It was a clear, warm, sunny morning in the bush, which we are so lucky to have many of at this time of year at Londolozi. It was one of those days where everything felt settled from the outset.
We began our morning with a beautiful sunrise as we drove past our airstrip. Elephants and giraffes were scattered across the southeastern parts of the reserve. It wasn’t long, and we came across the Msuthlu Pride of lions. They were already fairly relaxed, spread out and resting, after what was probably a busy night hunting, so they were showing few signs of doing much beyond sleeping. We spent some time with them as they gradually became more settled, each individual easing into stillness.
All eyes were on us as we arrived at this special sighting of the full complement of the Msuthlu Pride and both Gijima Males. This was late morning, and the heat had already set in. Moments after this picture was taken, they had all joined the rest of the pride, who were sleeping in the shade.
With the lions now inactive, we decided to make our way back in the direction of the Sand River, where we’d spend a bit of time before heading back to camp. There was a quiet intention behind the route, however. We were hopeful of finding the Xinkhova Female leopard, who had recently been seen in the area after moving at least one cub to a new den nearby.
About ten minutes from camp we stopped again, this time with a herd of elephants feeding along the riverbank. The setting was calm and complete. The sound of water in the background as it flowed over the granite rocks, thick green vegetation from the rains earlier this year, the constant hum of birdlife and the steady rhythm of the herd moving through and feeding. We spent a while there before the heat began to build, eventually turning us back towards camp.
Not even two minutes later, rounding a bend in the road, everything shifted.
Roughly 70 metres ahead, perched up in the branches of an old leadwood tree, was the Xinkhova Female Leopard. She was positioned in dappled light, where a small gap in the tree’s canopy lit her up, as if to place more emphasis on this incredible moment. It was exactly the sighting we had hoped for, though not quite in the way we expected.
Born 2021, daughter of Nkoveni. Young dynamo actively claiming territory near camps, showing promise as next generation's dominant female.
The day prior, one of the landcare team members had seen her moving a very young cub likely between den sites, along the southern bank of the Sand River. That brief encounter had given us a general sense of where she might be, but nothing more.
As we watched her in the tree, she remained alert, her attention drifting in the direction of the elephants we had just left. It didn’t feel like tension, more an awareness of their presence.
Then, faint at first, came the sound.
A soft call, unmistakably that of a leopard cub.
We scanned the branches again, more carefully this time. There it was, right in plain sight all this time! A tiny cub lay on the same branch, no more than a couple feet from its mother, looking out in our direction. It was still at an age where its vision wasn’t fully developed, its little movements uncertain and clumsy.
It became clear why she was so high up in the tree with such a small cub. In moving it between dens, she had encountered the same elephant herd we’d just spent time with. Rather than push through them, she had hoisted the cub into the safety of the branches, so she could gauge the general movements of the herd and to wait for them to move off.
We stayed with her as the cub began to move, slowly and somewhat clumsily, attempting to descend. At that age, which we assume to be about 4 weeks old, coordination is still developing, and although leopard cubs are instinctively drawn to climbing, this one was not yet entirely comfortable.
The Xinkhova Female assists her little cub as it makes its descent.
Eventually, the Xinkhova Female dropped down to the ground after her little cub.
What followed was an extended, unhurried sequence as she carried the cub, moving through the thickets, across open patches and on the road. We repositioned carefully, giving her space and looping ahead where possible, allowing her to pass by on her chosen path. She was composed and very focused, but not unsettled by our presence.
For several minutes, we watched as she continued to carry the cub, moving steadily towards her destination. Then, as quietly as it had begun, the sighting came to an end as she disappeared into the dense vegetation.
This was one of the most incredible leopard sightings I’ve had, and unfortunately, my pictures don’t do it any justice. Mother Nature works in mysterious ways, as there are days when such sightings are the result of hard work, a lot of persistence and patience, and others where everything simply aligns for a moment.
This morning felt like the latter.
I wonder how common it is for a mother leopard to bring such a small cub up into a tree? This is the first I’ve heard of seeing one this young. Under the circumstances you describe it makes perfect sense that it was a safe enough spot to avoid the elephants. Bounding up a tree with a cub in your mouth is probably much easier than with a kill, although perhaps in this case it climbed up on its own part of the way? I guess we’ll never know.
