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Plaque Rock 3:3 Female

Plaque Rock 3:3 Female

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Kirst Joscelyne

Ranger

At less than a year old, Kirst went to her family’s hut in the Greater Kruger National Park, and has been fortunate enough to continue to go there ever since. Sharing a passion for the bush with her family, led to countless trips ...

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23 Comments

on Finding the Plaque Rock Female’s Den, Yay… Then Tragedy Strikes!

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sadly , emotional and depressed keep thinking and tears , how fragile leopard is, i couldnt believe it that my favourite female leopard was killed such that way, but there is nothing we can do it a nature and wildlife, sometime wildlife can be so cruel. have to accept the truth, i being following this londolozi blog since PAGE 1 till now, ive never imagine how sad this could be (RIP PLAQUE ROCK FEMALE)

I know nature can be brutal, but it doesn’t stop the shock and tears. Nature is also fragile and nurturing. I suppose it is like anything. One can look at a herd of Impala and just say, “well, that leopard just caught another Impala”. But if you get to know the Impalas individually, you would mourn the loss of that individual. I have found the same even with insects. I might look at a hive of bees and see them as an entity, but if I find one in the birdbath, I take it inside, dry it off, give it sugar water and let it go on a flower with nectar. It’s the same with the leopards at Londolozi. I’ve never seen them in real life, but through these wonderful emails and videos, I have come to know and love certain individuals (Not just leopards). It’s always so sad when one of them dies, especially a brutal death. I never quite got over the Ottowa male. The Plaque Rock Female will be up there among my faves.

I am absolutely heartbroken over this tragedy and tears are coming now. I am so very sorry for this magnificent leopard and her baby.

Senior Digital Ranger

After watching the Plaque Rock Female’s abounding joy playing with her Cub on Sunday’s Blog this news really hits hard. To lose both leopards so tragically is a huge Londolozi loss and we all are grieving. I search for answers to where was her instinct? Her cunning? Her climbing ability to get away? The bushveld is both beautiful and cruel…and some questions will remain unanswerable and incomprehensible.

I am gutted by this news. She was my first Londolozi leopard. In January of 2020, Sean spotted her in a tree minutes after leaving camp on my first game drive. With his help, I took incredible photos of her. One of which hangs in my bathroom for me to see every morning. So, I have always felt a special attachment to her. I was thrilled to see her with her cub and I was hopeful that I would be able to see them both next summer when I visit. I was blessed to witness her magnificent beauty.

Kirst, what sad news. Nature is unforgiving and at times very fragile. Thank you for sharing even though it is something I would have preferred not to hear.

😭😭😭😭😭 one of my favorite girls and such a tragic ending to this little family. RIP beautiful Plaque Rock and sweet baby.

I feel for you and this is heartbreaking for me too, every single one since Karula and up to date…

So so sad … les lois de la nature sont souvent cruelles …
Cette femelle et son bébé étaient magnifiques

So terribly sad! It’s so sad that a leopards life is always in danger right from the start as a tiny baby. When you published this lovely video of this mother’s love and her cheerful and happy playing with her little baby, everything seemed so wonderful. It’s really so sad that both, mother and child, found such a tragic death.

What tragic news. My 💔 is broken. And to think not only the Plaque Rock Female, but her beautiful new cub. The thread of life is so fragile, yet beautiful and so cruel. We were blessed to witness her life, her love for her new cub and her beauty and strength. She will be forever missed💔

Oh no Kirst! This is tragic news, especially after seeing her play with her cub so beautifully. My heart is broken to hear this terrible news that both have been brutally killed by the Ndhzenga Males. I don’t think I could handle being so close to the animals, seeing them just about everyday or everywhere, to loose them so cruelly.

First of all Kirst, well done on writing this tragic report on the demise of Plaque Rock Female as it can’t have been easy, especially after finding her with that adorable cub. It took a few minutes after reading this, wiping the last tears, to say that I’m devastated. However, I’m thrilled Sean was able to post his virtual safari so we could enjoy seeing her playing with her cub in such a joyful way. Nature works in mysterious ways, providing us with beauty and special moments but just as quickly, those can disappear in a heartbeat. I don’t want to think about the cub and its most certain end, but instead to remember the beautiful moments captured in the video.

I can’t believe it… she was so beautiful and finally a happy mother. Her life has been really unlucky. Has she ever had a survived cub?

What a tragedy! We both felt so terrible, especially after having spent so much time with her during our last visit- great photos!- and after watching Sean’s video blog last Sunday. The realities of Mother Nature can be hard to accept. Thank you, Kirst, for your compassionate words.

Oh my…shocking and so sad! Heartbreaking – so so so sad.

Truly heartbreaking 🙁 Do we know…wrong place at the wrong time? Were they hunting her? Would lions prey on leopards or just kill as competition? Small blessing the little one didn’t suffer long 🙁

Oh Kirst, other than thank you for posting this, I have no words, just sorrow.

I’m devastated Kirst, you were right about needing the Kleenex. When I read your headline I put off reading this, assuming she’d lost the cub. I’m totally shocked….though I shouldn’t be as nature is unpredictable and not known for happy endings. She had a lucky escape from lions a while ago, so we’ve been fortunate to have had that extra time with her. She’s always been one of my favourites, and I will still see her every day as I have a large canvas of her when she was a cub with Nkoveni in our front room.

Thank you for this tribute to Plaque Rock. Barbara was still at Mala Mala when she broke the news to me here at home. We will never forget this sighting. The universe smiled on us that day. It was timing and luck, but more importantly, it was your initial intention on that very cold, dark morning to search for her and your intuition when you heard that squeak in the tree, thinking it might be a bird, but then again, it might be a leopard cub. After all, she had denned cubs in that area before. Thank you, once again, for a wonderful series of sightings, and especially for this one.

This is heartbreaking news. She had just been born when we visited in 2018, but she hadn’t been seen yet. I’ve so enjoyed following her life the last six years. I’d hoped we would be able to see her on our next visit (as yet to be planned) but nature had other plans. Losing both leopards is a tragedy, not doubt, but I am at least somewhat relieved the cub didn’t starve to death or die from dehydration. This is a sad, sad, day.

There was a video of her 3 years ago. She was fighting with a lioness on a tree branch. Both cats fell to the ground, but the PR female managed to escape. What an audacious queen. Lions finally got her… Forever in my heart.

Oh no, what a tragedy. She was such a beautiful leopard, my personal favorite, saw her as a baby with her mother Nkoveni playing around on Plaque rock ( with Nick Kleer)- wildlife is sometimes very hard.

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