As one of the newer faces on the Londolozi ranger team, I thought I would take this chance to formally introduce myself here. I grew up in Johannesburg, studied Agricultural Science and Economics at the University of Pretoria, and somewhere between the lecture halls and the countless Kruger trips my parents dragged me on as a kid, I realised the bush was where I wanted to be. So here I am. And I have to say, it has not disappointed. I have loved every aspect of being in this beautiful and wild place!
The Causeway, one of my favourite places on the reserve and the link to the Northern areas
For my first blog, I want to introduce you to a young leopard I have been lucky enough to cross paths with a few times recently, and one that I think is going to be a very exciting individual to follow in the months and years ahead.
The Ngungwe Female is a well-known figure in the central northern areas of the reserve, and around the 5th of December 2023, we first discovered that she had given birth to a litter of two cubs in the Koppies at Marthly Pools. As is often the case with newborns, sightings were scarce. The Ngungwe Female is naturally skittish, and with very limited vehicle exposure early on, the cubs stayed largely out of sight. By February 2024, she had moved them to a koppie just east of the Southern Cross Koppies, and for a long stretch, seeing them at all felt like a small victory.
Sadly, one of the two cubs was lost at around five months of age. These are the hard realities of leopard life. Survival in that first year is never guaranteed, and the odds are rarely in their favour. But this young female has made it through, and she is doing incredibly well.
Now at 16 months old, she is officially known as the Ngungwe 3:3 Young Female. The 3:3 is a reference to her spot pattern on either side. What strikes me most about her is just how elusive she still is. Given her mother’s skittish nature and limited early exposure to game drive vehicles, she did not grow up comfortable around them. The first couple of times I found her, the best thing I could do was simply back off and give her space. Sit quietly. Wait. And slowly, you could see her visibly relax, her posture softening, her attention shifting away from us and back to whatever a young leopard thinks about when nobody is watching.
That process of building trust is one of the more quietly satisfying parts of this job.
At 16 months, she is still dependent on her mother, but she is very much in that exploratory middle phase that makes young leopards so fascinating to watch. Full independence typically comes closer to 24 months, but right now she is in the in-between, spending longer stretches away from the Ngungwe Female, testing the boundaries of the territory, and almost certainly beginning to trial her hunting skills. She is not quite on her own yet, but she is figuring out what that will look like. The safety net is still there; she is just using it a little less each week.
After enjoying some time with the Ngungwe Female in a nearby tree, I let my eyes wander not really for anything in particular and by some stroke of luck spotted her cub. Hopefully, sightings of this female are more frequent!
What makes this particularly exciting is where she is operating. She is still largely within her mother’s range in the northern areas, and the hope is that as she moves toward full independence, she will settle in adjacent territory and become a fixture up here in the north, much like the Ngungwe Female has been.
Sightings have been few and far between, but they are becoming more regular. She is settling. She is relaxing. And I get the sense that we are right at the beginning of what is going to be a very long and interesting story.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on her.
Remind me, is this the Ngungwe female’s first litter, or did she lose one previously? It would be fantastic for a cub from her first litter to reach independence. Let’s hope luck is on their side and this is only the first of many successful litters to come.
Yes I do believe that she is from the Ngungwe female’s first litter!
Hi Chris, welcome to the blog! Guess what, I didn’t even realise that the Ngungwe female had brought her little girl to that age… there was a lot about the Ximungwe, Nkoveni and Three Rivers female and their offspring lately, so maybe I missed her… she’s absolutely gorgeous! There are quite a few young leopards reaching independence now… this is a great addition! Looking forward to reading about her future moves… thank you!
Thank you Francesca!
Nice to meet you, virtually, Chris.
I wish you a great time as a guide at Londolozi.
Nice update on the Ngungwe‘s nearly fully grown cub.
A pity, I couldn‘t see neither of them during my recent stay. But such is life regarding leopards.
Thanks Christa!
Thank you Chris. She is the newest addition to a family I don’t know at all….I’ve never seen Ngungwe or even her mother (Piccadilly?). I shall hope to remedy this when I return in November, fingers crossed!
Yes her mother is the Piccadilly female!
Welcome! You are incredibly fortunate to have such an opportunity. We will likely meet in July. Good luck!
Thank you Vin!
Dear Chris, thanks for that blog. Everytime it is a tention when a new born leopard becomes independent. Hope to see him soon.
Hi Chris, the Ngungwe female is a beauty although very skittish to the Land Rovers, which makes it very difficult to get footage of her. Her cub is just as beautiful and let’s hope that we can get some beautiful images of her. Still dependant on her mom and she has a good lineage from the Sunsetbend lineage.
Welcome Chris to the Londolozi guiding family. I’m sure you will find your time here everything and more than you could have imagined.
Thank you Denise!