This week, we are met with heartache as we mourn the loss of both of the Ximungwe Female’s cubs. The circumstances surrounding their disappearance remain shrouded in uncertainty. It began with the discovery of the Ximungwe Female, with a duiker carcass hoisted high in a marula tree and only one cub. The first cub disappeared about a week ago.
However, arriving in the morning and upon closer inspection by Matt, a sense of unease settled in. The cacophony of nearby hyenas, their vocalizations echoing through the stillness of dawn, combined with the demeanour of the Ximungwe Female, hinted at a tragedy.
Later, Melvin’s arrival brought grim confirmation as he discovered a small tuft of leopard cub fur and scattered bones on the ground nearby. Despite the Ximungwe Female’s persistent contact calls throughout the morning, our hopes of unravelling the events of the previous evening were dashed. It is not uncommon for a mother leopard to continue calling for her lost cub for days, a poignant reminder of the bond between mother and offspring.
Although we were unable to capture her haunting calls, we were able to reflect on the highlights of the Ximungwe Female and her recent litter through a collection of recent sightings, a bittersweet conclusion to this chapter of their lives.
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How awful I’m so sad and just disgusted even more with those filthy hyenas
I guess it is the way of the wild and hyenas also need to eat.
My prayers and thoughts go to this mother
leopard who is grieving the loss of both her
babies.
It is a sad time for the Ximungwe Female.
Sean, It’s so sad to hear stories of lost cubs. It must be so hard for the mothers to keep the cubs safe. There are always Hyenas roaming and other male Leopards moving through the area.
It really is such a challenge to keep the cubs safe when danger lurks around every corner.
So very sad to see her and to know there are no more cubs around her. She must be devastated as we are, and I am sure you Rangers and Trackers are also saddened about the loss of these two gorgeous cubs. It is an enormous task for these mothers to keep their cubs safe from predators. But let’s hope she falls pregnant again and has better luck this time in raising them to adulthood.
It is sad to know that she has lost her cubs, but at the same time we know that it is natural and that these things happen.
Competition among predators leaves to such happenings and sadly the small cub was the prize. What is difficult to accept in hyenas is their “primitive ” evolutionary step, the way they kill their prey or enemy (in fact, even not living items are).I’m a bit surprised they left some hair bones. After all, it was such a small
cub. Really not hunger but just competition..
Hopefully the mother will soon recover from the shock, nature doesn’t leave room for grief and sorrow…
We hope that the Ximungwe Female will fall pregnant and have another litter of cubs soon.
It truly is bittersweet that Ximungwe has lost her cubs, especially knowing what a great mother she has been over the past few years. This just proves that even the most experienced leopard mum, has no control of over how cruel nature can be. It seems especially cruel when little cubs are the target given they’ve had so little life experience, save for their mother’s love. The good news is she’ll have more opportunities for future litters. I n the meantime we will enjoy seeing Nkoveni and her little ones for as long as we can.
This is very true. Even the best mothers out here are still caught off guard every now and then.
Sean, sad to see the demise of the Ximungwe females cub. Life in the wild is never easy much like life for us all. I hope for better success next time if she mates again.
Life for a mother leopard trying to raise cubs in the wild is so challenging.
Such sadness……the previous video of the little cubbies playing and diving on mama was as good as it could possibly get! Poor Ximungwe…..
Watching cubs play and wrestle is a highlight of any safari.
It is really so sad that she lost both those cute cubs. The video clips of the cubs playing with each other and their mother are great! I hope for her that she will soon have a new litter and be more successful with it. These hyenas are a big danger for little cubs, indeed. I guess that most losses are due to them, aren’t they?
It is so sad that she lost both her cubs.
Nature keeps everything in balance, and unfortunately this time it was not in the leopards favor. On the bright side, a cub dying from predation likely didn’t suffer a second, as opposed to an adult that could die slowly from starvation after being injured. The highlight at the end were a nice touch. That cub pouncing on her from the branch lit me up.
So sorry to hear this Sean, that is the nature of the wild. Wishing her the best going forward, and hoping she can connect in the near future with another male leopard.