Involved Leopards

Mashaba 3:3 Female

Mashaba 3:3 Female

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Ndzanzeni 4:3 Female

Ndzanzeni 4:3 Female

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Nweti 4:2 Male

Nweti 4:2 Male

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Xinkhova 2:2 Female

Xinkhova 2:2 Female

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About the Author

Nick Tennick

Guest contributor

Nick has always loved the outdoors and never turns down an opportunity for an adventure. After finishing high school in Johannesburg, where he grew up, Nick spent a gap year in the Zimbabwean bushveld which truly sparked his love for wildlife and conservation ...

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9 Comments

on A Trio of Mating Leopards

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No one saw that coming! I’m surprised that the Mashaba female is still cycling in her advanced age. If she does become pregnant, she’d have to live another two years for her cubs to survive. I wonder if, like humans, leopard egg quality declines with age, and if they go into the equivalent of leopard menopause. Regardless of any potential results, this is a fascinating scenario.

Wow, Nick, what a fantastically rare sighting you had!! Your lucky guests!
I have never ever seen two female leopards mating with the same male at the same time and spot.
You were so lucky, indeed.
This male must be really fit that he can do this mating with two ladies in such a short time.

This is incredible on so many levels…..would you expect Mashaba, at 16 years old, to still be in estrus at all? I bet the look on your’s and Joy’s faces when you saw 3 leopards was a sight to behold, and I’m sure the faces of your guests when you told them was also a picture – lucky guests!
I’m sure I remember seeing recently on a blog that Ndzanzeni had been seen with suckle marks. I guess that means she’s lost yet another litter?

Hi, I was waiting for this blog edition! It is rare indeed, but the characters involved are legendary! I guess their experience made things easier, I’m so pleased to see the Mashaba female in such wonderful conditions, I love her face looking at the camera and then the Ndzanzeni female turning on to her, they are almost one on the other, the pictures of one of their tail on another leopards body is fantastic! Fate has reunited these legendary females as if they were old friends, I remember well a video of the Mashaba female attacking the considerably smaller Ndzanzeni female… Just amazing! Thank you

My word Nick this is something out of the ordinary to hear of two females and one male mating. But as you say Nick, this could be that both females coming in heat at the same time. But this just goes to show that this is possible. Let’s hope that both females will fall pregnant and give birth to beautiful cubs. Thanks for sharing this very rare behavior of the leopards.

Firstly, thanks for sharing the information about the sighting you all experienced, further enhanced by the inclusion of the photos and video. It is curious that the two females were not aggressive towards one another, but perhaps it’s because they are older females and reticent about possibly getting hurt by the other female. I guess it remains to be seen if either of these older females fall pregnant during that bout of mating with Nweti, so now we wait…..

Wow Nick, it looks like Londolozi is going to have a lot more leopards in the future.

What a thrilling sighting, Nick! I can only imagine the accompanying sound!

Incredible and once in a lifetime!

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