Our recent visit to Londolozi marked our 16th trio, and it was nothing short of extraordinary. Among the highlights, one family stood out- The Mashaba Female, her daughters the Nkoveni Female and the Ximungwe Female, and all of their little cubs.
The Mashaba Female has always been my favourite leopard, so seeing her along with both of her daughters in one visit made this so much more special. I’ve written about her and her family before, but this visit was exceptional.
The Ximungwe Female as an 11-month-old cub.
I remember the first time I laid eyes on the Ximungwe Female, just an 11-month-old cub resting in a tree alongside her majestic mother, the Mashaba Female, and a prized impala kill dangling above. Fast forward to March this year, and we arrived at Londolozi with knowledge of the Ximungwe Female’s new cubs.
We drove up and down the Maxabene dry river bed for an hour or so and could not find them but did establish that there were tracks of the Ximungwe Female and her cubs going in and none coming out. They had to be there somewhere! Our fabulous ranger Barry Bath decided to send our just as fabulous tracker Tsepho into the bushes where they had been previously seen with a radio. Soon after we received an excited call from Tsepho that he had found her!
Thankfully she settled in the riversand perfectly for us.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Soon after one of the cubs came down
and then walked up to the Ximungwe Female and cuddled together
To crown this sighting the other cub came back and all 3 cuddled and played.
All 3 then went back into the bushes and played on the tree branches.
One of the cubs resting on a branch.
Before settling down the Ximungwe Female left the cubs well hidden in the den area we left them too.
We never thought anything could be better than that!
We had also heard that the Mashaba Female’s other and older daughter, the Nkoveni Female also had cubs.
This is a photo of the Nkoveni Female as a 5-month-old cub which was the first time we saw her in February 2013.
We had now been at Londolozi for a few days and were told that the Nkoveni Female had crossed to Mala Mala and come back with only two cubs. Later that day Nkoveni was seen in the thick bushes with only one cub visible but she had a kill up a tree that had very little eaten!
The next morning we headed out to where the kill in the tree was supposed to be, but when we got there it was very depressing as there was no kill in the tree and no leopards were present and thought that something bad had happened.
We waited around for a few minutes and then the Nkoveni Female came calmly walking down the road towards the tree where the kill had been and started contact calling.
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.
The next thing that happened was movement at the top of the tree and we saw a tiny little leopard cub in the tree wet and soaked from the rain the previous night.
The cub very slowly and with difficulty came down the tree!
The Nkoveni Female then started walking with them in the direction of the den site.
They then walked into Maxabene dry river bed and abruptly stopped walking and then silence and magic happened -first cub no 2 appeared and then cub no 3. What an amazing site to see Nkoveni and all 3 cubs together.
There was lots of playing in the dry river bed.
Soon after the Nkoveni Female took the cubs into the bushes adjacent to the river bed and the cubs played and suckled.
The family then walked in the river bed again and then went deeper into the bushes and stopped at a fallen tree and the 3 cubs played on the tree and entertained us for another hour with a magical sighting
All four on the fallen tree.
The mother jumped down and the cubs kept on playing.
It was magical.
And finally disappeared into the thicket.
I doubt will ever experience anything like that again!
A few days later it rained during the night and Barry Bath our ranger had a vision of the Ximungwe Female making a kill as leopards often do in the rain so our plan that morning was to try and find Ximungwe and hope she would lead us to “something”. So we went out to the den area and we were able to find one cub alone.
We could not find Ximungwe but no tracks were coming out so we presumed she was lying somewhere not to be seen so we left for something else.
A little later we heard that the other Ximungwe Cub was up in a tree with a kill and Maxim’s Male was up there too. Being the cub’s perceived father, he was not a threat to the cub and we planned to go there! Just a few minutes later we heard that the kill was displaced to the ground and was then taken by hyenas and Maxim’s Male and the cub could not be seen so we abandoned that plan.
We were then told that the Ximungwe Female was now moving and appeared to be on a mission so we headed there to follow her.
She was moving rather quickly and then stopped in the area where the previously mentioned kill was and started contact calling and it was phenomenal how she knew where to go as it was very thick bushes. Soon after we heard a soft reply with a subsequent gorgeous reunion of the two in the bushes and no photo view. It was presumed that the Ximungwe Female made the kill and brought this cub there and the kill was stolen by Maxim and then by hyenas after it fell.
She then walked back to the original den area taking the cub with her
The next morning we found the Xinkhova Female, a daughter of the Nkoveni Female.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
On our last evening drive from this trip, we really put the cherry on top and found the queen of Londolozi, the Mashaba Female in the late evening golden light. She was really looking very good for a 16-year-old leopard and what a treat for me to see her again.
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
The Mashaba Female, her daughters and grandchildren put on quite a show for us !!
We plan to return to Londolozi later in the year and would love to see all these leopards again.
