Reaching independence is one of the bigger milestones in a leopard’s life, and the once-named Nkoveni Young Male has now reached that point. After a few weeks of deliberation within the team, we finally settled on an appropriate name for this incredible young male. He will now be known as the Shingi Male. His namesake is a prominent waterhole in the heart of the Nkoveni Female’s territory, a place where this young male has spent a significant amount of his upbringing. A place that many of you who have visited us here will be very familiar with.
The Shingi Male rests in a marula close to the Shingi dam.
The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
A Young Male on the Rise
Born in January 2024, the Shingi Male carries a 3:3 spot pattern. In recent weeks, we’ve watched him successfully make multiple kills, a key benchmark in a young leopard’s development. Each month reveals a subtle improvement. A more measured stalk, a better choice of approach and more patience before the final rush. A year ago, he relied entirely on his mother. Now the signs of a capable and confident young leopard are in full flight.
Now significantly bigger than his mother, this young male certainly pushes his weight around.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
The Sole Survivor
He was born into a litter of three, two females and himself. Both females were unfortunately killed by lions in separate incidents, one at about 5 months old and the second at about 9 months old. Yet he endured, staying just ahead of the many dangers a young leopard faces. Lions, hyenas, and even rival leopards passed through, often forcing him to master the art of disappearing into cover. It took a measure of luck, but even more so, an instinct and resilience needed to survive.
A Mother’s Legacy
To understand the significance of the Shingi Male reaching this stage, we must acknowledge the remarkable mother behind his story, the Nkoveni Female. Her success as a mother sets her apart. She has now raised 4 cubs to independence. Very few females reach such a milestone, let alone doing it 3 times, with one of her litters being raised as an intact litter (the Xinkhova Female and Stone Drift Female). Her instinctive ability to select den sites, provide food for hungry growing cubs while also shepherding them through their dangerous early months is extraordinary. The Shingi Male is the newest extension of her legacy and the Sunset Bend Lineage, and its influence on leopard dynamics in this region of Londolozi can and will never be understated!
While walking through an open area, the Nkoveni Female and her son flushed out a small scrub hare from the cover of a guarri bush. Suddenly, the two of them ran after it. The young male managed to capture it (briefly) before dropping it, and the scrub hare managed to run off to safety.
A Unique Father–Son Dynamic
For now, the Shingi Male is tolerated by the dominant male in the area, his father, the Maxim’s Male. We have viewed them together on several occasions, sometimes sharing a kill or resting within sight of one another. This window of coexistence will be brief. Once the young male reaches full sexual maturity, he will no longer be welcome. But for now, these interactions/sightings offer a fascinating glimpse into the passing of a lineage with two generations overlapping, however briefly, before instinct demands he continue his journey.
Dominant since 2019. Once skittish Kruger-born giant now rules vast territory, transforming from elusive presence to formidable force.
What Comes Next
Ahead lies another challenging chapter of the Shingi Male’s life. He will at some point leave the Maxabene and Shingi Dam area in search of a territory of his own. A journey that will put him in direct conflict with other males who will not willingly give up space. Some young males travel far beyond where they were born. Others settle just beyond the edges of their father’s range. Where this special young male eventually ends up is unknown, but what is clear is that he now enters the stage of his life where every decision carries consequences.
The then, Nkoveni Young Male, perched in an African ebony or jackalberry, created some beautiful contrasting colours
For now, though, we take a moment to recognise what he has already achieved. A young leopard raised under pressure, now standing on the edge of independence with the instincts, strength, and lineage to write a compelling future of his own. His story has only just begun.
Nkoveni Young male walks directly towards our vehicle
Great blog and update on the newly named Shingi Male, Nic. I was fortunate to see him and his late sister and mum together last year and again with his mum in April this year. Incidentally, I also the Nkoveni Female alone with her daughter, the Stone Drift Female, lying in close proximity at a kill at the eastern neighbours last month th!
Thanks Fransje! They really do provide a plethora of amazing moments.
Beautiful blog Nic. I saw the Nkoveni female and her 3 cubs in May 2024, one with a broken jaw, and those beautiful pictures of her with the 3 cubs eating a kill on a tree. Those are bittersweet photos and videos, but such is the way of nature. We followed them over 3 days, and she what an amazing mother to her cubs. So wonderful to see the Shingi Male making his Mother proud!
Thanks Michele. Bittersweet indeed!
He’s undoubtedly one of the most striking leopards ever! He looks quite alike his mother, his eyes and face shape looks very similar. What a new male on the scene… I just hope he will not disappear or be only up and then seen a
Like the Ntomi male…
Hi Francesca, fingers crossed!
