There’s something about the Plains Camp Males—an aura, an edginess—that keeps me on the edge of my seat whenever they’re around. They’ve been showing up at Londolozi more frequently, and on a recent evening, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment with them.
After spending the afternoon with them, they finally got up and started moving. I looped ahead to position the vehicle for a classic “walk-by”—when a lion strides right past you in an open vehicle. It’s exhilarating, and humbling, and, in those fleeting moments, you feel completely at their mercy. But when an enormous male locks eyes with you from just a few feet away, the thrill turns electric. And just when we thought the moment couldn’t get more powerful, the two males belted out a full-throated roar, shaking the air around us.
Over the last week, the bush seemed alive with elephants, bathed in golden afternoon light making for a few stunning sightings.
Finally, to wrap it all up, we found the Ximungwe Female leopard lounging in the boughs of a jackalberry tree, her young cub at her side, the real icing on the cake.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
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Beautiful footage of Ximongwe and her cubs! Hope to see them in two months’ time!!
I loved seeing them cuddle in the tree. The video was so clear I felt like I was there with them.
Watching the two of them together was so cute. I am glad you felt like you were there in person.
The darkness, the sound of frogs as a background “music” and the roar of lions that are passing your car or that are resting right next to it that’s really something that is extremely exhilarating, makes you wonder what would happen if… If those lions realized what tasty meals were sitting on this open car…
It is so addictive, it makes you want to come back again and again on a safari to experience this feeling of exhilaration, this shock of adrenaline rushing through one’s body. Same as being on a walk following the tracks of rhinos, e.g.
An absolutely wonderful video as well of the Ximungwe Female and her cub. Lovely to see a new member of the big leopard family of Londolozi so well fed and cared for by its mother.
It does make you wonder, doesn’t it? Thankfully we don’t need to worry about that. Chasing experiences like this is addictive and I am not surprised that people keep coming back.
Thank you Sean, that was absolutely superb. I think that footage of Ximungwe and her cub (with the sound of the woodland kingfisher) is right up there with the best I’ve ever seen. So, another male cub – let’s hope he does as well as her previous 2.
I’ve just been looking at some pictures I took of the Plains Camp males back in November ’21, and noticing how the lower parts of their manes have changed from golden to black. I’ve heard that dark manes show greater dominance, but I wonder why the top part is still golden?
Thank you so much, Suzanne. The sighting of the Ximungwe Female and her cub was phenomenal. Just being able to sit there like you say with the chorus of birdsong around us watching a mother and her cub go about their business in the tree was spectacular.
Hi Sean, unmissable passage of the two heavyweights roaring to deafening! I hope they have become wiser in defending their pride territory. The elephants are such a pleasant view and the peculiar light with their silhouettes is a particularly excellent background. The Ximungwe female looks alike her mother, she’s really beautiful and her lovely green eyes express a lot. Needless to say that her cub is love at first sight he’s fantastic. The innocence he moves and looks at the camera mixed with curiosity, somewhat alike the Ntomi male as cub. She has a great work with a male cub ahead , but I’m sure she’ll be successful. The Vomba/Mashaba lineage has proved to go beyond expectations. Great end of a superb heartbeating (for different reasons each) video.
Hyenas should become cunner and let more cubs live, so that they can eat many more falling scraps without efforts
The Plains Camp Males are such impressive lions, let’s hope that they spend even more time on Londolozi. The Ximungwe Cub is a curious and inquisitive little leopard. The mother still has a long road ahead of her but it was great to get a good view of the cub out in the open and see the two of them interacting in the tree.
Sean, this is one of the best videos you have posted. I really enjoyed seeing the lions, elephants and the mother leopard and her cub. Just great activity with all of them as they go about their living their lives.
Thank you so much, William. The best part about it all is that they are all just going about their daily lives and we are just around to watch them do it.
Hi Sean, the footage of the Plains Camp male is stunning, watching them and hearing those roars makes you think twice about these two amazing lions. Loved the two elephant bulls just roaming about. Can’t believe that Ximungwe’s male cub is already nearly 4 months old. How precious the interaction is between her and her cub. He certainly knows his way up in the tree. Hope he is also going to be a stunning leopard like the Ntomi male is.
Thank you so much, Valmai. Hearing a lion roar is such an incredible sound. The Ximungwe Female’s Cub is growing so quickly and I also cannot believe that he is nearly four months old.
Dear Sean, what a wonderful scene with Ximungwe and her cub- amazing, thanks for sharing
Thank you so much, Jutta. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic Sean! This is a virtual safari that I will watch again and again – such amazing footage of three out of the big five. The Plains Camp males definitely have an air about them seen in how they move. I did notice they looked a bit lean in their torsos which led me to think, are they still overseeing the Mhgene pride? The elephants at sunset are especially beautiful as they moved along the ridge, feasting on the Marula fruit. But the highlight was watching Ximungwe and her cub, who looks very much like her. She seemed a bit annoyed either at her cub whining to eat or a distraction in the distance. That curled lip and face….. Her cub looks sturdy so he’s eating well and has no problem moving about the large jackal berry tree. Hopefully she will succeed in raising this young male to adulthood, echoing her half sister’s success in raising cubs. Looking forward to the next video.
Thank you, Denise. They looked a tiny bit lean but not starving. They do cover the Mhangeni Pride and are seen with them by the guys in the west.
It was such a magical sighting of the Ximungwe Female and her cub. I think her annoyance was at the cub who was whining, I think it was hungry and couldn’t get to the carcass and she didn’t want it to nurse from her. While they were in the tree some monkeys quite some distance away started alarming at them, so she seemed a little ticked off about that.
Hey Sean, are the Plains Camp Males coming close to the Ntsevu Pride? Or are they sticking to their respective sections of Londolozi currently?
Hi Adam, so essentially, they could both be found in the same area in that the furthest we have seen the Plains Camp Males come east definitely overlaps with the furthest we have seen the Ntsevu Pride go west. However, I do not know if they have come in contact yet. My feeling is that they have not, but with the way things are going currently there is a chance they could bump into each other soon.