Involved Leopards

Ximungwe 5:3 Female

Ximungwe 5:3 Female

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Sean Zeederberg

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As a young boy growing up on an agricultural farm in Zimbabwe, Sean spent every opportunity entertaining himself outdoors, camping in the local nature reserve and learning about all facets of the natural world. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental ...

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on Virtual Safari: Ultimate Game Drive Highlights #96

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Wow have had a wonderful start to the very rainy and cold Sunday! You can never see too much of the cats. Thank you Sean. Victoria

You can never have too many cats. You are most welcome.

Hi Sean, the Ximungwe male is really enjoying his meal up in the knobtree. How long before he starts to go on his own. The Cheetah male is incredible and I love those black markings on his face. We don’t always get to see the Cheetah, so this is a big surprise. The Ndhzenga Males and the Ntsevu female are looking in good shape. Hope they did mate with her so we can see some lion cubs. Fantastic sightings thanks so much Sean.

I think it will still be a while before he goes his separate way from his mother. He is nearly one year old, typically young males only become independent at around two years old. Each situation is different so we will have to see how he does and at what point he does become independent.

What a fantastic week of video Sean! That cheetah was so good looking, albeit looking a bit peckish.
The Ximungwe young male looks just like his brother, or half-brother, whatever. I found it fascinating that he was using his mostly eaten lamb leg for practice in moving it around the tree. Instinct or learned behavior?! His mother seems to know how to raise a cub successfully, making me wonder how she figured it all out, when the other females on the property tend to struggle more, save for the Nkoveni and Piccadilly presently. Knowledge/luck?
A question- why the name change for the N’wawishaka males once they began spending time in Londolozi? Also, it seemed strange that only one Ntsevu female was part of the group eating off the giraffe. Perhaps the others are still loyal to the lone Birmingham. This week’s video presented a lot of questions…..

Thank you, Denise. It was great to see the cheetah and yes he was hungry. I think him moving it around was mostly instinct and playfulness. I think the Ximungwe Female has just been mostly lucky. It is so tough to raise a cub, she is fortunate that she has fairly stable males covering her and there haven’t been any new young nomadic males moving through. Instinct plays a part along with knowledge of when to move the cub and where is safe to keep it.
The name N’waswitshaka or Ndhzenga are interchangeable. They originate from the N’waswitshaka Pride in the Kruger National Park, but I think that it is a challenging name to say and so when they became independent they were also named the Ndzhenga Males. I think this female had been with the males and so was there when it was killed. Maybe the other females were too far away to have heard or smelt it, or maybe they were keeping away from the Males to keep their cubs safe.

Sean, What an awesome sighting with the Cheetah. His golden eyes are mesmerizing. Yes, the leopard sighing was a bit graphic, but the quality of the video you got is fantastic – same for the closeup of the lion at the water. What equipment do you use to get all those closeups? Thanks again!

Thank you, Michael and Terri. I am currently using a Canon 1DX and changing between a 300mm lens and a 600mm lens for the closeups.

Fabulous video! I felt like I was right there the entire time. That cheetah footage was beautiful. Thanks.

Thank you so much, Marcia.

Super to see you have had plenty of rain there. Loved spending time with the Cheetah and the wonderful close ups of his coat and body ( including the inquisitive songololi 😁). You said he looked hungry but I have to say isn’t he magnificent and in such good shape. Added plus of seeing the Ximungwe female and her cub and the 3 lions + female. 🙏🏻 thanks Sean

Senior Digital Ranger

I always have thought that cheetahs and giraffes are the most elegant of African animals. Really beautiful photography!

Thank you so much, Paul. Cheetahs are stunning animals.

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