If you are familiar with the Leopards of Londolozi, you will know that each individual leopard is referred to by a unique name. As rangers, we are often asked about the naming process, why we do it and what it’s all about. In light of this, I thought it would be fitting for me to elaborate a little more.
The original mother leopard and her cub, taken in the late 1970’s
The original viewable leopard of Londolozi, if not Africa. In 1979 this leopard appeared as if by magic, allowing vehicles to view her.
Prior to independence, a leopard will bear its mother’s name, followed by either “Young Male” or “Young Female” depending on the gender. For example, the Ximungwe Female’s cub is now fast approaching independence but has not yet reached this stage. Until then, he will be known as the Ximungwe Young Male.
Once a leopard reaches independence, and shows clear signs of becoming territorial or the likelihood of moving away from its mother, it becomes deserving of an ascribed name.
The Ximungwe Young Male looks on from a marula tree. Fast approaching independence, he will soon set sail into the unchartered wilderness.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
So where does a leopard’s name come from?
To put it simply, the process involves a discussion among the ranger and tracker team. We will gather together and put forward our best suggestions. The final decision is made on a name that holds significance and best represents that leopard to us as rangers and trackers. A suitable name should represent either an area in which they spent a lot of time, a feature of that area, their appearance or even character for example. This makes up the first part of the name.
An important part of a leopard’s official name is the inclusion of its spot pattern. This is a portrait of the Mawelawela 3:4 Male (3:4 means that there are three spots on his right-hand side and four on his left, as he faces you).
Began as a fairly unrelaxed leopard in the southwestern parts of the reserve. Now providing great viewing in the open grasslands
The second part and a fairly important aspect is the spot pattern on the cheeks right above the darker whisker lines. So that their name then has the spot numbers starting with how many spots are on the right-hand side of the leopard’s face followed by a colon (:) and then the spots on the left-hand side of the face. The third part of the name is the gender.
A spot pattern illustration of the infamous Camp Pan 4:3 Male. Where a spot under his right eye is also highlighted.
The King of Londolozi in his day; an enormous male whose offspring still inhabit the reserve.
Why do we name leopards?
Our official standpoint is that we name leopards purely for identification purposes. Once we are able to identify the same individual over and over, a story begins to unfold and behavioural patterns inevitably emerge. These patterns give us a world of information about the individual’s territory, movements and behaviour for example. This information, coupled with their relaxed nature around vehicles, truly is the difference between us seeing a myriad of sporadic leopard sightings over the years that have no broader context; and us seeing deeply into the secretive lives of these elusive cats.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
Knowing where the core area of a leopard’s territory is can be incredibly helpful when trying to find them. Not to mention radio communication between us rangers. This helps us have a better idea during the game drives of which animals have been found and where. Regarding sightings, such information is submitted to Panthera – an organization that is devoted to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats and the vast ecosystems that they inhabit.
Panthera forms the most long-term, in-depth leopard study in the world today. By submitting our daily sightings and relevant information about each individual to Panthera they are able to track movement patterns, understand relationships, and essentially trace the paternity of the leopards through scat analysis. It is a great privilege for us as rangers, trackers and guests to play part in this ongoing research.
The beautiful Nkoveni Female. Nkoveni means ‘at the river’ in the local Shangaan language – aptly named after spending most of her life along the lush green banks of the Sand River.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
At Londolozi, the leopards are the only animals we ascribe individual names to. They are solitary, territorial cats whose lives we attempt to understand through an extensive amount of record keeping. Records can only be relevant and true if we know which leopard did what and when.
The dainty Ximungwe Female. Ximungwe is Shangaan for the majestic Bateleur eagle. Her name comes from a road on Londolozi named “Ximungwe”, which lies to the south-west of camp. Which is central to where she was most often seen around the time of naming.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Being able to identify individuals is important to us. Assigning names to leopards is simply a convention and only a very useful tool at most. One must never forget that these leopards are all completely wild animals and will go about their daily lives irrespective of what their name is and at the end of the day none of them even know what their name is that we refer to them by.
What a wonderful thing it is for us to bear witness to the life story of a leopard from their days as tiny cubs. Following their journey to independence as territorial adults.
A small female often found in NW Marthly. Similar spot pattern to her mother the Ingrid Dam Female.
