One cannot deny the value that the young Shingi Male has provided us with over the past two years in terms of some incredible sightings. Although sightings of him and his mother have become less frequent, he still roams safely within her territory.
The impressive size of the Shingi Male next to his mother
The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
Young leopards are often agile, enthusiastic and playful, frequently running to climb trees and termite mounds as they navigate their environment, and the Shingi Male is no exception.
The enthusiastic change of direction as the Shingi Male quickly climbed this marula tree
One afternoon, after unsuccessfully trying to find his mother, the Nkoveni Female, another vehicle found the Shingi Male not too far away, lying in a marula tree. My guests and I had been hoping throughout their stay to capture a sighting of a leopard in a tree, and this seemed like it might be our moment.
Unfortunately, it was not. As we made our way there, we could see him resting in the tree from a distance, but just as we came into full view, he descended into the long grass below. A minor moment of disappointment as the sun began to set, we realised we had missed the opportunity.
We continued to follow him as the sky shifted from yellow and orange hues to soft pinks and blues. Suddenly, he ran off, stopped abruptly, and leapt into the long grass. Two Harlequin Quails (small ground birds) flushed as he pounced in their direction. It seemed that his rest in the tree had given him renewed energy, as he continued to hunt several of these birds—unsuccessfully, but very entertaining to watch.
With the grasses being lush and long this time of year, the leopards can stalk effectively by getting down low.
As the light continued to fade, he walked through the clearings ahead of us. A fallen marula tree in the distance appeared to guide his path, and with the long grass surrounding him, we looped ahead and waited. Soon, we were delighted as he came bounding onto the fallen marula tree.
He then continued to climb way up to the upper reaches of this tree.
He climbed way up to the upper parts of this fallen Marula and appeared to have picked up the scent of something.
As we watched him, something incredible was brewing behind us, and with that we spun around, and to be honest, I could not quite believe my eyes…
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It looks almost too good to be true, but with all the moisture and clouds around this time of year and the glimmers of the fading sun, this is a sighting I will always remember.
He then rubbed his face on the end of the branch before turning back and climbing back down.
Combing his whiskers on the branch beneath him, he then spun around and climbed down the marula tree.
He walked through the long grass once more before settling on a termite mound, scanning the nearby herd of impala as the last of the sun set faded behind him. We left him here and journeyed home with an exceptionally memorable moment that we were fortunate enough to share together.
The last light of a spectacular afternoon spent with this young male leopard.
Hi LGR. That was such a interesting blog to read in the massive young Shingi male leopard put up from there. Although he is a large 25 months old, I think it is now fair to say he has at last cut himself loose from his mother’s apron strings, and started to fend for himself a lot more right now. Hasn’t he? I wouldn’t say his mum hates him cause she doesn’t, but he was testing her patience to far, plus he was often always denying her the right to access to the kills she makes and she either brings him to it, or he sniffs them out and finds them himself, and that in turn, makes him a bit of a scrounger, as he hogs all the food his mum makes, for himself. Though she has always been a very good, caring, successful, protective, and exceptionally patient mum to him, he isn’t really showing her the same tlc back and repaying her for her kindness towards him right now. Is he? But due to how he’s been behaving towards her, I think she is now glad to be almost rid of him, so she can just have a break.
As it won’t be long now before he is totally and completely independent and hunting and fending for himself, I’m sure she is still calling and looking for a male to mate and sire her next litter of cubs with right now so far. Isn’t she?
She’ll need to be in the right place at the right time, if she wants to come across the much bigger and stronger mate that she might possibly be looking and calling for. She is a very good and experienced breeder when it comes to cubs. Isn’t she?
Though the Nkoveni female will be 14 years old in August, I don’t think it’ll stop her from attempting to mate and have one last litter of cubs before it is to late, and she becomes infertile completely. She is a beautiful female leopard who I hope will stick around for a good 3 or 4 years longer before her time is up. But her highly relaxed nature and popularity is something that makes her so much loved and respected throughout her long life all the way from scratch. She often gives loads of endless hours of some of the most exceptional and great viewing as she always has done. I hope it won’t be long before she finds the Maxim’s male and starts mating with him in a effort to produce a new and final litter of cubs there before it is to late. It’ll be nice to see her with cubs again for what might well be the final time she’s a mum.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 23.2.26
The Shingi Male is such a great leopard. I hope that he will stay at Londolozi for a long time, or at least so close by that one can see him from time to time.
It’s so nice to follow a leopard along his path, his life. From cute little cub to big, powerful leopard.
You got your wish! That gorgeous sky makes up for the lackluster tree. What a beautiful scene.
Hi Kirst, what can a human say? Such a spectacular view…. I’m so glad his mother gave life and help into adulthood so many cubs, the last one being a male, greatly similar to her, even if his sister was reaching independence slowly …. her genes are to be found in beautiful creatures that make us smile and laugh, like this giant male with so much will to live and entertain himself! Thank you for sharing those dreamy images!
Thank you Francesca.
First of all, thank you for sharing this special moment towards the end of your day. It’s been almost a year since I viewed the Nkoveni female with her son, then nameless, and at that time he was slightly larger than her. Seeing Bryce’s photo of the duo at the beginning of your blog really illustrates how big he is, just like his father. It’s always special when you can provide your guests with that sighting that had eluded them. Sometimes it just requires a bit of patience along with knowing from experience what a young male leopard might do after leaving the tree – stalk whatever moves in the grasses, and climb another tree. He seems to love spending time in the tree tops. I’m hoping I will be able to see him in a couple months time.
Hi Denise, it is crazy to see how much he has grown up over the past year. I hope you have some memorable times with him in your next upcoming trip.
Lovely images of this playful guy, Kirst! He’s grown to be huge, a chip off the old ‘Maxim’s block,’ so to speak! What a change from the young cub who, with his sister, we together watched haranguing his mother with her kill in a tree, his sister trying to pull the carcass down!
Thank you so much Mary Beth. He has certainly been a great leopard to watch grow up. I remember that sighting we had well.
Hi Kirst, you definitely had the front row seat, viewing this amazing Shingi male high up in tree. He is absolutely gorgeous and everytime I see a photo of him, makes me think of the time the Ntomi male, he was also such a gorgeous leopard. Hope Shingi stays on Londolozi ground for all to see him. Your photo’s are stunning of him.
Hi Valmai, thanks so much. Time will certainly tell as we haven’t seen the Nkoveni Female mating just yet. It seems the Ntomi male is doing well in the western sector.
Kirst – this post holds a special memory for us having been on that game drive with you. An incredibly special citing and I have since processed my photos of the Shingi Male up that fallen marula and on the termite mound which I would love to share with you. Thanks for capturing this moment and memory. The Douglas family.
Such an incredible sighting I will always remember. I look forward to seeing how the rest of your photos came out!