Reflecting back in time to stories of the Robson’s 4:4 Male I can’t help but draw some similarities between him and the Maxim’s 5:3 Male. Quoting James Tyrrell:
‘I guess in some ways he served to remind us of the wildest elements of old Africa; an Africa devoid of human presence. His reluctance to be viewed only added to his allure as an enigmatic animal.’
This rangy male was an enigma, arriving on Londolozi in the mid to latter parts of 2014 and staying mainly in the western areas.
The Maxim’s Male was first viewed in January 2019 in the western parts of the reserve. Very little was known about him. Due to his unrelaxed demeanour, we assume that he originated from the Kruger National Park where he was likely exposed to very few vehicles during his formative years. He is likely the biggest male leopard that we view on Londolozi and possibly even the biggest in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, this coupled with his majestic golden coat makes any sighting of him phenomenal.
The Maxim’s Male’s behaviour towards vehicles is much different to that of the Senegal Bush male, making it much harder to capture clear footage of this encroaching male in the early times of viewing him.
Fairly skittish male that is presumed to have come from the Kruger National Park.
In my opinion, he has been an incredibly successful male leopard – measured by both the size of his territory and the length of time he has controlled it During this time he has successfully sired several offspring with the females his territory covers. However, due to his skittish disposition often sightings of him were quite fleeting or in thick areas. Yet I find the above quote by James resonates with me when referring to the Maxim’s Male. He reminds us of the secretive nature expected from many wild leopards and how fortunate we are with the incredible viewing of the other relaxed leopards of Londolozi.
The Maxim’s Male leopard strides across a dry riverbed in front of our vehicle.
So now almost five years later, sightings of the Maxim’s Male have become a lot more regular and we feel that his demeanour has changed to a point where we can see him out in the open and completely relaxed around vehicles. He no longer slinks off into the long grass or thick vegetation. He remains where he is and hardly even bats an eyelid.
![Maxim's Male Lying On Termite Mound (2) [rcb]](https://media.londolozi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/26091123/Maxims-male-lying-on-termite-mound-2-RCB-1598x1598.jpg)
How does one measure the success of a dominant leopard?
The success of a leopard is difficult to quantify, but I guess the underlying goal of every animal out here is to survive long enough to reach sexual maturity, secure a mate and essentially pass on one’s genes. For some species this is more easily achieved, for others it is a significantly more challenging feat. So for a male leopard to procure a prime piece of territory, you know that he has already been through a journey rife with challenges, he has endured a lengthy nomadic journey, allowing him to grow and develop into a mature male, equipped with the necessary skills, experience and strength to take on a rival male in the battle for his own territory. Once securing a territory, he needs to actively patrol the territory and defend it against rivals looking to overthrow him, a strenuous and relentless task. Amidst this, he needs to seek out females that are in heat and mate with them in order to sire his own offspring. Unless he is the dominant male in the area it is unlikely that he will achieve this.
So ultimately, success could be measured in the number of offspring one has. If we break it down to the simplest form, one’s hunting skills to ensure it can eat and the amount they sleep then lead to that individual having the necessary energy to obtain and secure territory, find a female and then mate to produce offspring.
The Nkoveni Female and Maxim’s Male mating.
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.
So when we look at the Maxim’s Male, over his five-year reign he has helped ensure that three of his progeny have made it to adulthood, namely the Stonedrift Female, the Xinkhova Female and the recently renamed Nsuku Male (aka Three Rivers Young Male). We believe that the Plaque Rock Female’s current litter would very likely have been sired by the Maxim’s Male along with a few potential litters soon as we saw the Nkoveni Female and Three Rivers Female both mating with him.
A recent bout of mating with the Three Rivers Female will probably see her giving birth in March if she successfully conceived.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
One thing is for sure is that this impressive male will certainly leave a legacy and we can only hope to see more of him in the next few years. His territory has begun to shift westwards onto the reserve and we are excited to see what the future holds. One cannot deny that his having newly independent offspring is certainly a sign of success as a dominant male leopard.
Hi Kirst, he is unique, as each individual but he’s immediately recognisable by his spots and full muzzle, you can see even in photos that he’s huge! The mating with the Three River female that’s so small, have you ever heard of difficulties in giving birth in leopards? They are such a pair, as also he and the Nkoveni female. Good luck to all of them, looking forward to reading about new cubs and the Maxim’s new steps!
What a handsome looking leopard!
Thank you Kirst for your insights on some of the male leopards at Londolozi. It will be most interesting to follow the Maxim male through his life’s journey.
Thanks for the update, Kirst. I last saw Maxim’s in November – he was still pretty skittish but paused long enough for me to get a few decent shots of him before he scarpered. He is certainly a very impressive male, how does he compare for size with Nweti?
I did see the Robsons male back in October ’16, but it was a sad viewing. He’d recently been attacked by lions, and was limping badly. He was found dead 4 days later.
It certainly is a handsome leopard. Long live the Maxim’s Male.
A wonderful male, Maxim’s. When I saw him first in April 2021, right after having arrived at Londolozi, he was this shy male hiding in high grass, as you described him in this blog, Kirst. When I saw him in 2023 he was already very relaxed: Mating with the Ximungwe Female, busily marking his territory, chasing a warthog in between all the other activities. It was great to spend the morning with him.
I hope that he will be around for some more years and sire lots of cute little cubs during that time.
Kirst the Maxim’s male is certainly a stunning leopard, huge in stature and know beginning to make his territory noticeable is very good news. His off spring that his genes will also be stunning leopards. He is still a strong male and he carry on the duty of mating where ever he goes while the females are on heat. At least he is not so skittish anymore.
Interesting story referencing the past five years of trying to observe the skittish Maxim’s male, and now revealing how much more relaxed he is around vehicles. Obviously the Londolozi effect of allowing nature’s inhabitants to become comfortable with outside noises/humans in their own time works. Additionally, thank you for sharing the name of the large, handsome Three Rivers male, Nsuku. I’m trusting the meaning of his name will be revealed soon.
He is, undoubtedly, a magnificent creature. And I am so pleased to know that he’s no longer playing hide-and-seek with the vehicles and is allowing himself to be seen! After trying to capture clear images of him during three trips, I’m looking forward to seeing all of him when we visit in September/October!
What a stunning male. And yes, number of offspring that survive to independence, and then hopefully reproduce successfully themselves would qualify as Success! I hope to see Maxim’s in September!
The Maxim Male is absolutely magnificent!
By far my favorite! So happy he ventured into Londolozi and we have his world to behold!