The empathy in human nature makes it difficult not to become invested in their lives once we begin following their life story. Witnessing some of their trials and tribulations, one cannot help but become invested in their successes too. There is no substitute for the in-depth knowledge we have gained about these elusive cats, other than by viewing the same individual at regular intervals.
A small leopard that was forced into early independence and struggled to establish territory. Moved around eating anything it could.
I hope this has been able to shed light on the importance of the naming process and why we do it. Ultimately, it is a great privilege alone to have a glimpse into their secretive lives. The name we ascribe to them will be what they carry forward into their independence. And hence, it is only fitting that much thought and consideration goes into each and every leopard’s name.
Thanks Matt for enlightening us once again on the process behind naming the leopards of Londolozi. I find the names fascinating, albeit some of the names beginning with “N” can be confusing when keeping track of whose got cubs: Nkoveni, Ndzanzeni, Nhlanguleni, Ntsumi, Nkuwa…. at least they’re all females. I’ll always remember seeing the Ndzanzeni young male on my first trip to Londolozi, shortly thereafter becoming the Tortoise Pan male. Then last year I actually saw the Tortoise Pan for which he was named and it all made sense. It will be interesting to learn the name the Ximungwe young male will be given as well as ultimately what path he will take once totally independent.
Hi Denise! I do agree that it can be quite tricky initially to keep track of all the different yet similar names, especially if you are new to all the leopards. Once you are familiar with each individual it becomes second nature! 🙂 we are very lucky that we still do have the occasional sighting of the Tortoise Pan Male. He is a beautiful leopard and is thriving in the northern reaches of the Sabi Sands. Regarding the Ximungwe Young Male, we have already been throwing some suggestions around – watch this space!
Matt, Thanks for the explanation! It is wonderful to be able to track the lives of the Londolozi Leopards. We feel like we know all of the personally! We have enjoyed following Mashaba from her very young days as a “young female”!
Hey Michael and Terri! It’s a pleasure, and glad you enjoyed my explanation. I feel that way too. It’s hard not to become invested in their lives. It makes you realise that every single leopard out there has an awesome storyline behind them. It’s only a few that we are fortunate enough to wintness or follow. The Mashaba Female will always be a special leopard on Londolozi that most rangers and trackers won’t forget.
I always read with enthusiasm your tales of leopard dynasties and the cubs that are thriving, it is so uplifting, wonderful
Thanks Francesca! I am looking forward to the introduction of a few new leopard names in the near future! Holding thumbs for them! 🙂
Understand how the names originate. Continue to be impressed by how easily each of you can readily identify the spot patten.
I can identify the Mashaba female and Senegal Bush male–just not by their spots.
Once you see individuals over and over, you actually begin to recognize their face, just like you would another person. However, their spot patterning is the official and most accurate way to identify them. Although it requires you to get a decent look through binoculars or snap a good close up picture.
It seems that geographical areas part a large part in the naming of the leopard. How do you identify leopards, presumably mostly males, coming onto your property? Is it through exchanging information with neighbouring properties or does the panthera database serve as your go to reference?
Hi Darryl, yes that’s correct – we’ll exchange information with neighboring reserves to gather details about the origin and track the history of a particular leopard if possible – which may or may not have been named. If an official name is needed, that will be negotiated between reserves and then that will be submitted to Panthera.
Thanks Matt for explaining the naming of Londolozi’s leopards and the meaning of those numbers of their spots.
You will have to find quite a few new names as there are so many youngsters becoming independent in the next few months, I guess. Will be interesting to learn their new names.
It’s a pleasure Christa, glad you enjoyed my blog post. Yes you’re right, we are already thinking of a few potential names for each of the youngsters! There will certainly be a bit of arguing back and forth between rangers while we decide! 🙂
Matt is is such a privilege to be able to see these majestic cats daily in our emails. I am you Rangers all have your own favorite leopard that you track and have a special place in your heart. Very interesting to see how they are named.
Thanks for your reply Valmai! I guess you are quite right – I do find that the more I’ve seen of a leopard’s life story, the more I’m inclined to become invested in it. It is tough to pick a favorite, but it certainly does make one lean more towards leopards that are viewed more regularly 🙂
Matt, thank you for explaining your naming system. It will certainly help me in identifying different leopards in the future.
Extremely informative; our ranger Alfie provided us with very intricate details on the identification of the leopards. Truly fascinating!
Just love all of the photos of iconic Londolozi leopards! I have met a few of these, and plenty more that I have not. Thanks for the great photos!