father, and I feel lucky, and proud, that Londolozi has been one of those gifts that I was able to give to them at an important time in their your lives

Jemma Thorpe
Londolozi Creative Hub

Thank you for sharing some of your wisdom Michael. What a wonderful gift to give your children, memorable experiences. We love the quote by your father!

Linda From California
Senior Digital Ranger

Happy Father’s Day to all the father’s around the world.

Denise Vouri
Guest contributor

Thank you for this amazing blog highlighting fathers in both the human and animal world. My father, a Leo, was a gentle lion from whom I received so much love and support. I lost him 10 years ago at 91 years of age and not a day goes by that I don’t think of him, especially whilst on safari, animal lover and protector that he was. Happy Father’s Day! The collection of images are fantastic.

Jemma Thorpe
Londolozi Creative Hub

Thank you for sharing this with us Denise. It is so wonderful that going on safari and seeing animals reminds you of you father, and that he was so full of love and support.

Karin Maclarty
Explorer

Brilliant Father’s Day Blog….. Very cleverly executed.

Cally Staniland
Master Tracker

What a wonderful idea Jemma to bring together both the animal and the human element to pay homage to Fathers. My father was firm but kind, he always had time to listen and when we reached an age of independence and we came up with some wacky plan for ourselves, he would gently give us the down sides but never stopped us from pursuing our dreams. If it failed, he never said I told you so but only, better luck next time. I was so fortunate to grow up in the most beautiful part of S Africa…The Lowveld …and for that I will always be eternally grateful to my father who taught us to respect and love nature and the simple things in life. Something my husband and I have continued to convey to our our sons.

Sean Zeederberg
Blog Editor

Cally, your father sounds brilliant.

Jemma Thorpe
Londolozi Creative Hub

Thank you for sharing that with us Cally – it sounds like you had some wonderful guidance. How lucky were you to live in the Lowveld – I’m sure you have many happy memories there.

Leonie De Young
Master Tracker

A really nice blog Jemma. Loved the entire thing and was nice to see some of the human fathers’ pictures. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers at Londolozi.

Jemma Thorpe
Londolozi Creative Hub

Thank you so much Leonie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

Kimberly Zilles
Senior Digital Ranger

What a nice tribute to the great human fathers and animal fathers alike. Hornbill and wisdom weren’t previously words I would have put together!

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