The final hours of the year are upon us. Here at the lodge, the team is gearing up for those long-awaited New Year festivities, and this one more so than usual, with the year 2026 being what it is for Londolozi. But before the corks start popping, we wanted to kick off a different kind of countdown: the arrival of the next generation of leopards.
We are officially opening the betting pool for when the Ximungwe Female will introduce her new litter to the world.
If there’s one leopard who defines resilience, it is her. We have all followed her through the gruelling period of raising her last cub while dealing with a badly broken leg, a challenge that should, by all biological rights, have ended her career as a mother. She beat the odds, managed to heal, and still kept her cub alive. Then came the heartbreak of her cub vanishing without a trace, leaving a void that was felt throughout.
But the bush is unforgiving in its cycles, and the only way forward is to keep cracking on.
The defining moment that sealed the cub’s fate and confirmation to us all that it was indeed gone, was signalled by her next reproductive cycle in early October. On the 7th, we found her locked in a mating bout with the Maxim’s Male. This sighting served as the final confirmation we needed that the previous chapter was closed.
Punching in the Numbers
From that initial sighting, we can do some simple, admittedly inexact, math.
We know that a leopard’s gestation period is tight, typically ranging from 90 to 105 days. If we assume she ovulated and conceived on or around the 10th or 11th of October (after a few days of mating), the simple countdown begins:
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90 Days (Minimum Gestation) from October 10th = January 8th.
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105 Days (Maximum Gestation) from October 10th = January 23rd.
This places the delivery of her new litter squarely in January. While it is highly likely she had other, unconfirmed mating bouts since then, a female leopard rarely puts all her eggs in one basket, genetically speaking. This October date gives us the earliest and most likely window.
So, for the next two weeks, while the rest of the world recovers from the festive season, our focus will be razor-sharp. We’ll be searching, tracking, and quite literally following the Ximungwe Female to see if we can catch her looking for a safe, secluded spot to establish a den site. Her tummy appears to be growing, and that characteristic shift in behaviour, seeking seclusion, moving slowly, is what we will be looking for.
It’s an incredibly exciting prospect and a fitting way to begin a new year.
What is your guess? Drop us a comment and tell us the exact date you think the Ximungwe Female will deliver her next litter. May the odds be ever in her favour.
January 11th
Hi Sean, the news on the Ximungwe female are the best way to close the year and welcoming the new one, hoping in new lives to come and a good luck she does deserve, along with her offspring. I do wish her well, and my best wishes go to all of you, symbolised by this gorgeous and so courageous leopard mother.
I’ll guess January 18th, on the New Moon. A dark night seems light a good time to give birth, although I realize she could go into labor at any time of the day.
Yes! The Ximungwe Female is expecting! Great news. May the odds be ever in her favour indeed.
Hi Sean, my guess is the 20 Januarie. Don’t now why but that date stands out for me. So excited that the Ximungwe female is pregnant and will have cubs in the new year. She sure is a phenomenal leopardess and has gone through so much, even losing her cub.
Let’s hope she mated with the Mawelawela Male as well given he may have played a part in her cub’s disappearance. My guess would be January 14 for birth of her cubs. Sean, any news or sign of her mom, the Mashaba Female, recently? Happy New Year to the Londolozi team!
I like January 20th 🙂
HNY to you all! xoxo
The Ximungwe Female Leopard will give birth to her next litter on the 11th January 2026. That is my prediction.
Hi LGR. As I am a long time fan of the fascinating African wildlife there, I’m going to be putting my bets that as I think female leopards have a 105 day gestation period, I think the 10yr old Ximungwe female will possibly have her 5th brood of cubs on 23rd of January. I’m in no doubt about that. As we know that she has been known to be a very good and impressively patient and protective mum to all of her cubs she’s given birth to and raised successfully so far, I’m just hoping that she’ll be as successful this time round in raising them. She will be very impressed and pleased with herself if she beat and defy the odds there.
She is a credit to the leopard population as she has raised two infrequently seen and handsome boys from her first and second litters individually. We know she wasn’t successful with her third litter in the early stages of last year, but she very nearly was successful with her fourth litter, but her cub vanished about four months ago at about ten months old, which was very sad for everyone.
So if she is able to raise another cub or two successfully, then she can have a little break for a while to recover from the cub raising process before starting the business all over again once ready. At ten years old, well tought and raised, she has got plenty of time left in her to raise a few more litters just as well. It will be absolutely great if she gets her new litter all the way to very hard independence.
I hope the biological father of the cubs to be, the absolutely 💯 % massive Maxims male, will also be successful in his duty to keep other males well away from his and the Ximungwe female’s cubs once she has given birth. I have no idea how many cubs she’ll give birth to, but I’d just guess that she’ll have maybe one or two. Like some of his offspring have, I wouldn’t be surprised if these cubs also inherit their father’s large size and build as they grow up well, fit and healthy. He is their huge lifeline to keep rivals away. He won’t stand for other males or females killing his newest offspring whilst they’re very young and vulnerable.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 31.12.25
2026 appears to be the year where we might see several cubs added to the leopard population in Londolozi given the number of females who are ready to mate or have already been seen mating such as Three Rivers female – exciting times! But the leopard I’m most happy to learn is ready to give birth is Ximungwe. She has proven her strength and adaptability this past year suffering a leg injury that might have end the life of ordinary leopards. However through sheer determination, with a small cub to feed and nurture, she defied the odds and whilst healing slowly, continued to raise this cub until a twist of fate ended his life. So now, we wait to learn how many cubs she will birth, and hope she will successfully raise another cub(s) to independence. It’s her time – she’s earned it. So predicting a birth date is never easy but I will throw out a date of January 15.
Btw, your image of her and her cub with tails intertwining to form a heart shape is one of my favorites so thank you for including.
My guess is January 26, thinking that Maxim’s cubs will be a bit larger than average so needing more time “in the oven!” Be safe, Ximungwe.
My guess is January 26, 2026 fo the birth 💗
22 January.
Happy New Year, Londolozi!
Ok Sean, I’ll hazard a guess…drumroll please…: she will give birth on January 15th!! She is amazing, and even more so after her brilliant display of resilience this past year. Wishing her the very best as she approaches her well deserved next shot at motherhood!!
Just guessing, the cubs will be born 18th January
January 16
since the Ximungwe female is so amazing, I’m betting on January 7th.
Why not 13?