Nic, thanks for the exciting news and update. It’s always exciting to see young leopards achieve independence. He does come from a great lineage (Mashaba too!) and we hope that he will stay nearby. We are all blessed to be able to track the lineage of these great leopards and have to think back to the early days when John and Dave were first helping these beautiful animals become accustomed to us. We love the name too and will look forward to hearing about his future escapades!
Absolute pleasure Michael and Terri!
His lineage is one steeped in history that’s for sure.
Congratulation on this young leopard’s new name, the Shingi Male. He is such a beautiful leopard and so full of energy. I hope that he will thrive and find a territory of his own. Would be extremely nice if that was somewhere at Londolozi or at least in its neighbourhood so that one could see him from time to time.
The Nkoveni Female is also to be congratulated on. Even more so because she is really an incredibly successful leopard mother. I have seen her two daughters as cubs and the last litter of three. It was so fantastic to follow the ups and sadly also the downs of the last litter when the little female cubs were killed.
I hope I will see her again.
Hi Christa,
They’re incredible leopards!
Love the pic w/ his mom where he is SO much bigger!
Hi Anita,
Its great to see them side by side like that to see the size difference. Great photo by Bryce
Hi Nic, thanks for the good news that this amazing young leopard 🐆 has received his iconic name, Shingle Male. He has his life before him and needs to tread carefully where he goes to make his own territory known. His dad, the Maxim’s male is very tolerate towards him know, but other males will definitely be aggressive towards him in a few years to come. Nkoveni his mother is a magnificent mother and leopardess raising cubs to adulthood in the wild is a miracle. Beautiful name for a stunning male leopard.
Hi Valmai, absolute pleasure!
We’re very pleased with the name.
Hope, to see a lot of good stories from this nice lepoard.
Hi Jutta, for the time being I think that will absolutely be the case!
How fantastic this charismatic young male now has a name and one that is also easy to pronounce! Seeing him late March this year with his mother, we noticed a slight size difference, Shinto slightly larger, but now, he definitely has grown into his paws. He looks like his mother with the girth of his father and I suspect will become a formidable presence in whatever territory he eventually claims for his own. Nkoveni is a phenomenal mother, as evidenced by her success in raising 4 cubs to adulthood, using her instincts and experience. The only other female I know who has been as successful as Nkoveni is the Ntsumi female, who also raised an intact litter of two after Golonyi and Nottens. Considering the high mortality rate for leopard cubs in this territory due to the significant number of lions and other leopards, raising even one cub to adulthood is a feat to be applauded.
Agreed Denise! Nkoveni is an incredible leopard.
Sooo glad to see him and how handsome and successful he has been. I saw him with his sister and mama in Sept 2024!
Hi Lisa, that’s incredible. It’s amazing watching them go from strength to strength!
After seeing him last November, I was so hoping to see him again last week. I never dreamed I would see him 4 times! He’s certainly a favourite of mine.
Hi Suzanne, I think a favourite for quite a few people who have seen him!
Love the new name and I hope he stays nearby until I can see him again in 6 months! A year ago he and his sister were small and playful and mischievous, trying to get to their mother’s kill high up in a tree. So much change in 12 months!
Fingers crossed Mary! The four of them provided plenty of memorable moments.
Is Shingi a shortened version of Shingalana Dam? Curious as to if the previous convention of naming/identifying monikers has changed somewhat to include independent leopards not just when they become territorial? Is this a factor of Panthera’s research necessitating such a thing?
Always like the original monikers so glad he’s finally gotten one!
Yes, Shingi is short for Shingilana Dam also known as Shingi Dam. So it is a bit of a balance between naming them when they become independent and when they start showing signs of becoming territorial.
We know that this young male is very likely to disperse and so thought it would be good for him to take with him a little bit of Londolozi and his history where ever he goes.
Always love your articles. What a beautiful male he’s turning out to be. He’s significantly bigger than his mom. His name being Shingi, is the ‘g’ hard like in get, or soft like in gem?
Nic , What a lovely blog, so well written.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Shingi a year ago September. His sister was still alive. I experienced the two of them playing in the trees as Nkoveni rested after an impala kill. It is so sad that the cubs are killed so frequently, but it makes the survival of the few all the more special. I hope Shingi goes forward safely and finds his place.
Thank you for the great writing you do, it is much appreciated. I look forward to every piece and every picture. I will be returning to Londolozi soon.
Thanks Bella, completely agree on how special it is to see them actually achieve independence!