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Ntomi 3:3 Male

Ntomi 3:3 Male

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Ximungwe 5:3 Female

Ximungwe 5:3 Female

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Kelsey Clark

Guest contributor

Kelsey has many fond memories of family bush and camping trips across South Africa when she was growing up and for her, this sparked a growing love for the wilderness and opportunities to seek new adventures. Although she studied BComm Financial Management and ...

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27 Comments

on A Journey Alongside the Ximungwe Young Male?

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Thank you Kelsey for sharing some of your favorite sightings over the past year+ of this handsome and gregarious Ximungwe young male. It seems he has truly met everyone’s expectations in achieving independence, including his mother’s, who is now hunting only for herself it appears I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up pregnant by the end of the year, if not before. Even though he is newly independent and strong, I imagine he still has a difficult road ahead of him to make enough kills to support himself, whilst staying under the radar of the other dominant males in the territory.

It is an absolute pleasure to share these stories with you Denise, it has been a privilege watching him grow up. He does still have a tough road ahead but we hope he will become a dominant male himself soon enough. And I hope you are right to about the Ximungwe Female falling pregnant again soon too.

Wonderful blog Kelsey, thank you. I had some glorious sightings of him last November, and then again in February. Despite being a year old by then, he made the least elegant descent from a tree I’ve ever seen – he decided it was too steep to go down head first, and ended up shuffling down tail first with his front legs wrapped around the trunk!
Ximungwe has done a wonderful job in bringing him to independence – I think her previous cub is now called Mahlahla and is not too far away?

Thank you Suzanne, I am glad you can reflect on your own sightings with him and see how far he has come since those clumsy days. Yes it is the Mahlahla male and the Ximungwe female has done an incredible job raising these two males to independence. It won’t be long now until the Ximungwe Young male receives a name for himself.

A fabulous timeline, it’s been wonderful to experience this young male’s path to adulthood even vicariously. I’ll enjoy watching his progress as time goes on. I can only imagine how special it has been to observe the duo in person – what an awe-inspiring experience! thank you for sharing!

Thank you Kylea, I am so happy to hear you have been following his path closely too. It really has been a privilege watching him grow up!

It’s always satisfying to see that a cub has been raised successfully by its mother. A great achievement of the Ximungwe female. And lovely for your guests to have been able to see that young male again, after a year or so, as a more or less completely independent adult.

It really is an incredible achievement for the Ximungwe Female and a privilege for us to be an observer as the young male has grown up.

Hopefully you will be able to follow his adventures as he becomes fully independent and begins to identify his own turf!

Yes, I hope so too!

Great post about the Ximungwe Duo Kelsey. I too love these leopards having seen Mom about 3 years ago and both this pas time a month ago. Such a treat. Love the image of the male cub behind the mom with such curious eyes!

Thank you Kara, I’m glad you got a chance to see them on your last visit!

Master Tracker

Wonderful account . Thank you for sharing

Thank you Ian, it is a real pleasure to share these stories.

Kelsey I can see the Ximungwe male cub has captured your heart like he did mine. The first foto of him was so special and I loved this cub from the beginning, right up to know where he is going to be on his own. That spec in his eye made him even more special. He has the cutest face expressions and mischievous look about himself. Mom taught him well and know she can be pleased to see him hunt, ascend up and down a tree, knowing that he can fend for himself know. Mom should be pregnant as she was seen mating with Senegal Bush Male. Soon we will be able to see new born cubs again. You are so privileged tto see him grow up right there in front of you and see him often. I can just see the foto’s and video’s.

I agree Valmai – he did capture my heart and I am so grateful for the privilege that I have had to watch him grow up. A very special young male leopard and we do hope that the Ximungwe Female will have another cub or two in the not too distant future.

He certainly is a very handsome boy…love his birthmark in his eye. What a great sighting in the video with Sean…not sure how I missed that one 🙁 Thank you for posting again!

I agree Anita, a very unique birthmark. I’m glad you enjoyed the video and the post!

A beautiful story of a stunning leopard! I hope he will stay at Londolozi somewhat, so that you can follow him. He has a difficult future ahead but has many chances to survive thanks to his mum’s lessons

Thank you Francesca, I will definitely be keeping a close eye on him where ever he may end up!

Kelsey, great blog about the young male leopard. Thanks for the wonderful video and pictures.

My pleasure William, I’m so glad you enjoyed them.

So so SO lucky to witness the growing up time of a young leopard! What a huge privilege!

I couldn’t agree more Lisa! 🙂

Senior Digital Ranger

fascinating to watch the leopard chasing the hyena!

An incredible sighting! I’m glad Sean could capture it for us!

So incredible to see the leopard he has grown up to be! He definitely holds a special place in our heart too, as he was the first leopard we ever saw with you and Bennet, about this time last year. I’ll never forget seeing him sitting in the tree, perfectly posed. We can’t wait to return to Londolozi some day and hope to see the Ximungwe young male again!

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