Some Days You Nail It. Some Days the Bush Has Other Plans.
There’s a particular kind of week the bush dishes out every now and then. The kind that ignores every plan you had, throws a couple of misses your way just to keep you humble, and then, when you’re least expecting it, drops something in your lap that you’d already given up hoping for.
This was one of those weeks.
I came out with a list for the week. A specific still I’d been wanting to capture of the Nkoveni Female. Buffalo in the south-west. And trying to see a young female who has been a little MIA of late. Of those three, I got about one and a half. Maybe less, depending on how generous I’m feeling.
I want to do something a little different with this episode of Virtual Safari. Take you through the whole week, not just the wildlife when we found it, but the gaps in between. The near misses. The failed attempts. The flies biting my leg while I’m trying to record a piece to camera. Because at the end of the day, that’s all part of the fun out here.
We open quietly. Buffalo at sunrise, oxpeckers, more flies than I knew what to do with.
Then there’s the Nkoveni Female on a fallen leadwood. A shot I’d been planning for weeks. Everything lining up exactly the way I’d hoped. And then… well. You’ll have to watch to see how that one ended.
A brief cameo from the Tinxiya Female mid-week, fully independent now. A reminder of how quickly things change out here.
And then, just as I was deep in a bit of desk work in camp with another ordinary day’s plan in my head. I was rudely interrupted. It was Souch. And what he told me flipped the entire week on its head.
Press play. Come along for the ride.
Enjoy this Week’s Virtual Safari…
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Born 2021, daughter of Nkoveni. Young dynamo actively claiming territory near camps, showing promise as next generation's dominant female.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
Oh my word, that was incredible! Those cubs are unbelievably cute. Realistically the chances of Xinkhova raising even 1 of them to independence are tiny, especially for a 1st time mother….I guess you just learn to enjoy them while you can? Fingers and paws crossed for them all. Thank you for making my Sunday special!
That is exactly it, you just learn to enjoy every sighting you have of them because you never know when something might happen.
Hi Sean, wow what a week you had in the bush and expecting good photos you took just to come home and realize they are all out of focus. Don’t worry Sean I have had that same experience and it is devastating to say the least. Loved the part of the buffalo’s all together and seeing a few calves as well. Seeing the flies and insects around them must be very irritating for them. Nkoveni female and Ximungwe female my favorite females and just to see Ximungwe female and her 2 tiny cubs so close is such a treat. They are so cute and running after Mom and crying makes it even more special. So glad Souch could also experience this amazing footage of Ximungwe female and her 2 tiny cubs. After 10 years in the bush he got his wish. Hopefully she will get a suitable den for them and raise them up to adulthood. Resilience she has after she broke her front leg with a cub to feed makes her an exceptional Mother. Nkoveni also an exceptional Mother.
It was a great week. It was a bit frustrating that the photos were all out of focus but there is no value in getting upset about it.
It seems that the Nkoveni Female has read your thoughts, Sean, when she got up on that old fallen Tree and walked along the trunk and back again. What a great performance!
To See the Tinxiya Female in this video is a special pleasure for me because we were looking for her in April and couldn’t find her. It’s good to know that she is fine.
But the best of all were, of course, the scenes with these tiny cubs walking so courageously such a long distance with their mum to a new den side. There are so many dangers on such a way for such tiny cubs. I’m glad they are still fine.
By the way: Does it make a difference or disturb them when a car is following them for a longer period?
It felt that the Nkoveni Female did put on a performance for us. The Tinxiya Female has been very elusive of late and I am sure it is just a matter of time before she moves on or to a different area to try set up a territory. I think it all depends on how you follow them rather than the length of time you follow them for. If you are sensitive and drive slowly around them, not getting too close or putting pressure on them then I feel it doesn’t make a difference. If you are racing around and crashing over trees trying to get too close then it does definitely disturb them.
One of the most beautiful leopard videos I have ever seen!
She is a gorgeous female
What a relief that the Xinkhova female’s cubs weren’t lost—and such a treat to see them both walking with her at such a young age, out in the open. Her proximity to the vehicle with both cubs in tow is a testament to the acclimation process and the safety she feels. Looks like her cub carrying technique has improved a bit as well—she’s learning!
This was such an incredible sighting. She is a supremely relaxed leopard and that shows with her being comfortable to walk right past the vehicle with her cub. Her cub carrying technique certainly has improved but still a way to go.
After viewing this week’s virtual safari, I give it a platinum rating, not gold. Your video coupled with the stills taken by you and Souch are over-the-top fantastic!! I just can’t believe that those two little fluff balls were able to keep up with her not only on the road but stumbling through the grasses as well. To keep up with mom, their tiny legs have to move twice as fast. Whilst our sighting of her with them at the den site not far from camp was late afternoon, and from a greater distance, it was a stellar glimpse of this first time mother with her two little ones – a moment I’d been waiting to see for decades of cubs only weeks old. We sat in silence taking in the enormity of the moment. It was a week of many firsts and memories that will last forever all the while celebrating my 80th year, thanks to my Londolozi friends – you know who you are ….❤️❤️
Thank you so much Denise. It was incredible to see them trying to keep up with their mother. I am so glad that you got to see them as a little celebration for you.
By the way Sean, this still hasn’t come through to my inbox, had to find it by googling Londolozi blog.
Thanks for letting me know. I will investigate this and try make sure it comes through.
What a fun virtual safari! You guys are the best!
Thanks so much, Anita. Glad you enjoyed this one.