Tony, it was fantastic to see all of your photos once again and in context with your backstory . You truly experienced every guest’s wishes to view leopards and their cubs, but you achieved a once in a lifetime experience to see and photograph the entire family, from Mashaba to her daughters and their cubs. That is so special and I thank you for sharing. Hopefully in October some or all of the cubs will still be growing up and there be more cubs to view from other resident females, such as Three Rivers, Plaque Rock, Nhlanguleni, Xinzele, Nkuwa….
Many thanks,Denise and hopefully in October you will get to see an older version of these cubs.
Good grief Anthony, what incredible sightings you had – you must have been pinching yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming! You really were spoilt on this trip. Great images as always, thanks for sharing (even though you’ve made me extremely envious!)
Thanks,Suzanne this trip had by far the best sightings we have ever had and also included 4 wild dog sightings and the newly named Kambula pride and all the cubs playing !
Oh my, what precious little animals. may they grow big and strong!
Thanks Sandra agree life is tough in the wild and lets hope all these leopards cubs survive!
Amazing set of pictures of the female leopards of Londolozi. Thank you for sharing the pics and the stories Anthony.
Thanks William it was an incredible experience !
Great update on some of the Ladies especially the Queen of Londolozi. She looks great for an old girl and she will leave quite the legacy. Thank you!
Thanks,Linda Mashaba always has a special place in my heart as my favorite leopard and somehow i always get to see her !
Superb photography. Thank you for sharing these.
My pleasure and glad you like it !
Hi, this is one of the best family portrait I’ve ever read and seen! I love these three majestic leopards, the hard life yet so natural and free, their path through the years and their fantastic cubs… I’m sorry that the Mashaba female lost her last cubs, but she’s still a great leopard, i remember the Inyathini male was thought to be the culprit for the loss and a battle she had against the much smaller yet great Ndzanzeni female. They simbolise the two different main leopard lineages, the Sunset Bend and the Mother Leopard. Thank you!
Many thanks Francesca and thanks for the kind comments .The leopards of Londolozi never dissapoint !
Oh Wow Anthony, what a blog. What a trip. Mashaba and all her offspring are some of our favourites too. Barry and Tshepo are an amazing team. We’re so looking forward to our upcoming visit in a few weeks time. Thank you for so comprehensively whetting our already whetted “looking forward “ to our visit .
Thanks a lot Jane we always have high expectations when we visit Londolozi but somehow every time we exceed our expectations !
Anthony your photo’s are absolutely stunning, and your luck was in to see Mashaba female, Nkoveni and her three cubs and Ximungwe with her two cubs. So good to see your foto’s and I am sure Londolozi is your favorite safari visiting place. May you have such good luck again when you come to Londolozi later on this year.
ThanksValmai for the wonderful comments and yes indeed Londolozi is our home away from home and by far our best safari place !
Fabulous photos as usual, Tony! I can’t tell you how jealous we are of your visit and all your magnificent sightings! It makes us all the more excited about our upcoming 2 week stay in September/October. Perhaps we’ll meet again!
Thanks,Mary Beth we really did have special sightings this time and I have no doubt you will have special sightings later in the year and maybe will meet you again in future !
What a fantastic trip.. I hope you see all of them again too, so we can all see the photos!
Thanks very much MJ and always good to hear from you !
What an amazing trip Anthony! Absolute Londolozi magic for sure and here’s to hoping all five cubs are still thriving when you return again (what a treat that would be!)
Micheal it was indeed Londolozi magic as always and we all hope these cubs will grow into adults and both have great moms with some experience !
Wow, incredible story Anthony!! And maybe only surpassed by the amazing images of these brilliant and beautiful leopards. Simply stunning account and photography!
Thanks very much Paul for the very kind comments !
What great/magical/lucky sightings!!! Thank you for sharing!
Many thanks,Anita .
What a wonderful family reunion of sorts! There’s something especially endearing about seeing the little cubs soaked from the rain.
Thanks very much ,Chelsea .
What a wonderful story about the Mashaba female and her offspring. The photos of all these cute cubs and their mothers are just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing! So good to know that these cute cubs are fine. I am also glad to hear that the Mashaba is still quite well. She is the grandmother of such a beautiful line of leopards
Thanks very much Christa for the kind comments .
All of these photos just tug at my heartstrings. Thank you so much!
Thanks very much Barbara ,all these leopards are also very special for me !
Tony, Sorry for the late response to your amazing post. You did a beautiful job of getting those amazing images of all the cubs! Mashaba is our favorite too and we also met her and Nkoveni in 2013! Hope to see you in Sarasota again – or better yet at Londolozi!
Thanks,Michael always good to hear from you and thanks for the kind comments and hope to meet back in Londolozi in the future!
Tony, We are planning another Safari Sarasota next October 28 & 29 with the Londolozi team to benefit GWF. Special Lodoz royalty will be here and hope you can join us too!
Awesome,Michael we will be there !