A few weeks ago, I shared one of the most extraordinary mornings I’ve had at Londolozi. The Xinkhova Female reappearing with two of her cubs after we’d thought they were lost. It’s a sighting I’ll carry with me for a long time, and what we were able to share with you as a result was simply sensational.
What I didn’t share at the time was that the story didn’t end there.
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks sitting with how to tell what happened next. Whether to tell it at all. Whether the bush owes us its full story, or whether some moments belong only to the leopards who live them.
In the end, I decided to share it. Not because I think every story needs to be told, but because this one is part of the larger story of who Xinkhova is, who she’s going to become, and what it takes for a young leopard mother to find her feet out here.
This piece is different from a regular virtual safari. It’s quieter. More reflective. More honest about the things we don’t know than the things we do. I made it the way I’d want a story like this told if it were happening anywhere else.
Before you press play, a small note that I’ve also included at the start of the video itself.
This is a true story from the natural world. It reflects the realities of life in the wilderness and may evoke strong emotional responses. We invite you to witness it with tenderness, while remembering that nature exists beyond human interpretation.
Press Play and join me on this emotional journey…
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Born 2021, daughter of Nkoveni. Young dynamo actively claiming territory near camps, showing promise as next generation's dominant female.
Thank u for this sad but , interesting video. It’s never nice when cubs get killed. But. As you explained. It’s part of the natural cycle. Let’s hope. She’s learned from this experience and will have more cubs that grow up to be part of Lindelizi. On that note. Any more news on the Tsalala female and her cubs?
Sean, after your hint last week I’ve been so worried thinking it was Xinkhova herself who had been killed….so I’m relieved it was a cub. Sad but not at all surprising. Has she been seen since with her remaining cub?
Also, do you have any idea who the father of the cubs might be? – clearly not this nomadic male. Is there a possibility she might mate with her father?
Hi Sean. So melancholic. Looking at her cubs and unable to do anything. Actually, she was brave to stand against the young male… she’s the Nkoveni Female ‘s daughter, after all. Her unexperience is matched to her intelligence, as in the beginning she thought that trees were the safest place for her cubs. She has a great imagination. Maybe she had cubs for the first time at 5 years because she realised in some way her unexperience…. at the end she mated again. That’s very good for her. But her look and her calls in vain remain, along with the hope that next time it will be better. We don’t know leopard ‘s feelings, nonetheless there’s no stronger bound as a mother with her offspring. In this moving video, I appreciate a lot the enchanting beauty of landscape and animals.
Sean. Thanks for sharing today’s Virtual Safari. Can you clarify? It sounded like she had 3 initially and lost 1. You and the team felt she had lost those 2 but after about 2 week, the two were seen with her. Then in the clearing, it appears one was killed by the nomadic male. That leaves one alive. Is that correct or were both killed by the nomadic male? Thanks.
Thanks you Sean for your analysis in sharing what happened to the cubs of Xinkhova. Any loss of life is tragic no matter the species, but knowing the circumstances of what most likely contributed to this first time mother’s demise, makes it easier to understand. I am all the more grateful now for the magical moments we had viewing her tiny fluff balls last month and will treasure my few images of them, remembering that life can be fleeting, so grab it and live it!!
This is unfortunate news, but like you said, she’s still learning. Perhaps she’ll have a better go of it the second time. I’m a little surprised she didn’t try to defend her cub, but an injury wouldn’t have been good for her and the cub probably would have been killed regardless, so I have to trust she made the right call.
I have no words. 😥
Last year, we watched her mom, the Nkoveni leopardess, catch, kill, and carry a nyala baby up a tree ON my birthday. I was fighting to accept that little baby nyala dying so young and her mom mourning her after everything she faced in the bush to have her as a healthy baby lamb.
But this is the reality of the bush, unfortunately, it is not always happy and easy, it’s most often a hard, constant fight for food, territory, and ultimately, survival, peppered with many sacrifices that one hopes lead to lessons, as you said.
You remind us of this so beautifully in this story.
Thank you for always keeping it real! 💜🙏💜
Hi Sean, this is so sad and yet this happens often in the wild. Your story you told about first time mother is so heartbreaking. She has to do everything by trial and error and as you say Sean they usually lose the first litter or part of the litter. I am sure you are heartbroken, seeing this and explaining this to us as viewers. We appreciate your story and explanation to help us understand what happened with the Xinkhova female and her cubs.
Poor little buggers. I’m glad she is OK.
Sean told this story vey sensitively, helping to situate it within the larger context in which leopards live.
A very moving and insightful video. Very sad – Mother nature is cruel and thank you for explaining it in a sensitive and caring way. Let’s hope she has more success next time round.
Sad news Sean.
But obviously it is often the case with first time leopard mothers that their cubs die.
Nature is really cruel at times.
I keep my fingers crossed that the Xinkhove Female will be more successful with a new litter.
By the way, her sister, the Stonedrift Female, was she successful with her first litter? Or has she had already more than one in the meantime?
Thank you, Sean, for your thoughtful and honouring story about Xinkhova and the loss of her cubs. An important story to share and you did I with empathy and respect. We were at Londolozi in March and,even though we didn’t see her we knew she was denning her first litter near camp. As others would agree, once you have been to Londolozi you become intimately aware of the various leopards and their stories. So we appreciate being able to see and hear of their unfolding stories from afar. Even the sad ones because, of course, Londolozi is not a zoo or Disneyland, it is the real wild and we learn so much from the resilience and strength of each leopard you follow. To tell their stories to the world encourages ongoing love and support for these beautiful wild cats. Thank you
a touching, poignant, albeit melancholy, episode of your virtual safaris. Thank you. It will be intriguing to follow her and see what she does with her next litter.
Sean the way we all learn is by experience and more so for the animals because as you pointed out they do it all by instinct only we have help thank you for letting me know she one day will be a great mother Lyn
That is exactly it, experience pays for its weight in gold. We fortunately have a lot of other resources to draw on, wild animals have to rely mostly on instinct. I am sure she will be a fantastic mother one day.