Leopards are by nature incredibly secretive and elusive animals. Add to this a very lush and densely vegetated bushveld on the back of a very wet summer and a higher than average winter rainfall results in a very difficult task to find a leopard.
We’ve been lucky enough to get a few fleeting glimpses of the Mashaba Female’s latest litter of two, but for over a month now, all we’ve seen are tracks of the two little cubs. So where exactly is she keeping the cubs?
The Mashaba Female is Londolozi’s oldest female leopard with her characteristic birthmark on her nose
Female Leopard Territories
The Mashaba Female is the oldest female leopard that we see at Londolozi. At almost 14 years old she has long been one of the most viewed leopards on our reserve. Up to now, she has managed to raise two females to independence; the Nkoveni 2:2 Female (2012) and the Ximungwe 5:3 Female (2015). Mother leopards will usually cede a portion of their territory to their female offspring. The result is that the older more experienced leopard shifts her territory which means she will find and establish new den sites to keep her cubs in.
Female Leopard Territories as of May 2022.
Leopard Dens
Towards the end of her roughly 3-month gestation period, she would’ve started looking for a suitable den to give birth in. A typical den site usually has a mix of thick bushes and rocks. This provides the young cats with ample places to hide while their mother goes in search of food. Over the years of following generations of Leopards at Londolozi, we have seen how leopards will very often use the same dens that they themselves were denned in. Perhaps this is one of the reasons their mothers cede territory to them.
The Mashaba Female and Senegal Bush Male mating. There is a chance that he could be the father of her latest litter.
Where have we seen the cubs before?
It was only a few months ago that we had seen the Mashaba Female in the central parts of Londolozi and she was heavily pregnant. It was a few weeks later before we managed to find her again but at this point, we could see she was no longer pregnant and had fresh suckle marks. The sight of a female leopard with suckle marks always brings with it a sense of excitement to the Ranger and Tracker teams at Londolozi.
Here you can very evidently see the milk pouch and suckle marks which are very clear signs of her having a new litter.
Each day we all try to think where exactly she may be keeping the cubs. We think of the different roads to drive to look for her, slightly bigger than normal, tracks and to check any dens we know have been used in that area before. A specific set of boulders lies right in the centre of her territory which we refer to as Python Rocks. It got its name after a tragic sighting that John Varty and Elmon Mhlongo witnessed many years ago with the 3:4 Female. She was denning her cubs in these big boulders which, at the time, were covered in River Climbing Thorn (Senegalia schweinfurthii) bushes. A perfect den site if there ever was one.
John and Elmon had followed the leopard back to her den after a successful hunt and as she approached the den she called for her cub but to no avail. As she looked in the crevasses where the cub would normally hide she came across a huge African Rock Python. Immediately she knew what had happened and tried to attack the snake.
The python managed to curl itself right up against the boulders underneath the bushes where she could not get to. She sat atop the boulders waiting for hours before eventually, the python tried to make a quick escape. She was, however, onto it in a second and the snake regurgitated the cub. A sad but harsh reality of the threats that face young leopard cubs.
Born to the Tugwaan female in August 1992, this leopard would redefine the relationship between man and wild cat.
Years later the Mashaba Female having never been denned there herself, although a few other leopards such as the Ndzandzeni Female and Totowa Female have found this to be a perfect den for her latest litter too. Ranger Sean Zeederberg one day decided to try his luck and just check these boulders only to be surprised by the sight of two tiny leopard cubs sitting atop the boulder exactly where the 3:4 Female had sat waiting for the python; an almost poetic irony. After only a few sightings of the cubs here and another nearby set of boulders, we find ourselves where we are today having not seen them in over a month.
One of the Mashaba Female’s cubs perches atop a small boulder on Python Rocks. The dense foliage of the den is evident to see.
So where could the cubs be?
The cubs are almost certainly at an age now where she will be taking them to kills that she has made. From the age of about eight weeks, they will start eating meat. What this means is that she will most likely be moving the cubs from one den to the next after each carcass that she has taken them to. Over the past week tracker, Tshepo Dzemba and I have been searching high and low for any signs of the three leopards. With her new territory being a particularly densely vegetated area with roads that are quite difficult to see tracks on, we are having to base our search on where we suspect the cubs to be. We have had some really promising signs of fresh tracks of the small cubs in and around different boulders which means they are still alive and well.
The two tiny cubs of the Mashaba Female’s latest litter will most certainly have grown in the past few months and we hope to get another sighting similar to this.
The process of searching for her latest litter is a stark reminder of how fortunate we are to view these elusive cats as often as we do. I look forward to a follow-up blog in the not too distant future on an update as to where they are denning and how the cubs are doing.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
Dear Barry and Tshepo, I keep my fingers crossed that you will find the cubs soon, wondering what they look like now that they are a couple of months older.
Wow, Londolozi is at the moment literally teeming of leopard cubs. Really great!
Hi Christa, thank you we hope to find them soon too! There certainly are a lot of leopard cubs around at the moment.
Fascinating, keep up the search. I am sure you will find success. Can’t wait for the pictures. Thanks Barry.
Thanks William!
Mashaba is truly living up to the leopard’s “characteristics” – elusive and secretive. Perhaps she is being extra careful with these two cubs, having lost her last litters to ???? As you all tell your guests, patience and tracking skills go hand in hand, so when the stars align, or whatever, all will be revealed. Let’s just hope it will be a great sighting, with her family intact!
Hi Denise, she has definitely been elusive and secretive. I hope she does manage to get these cubs to independence. It will be a tremendous feat at her age.
Hi Barry the Mashaba female is my favorite leopard and know that she has 2 cubs makes it even more special. I really do hope you Rangers and Trackers will find her soon so that we, the readers of your emails can see the cubs. I remember seeing that footage of the python that ate that leopard cub, very heartbreaking at that moment. I can just imagine how J.V. and Elmon felt when they discovered the python had eaten the leopard cub. It is due to those two men, that we today can see the leopards inhabitants and cubs. Thanks so much J.V. and Elmon and to all the Rangers and Trackers at Londolozi for sharing these beautiful stories, foto’s and video’s of the leopards and other wild life.
Hi Valmai, she has already left a great legacy with her two existing independent daughters and fingers crossed she is able to raise these two as well. JV and Elmon have also certainly created a legacy of well-habituated leopards that we are lucky to see and spend time with here.
Hi Barry, you must read my mind as I was wondering about the Mashaba female and her cubs! I am so thrilled about them, I remember well the documentary by John Varty about that legendary leopard and the phyton. It has been one of the most touching and intimate documentary about an animal I’ve ever seen. I wish this old lady good luck and keep my fingers crossed for her and her babies!
Hi Francesca, she was definitely a legendary leopard and it was indeed a tragic story but one that reveals to us the harshness of the wild.
I know that in Sabi Sabi they saw her following the Nweti male some months ago
Hi Gabriele, we have had reports from our neighbours south of our boundary that she has crossed into their reserve a few times over the past few months. Her territory is forever shifting.
I hope that Mashaba is keeping her cubbies safe and secure in order to maximize their chances of success…..she deserves to have one litter of babies survive and thrive!
Hi Lisa, it’ll be a great story to have her raise a third litter to independence…fingers crossed she does!
Looking at the leopard’s territory map…..does anyone know where Finfoot is? Has she been seen? and any possibility that Xinzele’s new cubs could be Hosana’s?
Hi Lisa, the last report we had of the Finfoot Female was that she was seen close to the Kruger gate in the Kruger Park…some distance away from where she was raised. There is a possibility that the Xinzele Female had mated with the late Hosana Male as their territories were quite close.