Recently over New Year’s I drove guests who have a long-standing history of visiting Londolozi and in turn, have a rather long-standing love and appreciation for some of the specific individuals that they have seen having come time and time again. In this blog, I want to make specific mention of the Mashaba Female.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
Looking for the Mashaba Female is no easy task and coupled with the fact that she spends a lot of time south of the southern boundary it is also not a guarantee that she is even on our property. But on this specific morning, we decided to take the plunge and head down into this area in the hope that we could find her.
And find her we did, after about an hour of driving some of the roads in the sections of the deep southern parts of the reserve tracker Life Sibuyi pulled off an amazing spot of a leopard’s ear lying in the long grass, arguably the best spot he’s pulled off since we’ve been working together for the last three years.
And once we got a bit closer we realised it was the Mashaba Female. The guests as well as my morning was made, and we proceeded to have a spectacular sighting of her while she was attempting to hunt some female Nyala.
After climbing a fallen tree to use it as a vantage, the Mashaba Female then focused her eyes on a nearby duiker.
What impressed me most was how good she looked, at over 16 years of age she is the oldest leopard we see on the reserve and she is in such good condition. One of the telltale signs of the condition of a carnivore is the condition of the teeth and more specifically the canines and hers are still looking as good as ever, which is truly remarkable for a 16-year-old leopard in the wild.
What is also still astonishing is the fact that about two months ago she was seen in a sighting with the Nweti Male and Ndzanzeni Female. The Nweti Male was mating with both these females at the same time which is also pretty incredible. Whether or not she will fall pregnant and be able to have another litter is up to debate but I highly doubt it given her age.
Born 2014, dominant force in southern Londolozi. Notable for jaguar-like rosettes and exceptional hunting prowess, particularly of warthogs
Royal descendant of Mother Leopard lineage. Remarkable single cub success story who overcame injury to continue the royal bloodline.
Another interesting thought is whether or not she is still territorial. It’s been a large debate going on amongst the rangers and trackers as she is seen in vastly different areas throughout the reserve. When in her prime she was territorial in and around camps and the Sand River. As she has gotten older and raised two female cubs her territory has shifted further south until today where she is seen south of our southern boundary. This will often happen as a leopard gets older their territories shift as they make way for younger stronger leopards, rather than getting injured and making them struggle to maintain territory, hunt and raise young they would rather just give it up.
The Mashaba female stares at Vultures flying above allowing Kay to capture her insanely unique eyes. Between Kay and Susan, they have loved to follow the journey of this female.
For a while now everyone has thought she is in the twilight of her life but she keeps coming back looking better than the last time we saw her, so who knows maybe there is still one more litter left in the Mashaba female, I will be sure to keep you updated on her whereabouts.
Ahh, Mashaba, the queen of the current leopards. I’ve only spent time with her on one visit, but I feel like I know her given the number of blogs that have been written about her. I know about the mating triangle between Nweti, Ndzanzeni and Mashaba but I also agree that I think Mashaba is beyond falling pregnant at her age. On my return in a few weeks, I’m hoping to find her once again, so I can sit back and enjoy the sight of this beautiful female, knowing her experience and strength have brought her to this juncture of life. Love all the photos so Mashaba, and especially the one taken by Kay.
I’m so glad she showed up for your guests and remains alive and well.
That was wonderful. Some great cats doing so well, brought me to a happy place.
I thank all the leopards may they have health and live long , full bellied lives
It’s always fun to read about a successful hunt! Good news that Mashaba is well and apparently thriving!
A lovely post Ross. Thank you
What a beautiful sighting of the Mashaba female. Thanks for the update as it is good to know that she is not only alive but thriving.
Hi Ross, what a spectacular, special blog edition! It seems that genetics widely favoured her, as well as her progeny, who look all young and fantastically fit. There have been cases in old felines of giving birth at an improbable age, so, she hasn’t the age a leopard is expected to fall pregnant, but never say never, particularly given her exceptional genes of youth. I hope she will beat Londolozi’s record, it seems she already has by her excellent conditions. Have you got any news on the Ndzanzeni female? The Nweti male looks a proper partner allowing the older ladies to get pregnant if they can…
Dear Ross, thanks for that update of Mashaba. Fantastic to hear that she is still in good condition
I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent a lot of time with Mashaba over the years…her mother Vomba was the 1st wild leopard we had ever seen (back in 2010). So we were thrilled to see her again on our last game drive in November and thought then how well she was looking.
Hi Ross thanks for the update on the Mashaba female. She is a huge favorite with all guests I think. She was always nearby the Camps but later moved further and further away. She is looking very good and loved all the photos of her. Please keep us updated if she is pregnant.
Oh Ross, how very special this is. Very glad to hear that Mashaba is still looking so good. We’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with her on a number of visits to Londolozi , sometimes with cubs , and each time has been precious. Hope to hear more of her. Will have to work hard on the manifesting for our up-coming visit. Lovely pics.
Thanks for the update on Mashaba and glad your guests got to see her. As everyone at Londolozi knows she remains my favorite leopard and since 2011 have seen her on every visit except one which is on 15 visits including both in March and October in 2024. I too wrote a blog a few years ago on Mashaba.Look forward to seeing her again later this year she is a special leopard !!
What a legend of a leopard who truly epitomizes Londolozi’s long history of leopard viewing! While I doubt she would manage to raise a cub to independence even if she does produce another litter (although her aunt, the Xidulu Female was still raising her last litter into her 16th year (1/2 which was the Three Rivers Female), her daughters continue to further her legacy on Londolozi soil!