Involved Leopards

Nkoveni 2:2 Female

Nkoveni 2:2 Female

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Three Rivers 2:2 Female

Three Rivers 2:2 Female

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Stone Drift 3:2 Female

Stone Drift 3:2 Female

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Xinkhova 2:2 Female

Xinkhova 2:2 Female

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Eyrefield 3:2 Male

Eyrefield 3:2 Male

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Senegal Bush 3:3 Male

Senegal Bush 3:3 Male

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Tu-Tones 3:2 Male

Tu-Tones 3:2 Male

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Camp Pan 4:3 Male

Camp Pan 4:3 Male

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Tamboti 4:3 Female

Tamboti 4:3 Female

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Ndzanzeni 4:3 Female

Ndzanzeni 4:3 Female

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Inyathini 3:3 Male

Inyathini 3:3 Male

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Tortoise Pan 4:3 Male

Tortoise Pan 4:3 Male

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About the Author

Sean Zeederberg

Blog Editor

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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40 Comments

on Battleground of the Shadows: Epic Leopard Showdown at Londolozi

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The harsh reality of nature… ever since joining the Londolozi blog community (and my recent visit to Londolozi in July!) I have felt a real affinity for the Three Rivers Female – I truly love her survival story after losing her mother when she was so young.
It’s really mixed feelings reading this post, and seeing the videos…I’m certain I’m not the only one heartbroken to learn of the loss of one of the cubs – it’s been so special seeing the pictures and videos of the two of them…nature is cruel. I really hope the other one is alive, and I’ll be looking for posts to find out. For now at least, I’m glad that neither the Three Rivers Female or Nkoveni female are mortally injured. Beautiful and powerful creatures, I hope they can both have territory and survive.

Mother nature in her rawest form. You are certainly not the only one that is saddened by this event and the loss of at least one cub but probably both. Bit as you say, thankfully both the females are ok and not severely injured.

This was a lovely trip down memory lane for me, having seen all of the leopards (except the new Eyrefield male), until the fight between Nkoveni and 3 Rivers. So sad to hear about the death of her cub, and fingers crossed the 2nd cub may still be alive and ok.
Seeing the picture of Tamboti reminded me of her daughter (Island f). Just wondered if she’s still alive and well?

I did add a lot of imagery of all the old leopards, which is great to see every now and then. I think the Island Female is still alive, but I will have to double check.

Senior Digital Ranger

I hate to seem dumb but don’t the cubs hide when fights happen? How did the cub end up getting killed?

The Nkoveni Female’s were at a stage where they were being taken across to carcasses to feed and this is where the Three Rivers Female then found them and killed them. I am sure they would have either tried to hide of run away but obviously it wasn’t good enough.

Senior Digital Ranger

Did she kill both cubs? I thought it was one, how awful

We haven’t seen the second cub since so the chances are slim that it made it.

Senior Digital Ranger

I’m so sad now, what a terrible life these animals have so hard.

Sean, What an incredible story! We were fortunate to witness part of the conflict and it was intense and a bit scary! The posturing, scent marking and growling by each of the leopards we experienced was clearly sending a message and warning. We were amazed that they both survived the epic battle! We hope the missing cub is ok! Also, it was great to catch up with you on our last morning – the blog is in great hands!

It is such an incredible story. These leopards are so resilient and although the Three Rivers Female looks pretty badly beat up, she will be fine. Maybe the worst will be a bit of a bruised ego. It was great to see you too. I hope all is going well back at home.

Deeply felt and inspired, this tale is one of the best and touching I read. The Nkoveni female was the favourite, not only for her size but especially for the hormonal level as she’s nursing her litter. Your sorrow was felt as the epilogue unfolded. Only the Nkoveni mum knows how she feels, we may only guess and feel for her. Such a drama, poor cub and mum. It was too heavenly… I will keep this in my favourite also for the different behavioural traits displayed by the described males and females. Such formidable wonders. Do you know if the (maybe) remaining cub is the male or the female? Anyway I do hope it is fine for its family’s sake.

These leopards are all such formidable warriors and it was sad that the cubs were collateral damage. The second cub was a female, which would be great if it survives but I have my doubts.

Sean , incredible pictures and videos to accompany the story of the leopards of Londolozi. The fight for survival is the fight that no animal can avoid and it brings out the most ferocious battles even in humans. Thank you for sharing!

The fight for survival is immense out here and definitely brings out sheer ferocity amongst these predators.

Senior Digital Ranger

What beautiful looking leopards.

What an incredible story, Sean. These two magnificent female leopards battling for territory and their offspring is indeed epic, though fearsome and tragic at the same time. I hope they both recover from their wounds and can achieve a territorial balance that precludes future battles. I want to see them both next year!

Thank you, Mary Beth. I am sure they will eventually settle the dispute.

How old were the cubs at this point? Do they wander themselves more at this age? I’m curious as to how the Three Rivers female would have been able to come across both those cubs on separate occasions w/o mom around? So sad to lose them at any age but especially when she was able to raise them to this age 🙁

The cubs were about six to seven months old. So the mother would have brought them to a carcass to feed on. The carcasses were both in areas where the Three Rivers Female could be found. The first cub that got killed, the mother was nearby and by the time she reacted it was too late. The second cub we are not sure what happened, as it was during the course of the night.

