From being a leopard we once encountered fairly often, the Nhlanguleni Female has become a much rarer sight. Her territory has always been to the west of our camps, but recent months have brought fewer and fewer sightings, leaving us to wonder. Has she shifted her range, or are we simply not in the right places at the right times? Often, it is the frequency and spread of sightings that help us mentally map a leopard’s territory, but with those observations now sparse, the picture of her movements has grown a little hazy.
The Nhlanguleni Female rests high up in the boughs of a large Jackalberry tree after feeding on an impala carcass she had caught the previous day.
Initially skittish female who transformed into a regular presence. Made history by raising first intact litter since her own generation.
Perhaps this change is part of the subtle shifts that come with age. Much like what was observed with the Inyathini Male a few years ago, whose territory eventually shrank to a narrow sliver along the Sand River. The Nhlanguleni Female is only a year older than the Nkoveni Female, who still carries a strong presence across the southeastern parts of the reserve, looking strong and commanding for her age. In the wild, however, no two paths are the same, and each leopard must navigate the cards they are dealt.
![Nhlanguleni Female Sitting [rcb]](https://media.londolozi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/26095234/Nhlanguleni-female-sitting-RCB-1598x1065.jpg)
The Nhlanguleni Female’s life has not been easy. She has raised just one litter of cubs to independence, a testament to the many challenges she has faced. Over the past few years, she has also sustained injuries, each one requiring longer to heal than the last. The most notable one recently was a sprain of sorts to her back leg or foot, which has taken nearly two years to recover. While it is much improved, it is still not entirely without limitation, as she has lost quite a bit of muscle mass around that area of her body.
She has had a very tough time trying to raise cubs in the area west of our camps. Here she carries one of them as she moves it from one den to another.
Rangers and trackers are forever hopeful that we will get to see her with at least one more litter.
Another possibility for her apparent absence is the inaccessibility of the core parts of her territory. Much of it lies deep within dense vegetation along and between the banks of the Sand River. These are simply areas vehicles cannot reach. It is prime leopard habitat. Though we may not see her as often as we once did, one thing we can be certain of is that she is living out her days in one of the most beautiful and suitable places any leopard could call home.
Tracking the Nhlanguleni Female in the Sand River.
As winter approaches, the thick vegetation along the river will thin, and access to parts of her range will become easier. Perhaps then, we will be lucky enough to see her more regularly. It has given me some feelings of nostalgia as I drive out to the west of our camps, passing certain places I’ve seen her many times before. She has been a solid presence on Londolozi for many years. It makes you really appreciate the time you do get to spend with a leopard, because one day they won’t be there anymore. And all we will have left will be the many special memories of them.
Morning LGR. That was such a very good and interesting blog you put up about the elusive Nhlanguleni female leopard. Although she is getting on in terms of age, I don’t know if there’s any real explanation as to why or what has caused her to become even more elusive then ever before. I’m thinking that it it could be a mixture of possibilities – the vegetation been very thick in parts of her old territory, not frequenting the areas enough, possibly going past places where she might be hiding and keeping low in a game of hide and seek, or there is a possible chance that she might well have shifted her territory a fair old bit. Though she is roughly 15 years old by now, what do you think the chances are of her mating and producing one final litter of cubs before she’s infertile fully and completely? I’m sure you feel a bit or rather disappointed that you don’t get to see her as often as you once did.
As you don’t get the opportunity to see and view her as much and often as you once did many or a few years ago, it’s a bit of a mystery as to what she gets upto and does with herself in her own time. It is such a pity that she raised one litter.
I have got no idea how many known litters she’s had there in her lifetime altogether in total, but beating in mind that she raised only two females to independence, all of the other cubs were killed by lions and hyenas whilst very young.
But though the Nkuwa female is raising a single male cub at the moment, I’ve got no idea how her twin sister, the Finfoot female is doing and faring for herself as well as how many cubs she’s raised or is potentially raising right now currently. If you could find out about her, how she’s doing, and how many cubs she’s either raising or has raised, then do let me know once you’ve found out please. I will be so interested to know about her.
But with the elusive Nhlanguleni female, even though you do go for weeks and months without any sightings and reports of her a lot of the time, I wonder if she possibly might be on your reserve but lying low and keeping very still and quiet indeed which could be another reason why you don’t see her either at all or very much what so ever. Couldn’t it? But seeing her with at least one final litter of cubs would be nice and great, though I don’t know how high or low the chances are of that happening are. I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on that and on her. She is certainly one very special leopard.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 20.4.26
Hi Matt, you often write about some favourite topics of mine, this time the Nhlanguleni female, I’ve been a bit of a fan of her since the beginning. She’s absolutely gorgeous, has that very elegant silhouette and features, and those emerald green eyes… I’m glad the Nkuwa female is having cubs and carries forward the line. None the less, I’d love to hear more about her. The last time the news reported her severely wounded. I know it’s nature and the following rules that the environment favours, but I do hope she’s fine… she has had so many issues and loss of cubs. Her father bore the crown on his forehead, i think some relative bears it as well? There are so many questions about her, the Mashaba and the Ndzanzeni female I would like you all could find answers to… by now, thank you so much Matt for keeping us updated. Fingers crossed!
She is such one of the special female leopards to inhabit Londolozi during her lifetime and I don’t take for granted the memorable times I have spent with her. I saw her last year just after arriving and her limp was still quite noticeable. She looked much older and tired – not exhibiting the best muscle tone but these cats are resilient and as we watched Ximungwe recover from her injury, i thought it was possible for Nhlanguleni to recover as well. Thanks for the update.
Despite her challenges as a mother, at least she was able to bring an intact litter to independence. That seems especially rare. Let’s hope she has a few more great years ahead and suffers no further injuries. She’s certainly a resilient leopard.
Hi Matt.
A beautiful blog on the Nhlanguleni Female. Like the Tsalala Lioness, I really love this female leopard. I will forever remember the day when she lost one of her cubs (probably one her last litter) to a hyena. When we found her, she was calling and calling for that lost cub. It was so touching, really sad. One or two days later, she allowed us to see her last cub, a tiny baby, hidden in the bush behind her, which she called and it came out and she allowed us to watch it for a long time.
Sadly, only days later she also lost that cub.
So I really hope for her that she may have either a last litter or at least a peaceful end to her life.
As you say it so perfectly in your blog, all “we will have left will be the many special memories ” of these wonderful animals.
Dear Matt, wonderful story , wonderful pics.
Hi Matt, I am so glad you are bringing us an update on Nhlanguleni female. She is currently 15 years old and she is a stunning leopardess. She does not have a succesful story on raising cubs, actually such a pity. I do hope she will have a few more years left. Her territory is perfect for her to live a peaceful life. Hope her inquiry will heal quicker so she can hunt easily.
Always one of my favorites, we spent almost 2 weeks searching for her during my last visit and finding her on the penultimate day! I’ve happy memories of her with her two little ones, later Nkuwa and Finfoot, along the Sand River, even sharing an impala meal. Hoping to see her next month!