We like to believe that all members of the felidae family have some form of territoriality to them. Male leopards are probably some of the most fiercely territorial. In fact, in my experience they have at times displayed the highest amount of aggression over territory that we see here. Leopard territories are constantly in a state of flux and on one of my recent morning game drives I, along with the guests in my vehicle, was lucky enough to watch how these territorial shifts play out.
The most current male leopard territories on Londolozi. The two relevant leopards for this blog post are the Maxim’s Male and the Senegal Bush Male. Both of their territories lie fairly central on the reserve.
The Lead-up
After following tracks of who we thought to be the Senegal Bush Male for roughly 30 minutes, we heard a leopard rasping up ahead of us. “Surely it must be him!”, we thought. However, after turning the corner and having a closer look at the leopard responsible for the loud territorial rasp, we discovered that it was in fact the Maxim’s Male. I have to admit that at this point I was slightly confused, as the tracks we had been following had come from the heart of the Senegal Bush Male’s territory. It was only after spending another couple of minutes with the Maxim’s Male and noticing that he was salivating heavily that we realised we may have indeed been following the Senegal Bush Male’s tracks all along and he might be somewhere close by.
The Maxim’s Male displaying aggressive behaviour. Salivating is a sign of aggression in leopards and when trails of saliva are dangling from either side of a leopards mouth, it’s nearly a sure sign that there is another leopard in the area.
The Moment
Just as I was explaining to everyone on the vehicle what I thought was playing out in front of us, the Senegal Bush Male came around the corner! He too was salivating heavily. After a minute or two of scanning his surroundings and seeing where the ‘intruder’ was, he was chased off by the Maxim’s Male. It was almost impossible to follow them, all we could see was one leopard in hot pursuit of the other – both running at full speed.
The Senegal Bush Male keeping a low posture and fixing his gaze on the opponent in question. It truly was a stand-off!
This scene played out on three different occasions whilst we were with the males. First, they would fix their gaze on the other individual whilst giving off a constant, low growl and scraping their back legs on the ground as they scent-marked. After 10 to 15 minutes of an intense stand-off, one male would advance on the other and both leopards would then charge off into the distance where we would lose sight of them. After eventually catching up with them they had separated and the cycle would start again. A textbook territorial spat; intimidation and lateral presentation usually leads to one individual being more submissive than the other.
After chasing one another intensely for a minute or two, both leopards would lie within 15 meters of each other and let off low growls whilst scraping their back legs on the ground – an attempt to lay their claim on that piece of turf.
So, Who ‘Won’?
Well, to say there was an outright ‘winner’ would be inaccurate. The sighting ebbed and flowed with the Maxim’s Male clearly being the domineering enforcer at first, chasing the Senegal Bush Male further South and West, deeper into his existing territory. There was a moment however when the moods of both leopards changed and the Senegal Bush Male pushed back – my belief is that this was because they were now quite far into the Senegal Bush Male’s territory causing the Maxim’s Male to become slightly more submissive.
There was a definite change in behaviour from both leopards the further South-West we went, with the Senegal Bush Male becoming more confident and the Maxim’s Male becoming more submissive.
It will be very interesting to see how these two individuals battle it out over the coming months. The general trend that we are seeing is that the slightly smaller, older Senegal Bush Male is being pushed further and further North-West by the very impressive Maxim’s Male. For the most current update on male leopard territories on Londolozi, read this article.
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Exciting sighting. We followed a similar back-and-forth between the Piccadilly and Plaque Rock females last week that took us all the way back to Tree Camp.
Another great example of a territorial stand-off!
Robert, What an exciting encounter! With so many males in the Londolozi boundaries, it is not surprising that they are protective of their territory. Are the males submissive to females who share their territory?
Territorial Male leopards will be protective over their territory wherever it may be. No, they are not submissive however they will allow a female to hold her territory within his own (multiple females with their respective territories in fact)
The Senegal Bush male has been the subject of so many intersting blog entries. We followed his tracks for hours and finally gave up the chase to have our sundowner. Who comes strolling down the path directly at us but the object of our pursuit.
Oh Robbie, it was always in the back of my mind that the Senegal Bush Male is old now and that a new stronger, younger male will try and take over his territory. The Maxim’s Male is a stunning leopard and very big. But my heart is still with the Senegal Bush Male. Hope they do not fight over the territory and hurt each other.
How exciting to experience this sighting – two big males facing off! I’d have loved to be there! If I had to choose sides, it would be the Maxim’s male, powerful and in his prime.
The Maxim’s male is a huge and stunning leopard, but I still love the Senegal Bush Male. So many male leopards now on Londolozi, some or other time there will be dispute over territory.
I so love reading all of the blog posts, and I had no idea how my interests would multiply so exponentially after finally visiting Londolozi. The leopards are my favorite. They are captivating. I can’t wait to come back in May, 2024. I’m bringing 4 new friends that can’t wait to experience what I did this May. I don’t think they believe the pictures or my personal experiences can possibly be as profound as I have exclaimed. Just you wait, I tell them.
What an exciting encounter. It is so interesting to follow the interactions between all these leopards of Londolozi. The Sabi-Sands lodges are so lucky to have all these leopards
The fight for territory never ends. Thanks Robbie for the wonderful update. Glad you were able to witness the encounter and report back to us all.
Exciting encounter! I was able to see the Senegal Bush male last week when there – he was quite an awesome looking Leopard, battle worn for sure, but very impressive.
Wow, must have been super exciting! Watching leopards is always exciting! Keep us posted of any further encounters! Thank you! Victoria
Hoping that Senegal Bush Male (Kunyuma to us WildEarth junkies!) will stay put or even move into Hosana’s old territory…..by the way, I believe that your map of territories needs updating with regards to Hosana. Also has anyone seen Misava recently?
Thank you so much, Lisa. Yes, we have updated the map, the wrong one was put into the blog. The Misava Male was seen about a week ago close to the Londolozi camps.
Very excited Robert, and very much looking forward to updates!
Wow, Robert, this sounds like an exciting and unbelievable sighting between these two strong leopards. I’ve not seen the Maxim male, but do have a strong connection with the Senegal Bush male and hope they can resolve their territory issues peacefully, without injuries! Looking at the map, it seems the Flat Rock male has the largest territory and appears to be in no danger unless the Tortoise Pan male comes calling. With the independence of the Ximungwe male coming soon, it’s obvious he will have to leave the area, as his half brother did as there are two many senior males within the Londolozi property. Stay tuned definitively!!