Thank you for the details Sean 🙂 I sure hope you find the second cub alive and well soon!

Sadly, it is not looking too likely that the second cub is alive.

Senior Digital Ranger

Nothing quite matches the wrath of an angry mother. I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Three Rivers female as she has made it through the loss of her mother at only a bit more than a year old. I hope she recovers swiftly and keeps most of her territory. It is nice to know Nkoveni at 11 yrs is still very much a dominant female.
Thank you for sharing

An angry mother after just witnessing her cubs being killed is something to stay clear of. The Three Rives Female has stolen many people’s hearts with her epic story, but the Nkoveni Female is also a favourite around here.

Oh no Sean, that is absolutely heart breaking that Nkoveni has maybe lost her one cub due to the confrontation with the Three Rivers female. Nkoveni is such a good mommy and we really hoped that she would raise both her cubs to adulthood. Wow what a fight they had and both females were very aggressive. Survival and retaining their territory is on going fight. So sorry for the Three Rivers female who lost her territory and Nkoveni who lost her cub. Only the strongest survive in the wild.

It is heartbreaking, and sadly quite likely that both cubs are gone. As you say, only the strong survive and so we will be interested to see what unfolds going forward.

Incredible footage of this epic struggle Sean! With the Nkoveni Female’s dominance and the retreat, however temporary, of the Three Rivers Female, it will be fascinating to see how this all plays out going forward.

It was an unforgettable sighting for those there to witness it. Can’t be sure if it was pleasant to be there, but just the sheer power and raw aggression between these two is something to revel at.

It is always astonishing how tough and resilient these animals are. They can recover from the most serious injury and carry on with their lives.
Still it‘s a tragedy that so many cubs suffer and have to die because of those rivalries. Nature can sometimes be really unforgiving.
Only a few weeks ago there were numerous leopard cubs around and now several have already died. What a waste on one hand side, on the other maybe there is only room for a certain number of cubs at a time. Difficult to say.

Nature is brutal and it is sad that there are so many unfortunate lives lost as a result but I guess it is all in balance and is mother nature taking its course.

All I can say is, OMG! Truly epic display of dominance and apparent anger by Nkoveni. It’s not surprising she would react so violently after seeing one of her cubs killed. None of this is surprising given the complexities of big cats, driven by the desire for territory and the willingness to fight to keep it intact. I’m hoping that the second cub managed to stay hidden or escape, to avoid the fray, or death. Terrific report Sean and I look forward to Sunday!!

It was such an intense sighting and true demonstration of power from both leopards.

Such a whirlwind of a sighting! Sad to think the Nkoveni Female may have lost the second cub (her first and second litters were lost too – the first never seen and the second (IIRC) when their father was killed by lions and the Flat Rock Male moved in). That said she has been an extraordinarily successful mother raising three female cubs which ironically is why she took the gamble to move into the Three Rivers Female’s territory (another Sunsetbend descendant). Thanks Sean for the full rundown of the sighting in this blog, here’s hoping the second cub has managed to avoid the same fate as its littermate!

It really is such a whirlwind of a sighting, Michael. The Nkoveni Female has been very successful as a mother. But I feel this could also be adding extra pressure on her with all her daughters being around and looking for territory. We hope the second cub is alive but it is not looking promising.

Very intense! Only in nature does the fight have necessity. What seem to be the ratio of males vs females born Sean?
As i guess in this instance 3 females would have been a much bigger challenge / problem for the Three Rivers Female?

I agree, only in nature does the fight have necessity. I would say it is probably 50/50 male to female in reality, but it certainly feels as though there are more females cubs around. It could just be that the mothers have been successful in raising the young females.

Sean, we observed the Nkoveni-Three Rivers soap opera develop over 3 days. The first 2 were primarily growling episodes. The 3rd resulted in the epic battle herein which played out directly in front of our vehicle. It was ferocious. We could not believe when we learned later that the Three Rivers was seen walking around despite sone very ugly wounds. We hope you can report on the missing remaining Nkoveni cub.
It was great to see you and San and meet Seb & Olivia.

It really was quite an exciting few days watching the whole story unfold. The Three Rivers Female is recovering well and is back in action. It was so good to see you too and that we got to introduce you to the little ones. Sorry it was so brief. Hopefully, we will see you next time you are back.

Senior Digital Ranger

As of others have already stated it’s just heartbreaking that this beautiful female that raised her cubs to six or seven months, both of them, against all odds only to lose them within 24 hours of a mistake that she chose to make. It’s hard seeing the little ones lost but when they get bigger like this and we’ve become emotionally attached to them it’s just devastating. I can’t imagine the heartbreak that’s happening with all of you around the camp right now. Gorgeous photography and I’m one of the ones that can’t watch the videos. Your story is so beautifully written.

It is such a tragedy that she lost her cubs. I guess the difficult part is that we have seen them grow and turn into these awesome little leopards. Thank you so much.

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