Hi Matt.
I will forever remember that morning, the Xinkhova Female up in that tree, the tiny cub next to her, even feeding from its mum, then the descend and this incredible situation when she carried the little one past the car.
What an amazing sighting!
A leopard trusting the cars/ humans so much that she walks past and then vanishes into tears bushes.
I do hope that this tiny cub survived all the excitement and she will be able to raise it and any sister or brother as well.
Wonderful photos!
Hi Matt, while leopards give me an emotional feeling like nobody else, I love the way lions, like elephants, stay all put together and roll over their neighbours…. like two males lying close, big bellied, touching with paws. They need a lot of physical contact. A mother leopard surely change it all: she must have a very close contact and take care of her cubs. The Xinkova female looks so funny! Her cubs seem to like the experience, the one on the branch doesn’t look uncomfortable! What a scene, as I said, being the daughter of the Nkoveni Female she surely is gifted with a great imagination and lots of ideas… all that makes it an unprecedented sight that keeps me breathless…. as usual your wip is special. Thank you so much, this is a new adventure to follow….
What an amazing interaction! Reading this first thing in the morning adds a much needed peaceful beginning to my day. Thank you.
Matt, This is truly an exceptional sighting! So cute and we are amazed that she had the cub up so high, and let it work its way down! It will be great to see the cubs as they grow!
Just simply a wonderful story and a precious pictorial reminder of how a moment such as this is so special, leaving us so appreciative of how amazing nature really is.
Hi Matt, you were so lucky to see the Xinkhova female up in the tree with her tiny cub. She is a new Mom and I guess she thought it better to go up in the tree to escape the herd of elephants. My word but the cub is still small to be in a tree, but desperate enough to stay away from the elephants, she thought she will wait it out till they passed. Quite genius in a way.
Hi LGR. That was such a interesting blog you put up on the first time mothering Xinkhova female leopard, so as always, thank you for putting it up for me to see and read. I think there’s a good reason why she was up a tree with a very tiny 4 to 5 week old cub, as I think she was just very fearful that it will get stamped on and squashed to death by the elephants. So it is so clear that she was letting the herd of elephants pass by first of all.
Though it is difficult to tell, but I do hope that she will be successful in raising one or both cubs to independence. Make no mistake, as every wildlife expert knows, they’ll have a very long way to go ahead of them. It so is fingers crossed for them.
Although a mum for the first time, I’m sure she knows that she’ll have to leave them to go out hunting for food, even if they’ll be so exposed and vulnerable. I, like you, just wish and want them to live to hard independence so successfully.
As a daughter of the nearly 14 year old Nkoveni female, she is absolutely vital to mate and produce cubs to help increase the leopard population over there. And the same also goes for her slightly bigger twin litter mate sister, the Stone Drift female as well. As they’re both 5 years and 4 months old now, it’ll be interesting to see how many litters of cubs they’ll be able to produce throughout their entire lifetimes together but separately.
I’m not surprised thst you’ve confirmed exactly what I thought about the Nkoveni female’s possible litter to be, if she’s conceiving it, will be more than likely to be her last ever brood. I think it will be litter number 6 in her years of adult motherhood. Wouldn’t it? You’ll know a lot better than I would do. Out of the 12 litters of cubs the Mashaba female had when considerably younger, what litter number was the beautiful Nkoveni female when she arrived into the world as a very tiny cub herself in August 2012? You will have a better and well known record then I would know about.
I’m glad the Ximungwe female is doing a very good and impressive job as a mum with her fifth litter of cubs, who are both growing at a rapid rate together. Let’s all hope that she’ll be successful in raising them both to independence though they have also got a long way to go ahead of them and only just 4 months old. Once she has successfully got one or both cubs to independence, then she can think about mating and raising a new litter. Been just over 2 1/2 years younger than her older sister, she will have a fair bit more time to mate and have a couple more litters of cubs to introduce to the world over there eventually. Won’t she?
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 2.5.26
Dear Matt, that was defenitly THAT moment , to see such a litter, and it is nice to have such pics for us.
How sweet that was! Lucky you and your guests! And I love your images…
Wow. Just. Wow.