What started out as a fairly quiet afternoon drive turned out to be one of the most exciting afternoons yet. We stopped the vehicle briefly when we heard the sound of vervet monkeys alarming at something not too far from where we were. With the intensity of the alarm, we were sure that they had seen a predator, so we quickly made our way to where all the commotion was coming from. That’s when we saw that the Mashaba female had cornered a monkey up a tree.
An alarmed Vervet monkey at the top of a tree
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
Having seen the video from a while back when Chris Taylor and his guest were treated to some impressive acrobatic skills from the Plaque Rock female, I was excited to see how this scene would play out. It was a game of cat and mouse with the Mashaba female chasing the monkey back and forth for quite some time. We could see that both animals were starting to tire, and the outcome would most likely be determined by whichever animal gave up first.
Then, suddenly, the Mashaba female stopped, looked up, and then ran down the tree. We looked towards where she had shifted her attention and there was the Senegal Bush male approaching the clearing. He must have heard all the commotion and came to investigate. The Mashaba female, looking to avoid any potential confrontation quickly climbed down from the tree and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving the lucky monkey to make its escape.
With the fresh scent of the Mashaba female, the Senegal Bush male climbed the very same tree, (I doubt the monkey would have been able to survive yet another game of cat and mouse so it is lucky that it managed to escape when it did). While the Senegal Bush male was sniffing around there was a distant rasping of another male leopard. He was very quick to respond with a few calls from the top of the tree.
Initially seen as a young male in 2016, this leopard only properly established territory on Londolozi in mid-2019
With the possibility of another male coming into his territory the Senegal Bush male lost interest in the Mashaba female and descended the tree, steadily walking in the direction of where the other male was calling from. He soon started to aggressively scent mark and it wasn’t long after he came to a stop, that we spotted the Mawelawela male.
Began as a fairly unrelaxed leopard in the southwestern parts of the reserve. Now providing great viewing in the open grasslands
After a brief stand-off, they walked parallel to each other while growling and salivating with the odd bit of scent-marking as they walked. Eventually coming to a stop where they both lay down about 50m apart, neither one wanting to risk injury by fighting as they were on the boundary of both their territories.
Both leopards seemed as though they were settling down and it looked as if nothing more was going to materialize (at this point we thought all the afternoon’s excitement had come to an end). Moments later, the silence broke when we heard an animal in distress in the distance.
This caught the attention of the Mawelawela male, and he immediately got up and headed in the direction of the distress calls. While following him with great excitement wondering what more could possibly happen to top what we had already seen, he came to a pause at a clump of grass. He had noticed something. Before we knew it, he had pounced on a steenbok that had tried to conceal itself in the thick grass. Within seconds it was all over, and he trotted off with it in his mouth. We could not believe what an eventful afternoon this turned out to be!
Tayla, what a fantastic spot-ur-day you had. It’s great that the leopards are accustomed to the vehicles that they can carry on and let you view them as they carry on with their day.
The monkey was lucky and the steenbok was unlucky! What a leopard dynamic view! I’ll never forget Legadema’s antics (Eye of a Leopard) when she hunts monkeys with her mum… Great to see the Mashaba female and the others!
3 Leopards in a short time!wow!
What an exciting game drive for you, Tayla. I guess Mashaba at approaching 13 years old, was never going to equal the astonishing acrobatic levels shown by her granddaughter Plaque Rock!
I just watched a documentary where a female leopard climbs a tree to escape a wild dog pack… in that case she was in the monkey’s shoes which is quite strange to see and disturbing
Tayla, what a fantastic leopard day you had. Thanks for sharing the pictures, video and your experience.
Your blog just illustrates the fact that each game drive is unpredictable – begin quietly and end with a bang! Can’t believe you spent the afternoon watching three leopards…..priceless!!
Hi Denise. I completely agree, it does show that every drive is unpredictable and that there is always something wondeful out there to see, be it big or small.
What a day! Anytime there are interspecies or intraspecies interactions it is always so fascinating!
Tayla an action packed drive to say the least. Would have loved to see the cat and mouse display between the leopard and monkey – all ended well for both parties. Thanks for sharing with us – enjoyed the short clip also.
Thank you Leonie, We were so lucky to have such an action packed afternoon.
Tayla, What an amazing game drive! The Mashaba in the tree with the monkey is a riot! Do Leopards ever actually catch moneys? Looks like the territorial battles may be coming sooner than later – that’s quite a few males in your reserve!
Hi Muchael and Terri, yes leopards sometimes do catch the monkeys, Ranger Christ Taylor and his guests saw it happen a few years back. Incredible Video: Monkey vs. Leopard
Wow, those leopards of Londolozi are always great for fantastic sightings! What an eventful afternoon for you and your guests.
What a great sighting, Tayla! Mashaba sure got her exercise chasing that monkey! But 2 more leopards – brilliant!
She sure did! I could not believe that we saw two more leopards after that.
Tayla you had an eventful afternoon full of excitement from the leopards and monkey. Very glad that the monkey came off unharmed and that the Senegal bush male and the Mawelawele male did not get into a fight. Also the Mashaba female is well and went on her way unharmed, she is my favorite female leopard.
Hi Valmai. Yes it was an afternoon full of excitment, I am also glad everyone was unharmed.
Wow what an afternoon Tayla, seems the leopards are out in full force at the moment to entertain you and the guests Just fabulous. Thanks for sharing with us 🙏❤️
Hi Cally, yes they really were out in full force that day.
we had house guests this weekend, so am catching up on the going’s on at Londolozi. What an exciting time you all had! Victoria