At Londolozi we are incredibly fortunate to have a traversing area of around 15000 hectares. Within this incredible wilderness lies many different habitats; wide-open savanna, mixed woodland with undulating hills, open crests dotted with marula trees, elevated rocky outcrops, as well as a densely foliated riparian environment that meanders its way right through the heart of Londolozi. The diversity in the flora supports a remarkable diversity in fauna. If you ask any ranger or tracker, each will give you a different answer as to which is their favourite area to explore, and the beauty of the reserve lies in the abundance of choice that lies in front of us each day.
My favourite area to explore (at least for now) is the deep southeastern stretches of Londolozi. It is an area explored less than others simply given the geographic distance of it from camp. The Sand River forms a natural border on the eastern side of the reserve which has areas with steep banks and spectacular views of the riverbed. Apart from the topography of the area, there is another reason why tracker Tshepo Dzemba and myself love to explore this stretch of the reserve.
On the last morning of a guest’s five-night safari, we were afforded the luxury of exploring the reserve without the intention of finding a specific species of animal as all the guest’s special interests had already been seen. This meant we were able to go for the high-risk, high reward option. Tshepo and I needn’t even have a conversation about it, we were already on the same page. Off we set for the deep southeast.
As we passed a small waterhole Tshepo signaled me to stop! He jumped off the vehicle with purpose and immediately I knew he’d found fresh leopard tracks! We parked our guests in the shade of a big marula tree before Tshepo and I started to follow the tracks. After no more than 300m the tracks led us directly to a set of boulders covered in dense vegetation. I was scanning the area while Tshepo continued to look for clues in the sand. The clues he found were small but significant. They were the tracks of two small leopard cubs that their mother had clearly come to collect from the boulders.
After returning to the vehicle and the guests we came around the next corner and up in the tree we saw them; mother and two cubs with the remains of a kudu calf. It is a sight I will never forget. A leopard in a tree is special enough but with her two small cubs – now that’s difficult to beat. However, one must never underestimate the surprises the bush has in store.
The first view of the Ndzanzeni Female leopard and one of her cubs with their prized kudu calf kill.
This female is a success story all in herself, being born as a single cub to the Riverbank 3:3 female in early 2012.
We had been watching the cubs playing in the tree while their mother was fast asleep. This continued for about 15 minutes before I noticed some more spots lying in a nearby thicket. All of a sudden it got up and walked towards us. Simply based on the size we knew it was a male leopard and as he emerged from the thicket we could see it was the Nweti Male.
We were expecting him to rush up the tree and steal the kudu kill from the Ndzanzeni Female but instead, he started making a low-pitched contact call, similar to that normally only seen when a mother leopard is trying to call her cubs. Without hesitation, both cubs descended the tree followed shortly by their mother. There was no aggressive interaction between them whatsoever and the Nweti Male subsequently ascended the tree to feed.
He is a large, tall, and long male that has an incredible coat and a tuft of hair on his neck
One of the Ndzanzeni Cubs pauses briefly before descending the tree
Male leopards play no part in the rearing of their young but will usually aggressively steal kills from any females in their territories. The fact that the Nweti Male was not only tolerating the cubs but essentially sharing the kill with them and their mother is evidence enough that he had mated with her and so he assumes that they are his own offspring.
The Ndzanzeni Female is no ordinary female leopard. She is the last remaining descendant of the original Mother Leopard and therefore the survival of her female offspring is pivotal in allowing the Mother Leopard’s lineage to live on. With us having more frequent sightings of her and her two young cubs we are starting to get more confident of the legacy of the Mother Leopard continuing. What a sighting! To have had four different leopards in the same tree within the space of a few minutes is something I will never forget!
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That is fantastic! Would love to see something like that but being of an age I don’t travel much and the hubby can’t travel at all! So, viewing these pictures are really important to me! Thank you!
Peaceful interactions between adult male leopards and cubs are always amazing to see. Thanks for sharing.
Barry that is a sighting that no one can forget. Having all 4 of them together is astounding. The cubs are they females or males, do you know. The Ndzanzeni female having the genes from the mother leopard is so important, and know she is carrying on the lineage.
Wow the Ndanzeni female and her two precious little girls with the handsome Nweti male! Who knows why leopards behave so differently and he sounded paternal… perhaps his cubs are precious to him as well. Leopards are a non-stop surprise!
What a rewarding sighting. Four leopards same tree, same kill, non aggressive , amazing. Thanks Barry.
What a fantastic gift to have seen something so rare as a make leopard being part of a family, staying for dinner. Almost like a normal family dinner with people! I envy you those moments! Thanks for sharing! Victoria
Dear Tshepo and Barry, what a wonderful sighting of those four leopards. Es specially as everything was so peaceful between them and obviously the little ones were in no danger from the male or maybe father. Just great!
That, truly, must have been so awesome to see!
WOW!!! That is great, thank you Barry! Please go there more often??? 😉
What a wonderful moment-amazing
Gosh Barry what an amazing sight to see. Incredible that the Nweti male didn’t steal their kill, nor seemed to cause any raucous upon his arrival. Perhaps he too knows just how special these Ndzanaeni cubs are, being related to the Mother leopard. Whatever it may be, it must have been a very special day for you all. 🙏🏻💕
What an unbelievable sighting Barry to see these 4 leopards sharing a kill without aggression. It just shows leopard behavior between sexes and cubs is not predictable. Let’s hope Ndzanzeni will successfully raise her two daughters, continuing the mother leopard lineage.
This is a lovely story and a perfect example of how we do not know all that the bush knows. In August 2019, on Londolozi with Tshepo as our tracker and Byron Serrao as our guide, we witnessed Nhlanguleni with her 2 subadult daughters (now Nkuwa and Finfoot) peacefully sharing a kill with Flat Rock! He came in and very calmly and gently pulled the kill away from one of the girls, and then after he fed a bit, and as dusk approached, he hoisted the carcass into a big tree and came down and strolled away. As 2 hyenas approached, all 3 females went up into the tree and settled in to sleep and feed in turn. Flat Rock had saved the carcass from the hyenas and stashed it so his ladies could enjoy their meal in peace and quiet! It was a phenomenal sighting!
For you and your guests the experience must have made the length of the drive fade way!
Wonderful discovery! Loved reading your description of the sighting! Leopards will always be my favorite.
Well done, Barry! So interesting to read about the connection between Father and Wife and the Children! I would think this is most unusual. More pics please? Whenever you are there? Wendy M
Possibly my favourite post from 2021. Thank you soooo much Barry