The morning after I watched the Xinkhova Female carry her cub to a new den, Shaun D’Araujo rounded a corner and found a leopard in a tree. Nothing unusual there. It was only when he heard a faint whining that he realised something else was going on. He assumed the sound was coming from the ground — it wasn’t. A tiny movement between the mother’s legs gave it away. The cub was up there with her, high off the ground, and what followed was one of the most extraordinary things any of us has witnessed out here — a five-week-old leopard cub nursing from its mother in the branches of a tree. Eventually, the two came down, and the Xinkhova Female carried her cub, in a slightly unorthodox grip that had everyone holding their breath, right past the vehicle and all the way along the same route I had watched her take the previous day. A second cub. That confirmed it.
I thought my sighting the day before was as good as it gets. Turns out I hadn’t seen anything yet. There is something genuinely wonderful about that, knowing that the bush doesn’t keep its best moments for one person, and that somewhere out there another vehicle is having the sighting of a lifetime while you’re back at camp eating breakfast, or at your desk.
Ximpalapala Koppie, however, had a different kind of energy waiting for us.
We found the Xinzele Female on the boulders, and initially, that felt like good news. But her behaviour that morning gave us pause. Rasping. Scent marking. Odd things to be doing at a den site, the kind of behaviour that makes you tilt your head and reconsider what you think you know. She moved off and left us with more questions than answers.
We went back the following morning, hoping to find her settled, maybe catch a glimpse of cubs. There was a leopard on the boulders when we arrived, resting in the exact spot she’d been before. For a moment, everything felt right. Then something nagged, but I brushed past it. And then the leopard began stalking a herd of impala moving through the bush at the base of the koppie. After failing, it returned to the top of the koppie and settled back onto the boulder. That’s when it became clear. It wasn’t the Xinzele Female at all.
It was the Hlambela Male. Sitting right where the den was supposed to be.
The second time he’d been up there. The Xinzele Female rasping and scent marking the evening before. The pieces were falling into place, and none of them was pointing anywhere good. Sometimes in this job, you arrive at a conclusion before you’re ready to say it out loud. This was one of those mornings.
Sit back and enjoy this one — it’s a tense one. And stay tuned for next Sunday’s episode, where we catch up with the enormous Gijima Males, get thoroughly soaked searching for a lion den, and then encounter the rarest animal on the reserve. That last one you won’t want to skip.
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Born 2021, daughter of Nkoveni. Young dynamo actively claiming territory near camps, showing promise as next generation's dominant female.
A stunning female found in the north. Successfully raised the Thumbela Female while establishing dominance in NW Marthly.
An impressive male, appearing as a rising force in the north. Making a name for himself by pushing other males out.
There is ni video?
Thanks, Fransje. Everything should be resolved.
Hi Sean, I can’t see anything, just blank no written text or link to the video…
All should be in order now. Thank you.
Sean. Nothing is coming thru except for the header and your profile!
Thanks, Camille. All should be resolved now.