Sometimes a message comes through, and before you have even finished reading it, there is already a sinking feeling telling you it is not going to be good. You read it a second time anyway. Last night, a message like that came from our eastern neighbours. A female leopard had been found dead on the banks of the Sand River, near where the Gijima Males were seen.
It is a feeling we know. The same one that arrived when we heard about the Plaque Rock Female.
The Three Rivers Female rests peacefully in THE Natal Mahogany off the Sand River. I’ve been wanting to see a leopard in this tree for some time, so this was an incredible moment!
The body was in a condition that made identification difficult — the lions and hyenas had been there first. But careful analysis of her teeth, specifically a chipped lower left canine, matched what we know of the Three Rivers Female.
It is difficult to see it clearly in this photo but her lower left canine was chipped.
The Tinxiya Female was seen on Londolozi this morning. The Nkoveni Female had tracks confirmed on our property, so it definitely was neither of those two. We are working with what we know right now, and if anything changes, we will update you. But as things stand, everything seems to confirm that we have lost her.
This stretch of the Sand River is prime real estate, in what we already know to be one of the highest leopard density areas in the world. It also sits right alongside where two of the Kambula Lionesses are currently raising eight tiny cubs. Lions and leopards share this landscape, and that tension almost always plays out somewhere where we are not watching. Nobody saw what happened. All that was found was a dead leopard on the riverbank.
But the Three Rivers Female’s story was not insignificant. Her mother died when she was still young. Too young, most would have said, to have any realistic chance of going on alone. She proved them wrong, and then just kept going. She raised the Nsuku Male to independence. She raised the Tinxiya Female, who was out and about in Londolozi this very morning. And somewhere along the way, in between all of that surviving and raising and hunting and holding territory, she gave us some of the most extraordinary wildlife viewing this reserve has ever produced.
We got to watch all of it. The lean times when we barely found her, the periods when she seemed to be everywhere at once, the sightings that made you reach for your camera before your brain had caught up with what you were seeing. We followed her story from well before many of you found Londolozi, and we were still following it this week.
That is what sits with us most. Not that she is gone — she was a wild leopard living a wild life, and a wild life out here has never come with guarantees. But we got to watch the whole thing. The whole arc of it. That is something.
On top of the tragedy of losing her, she is believed to have two cubs, around eight to ten weeks old. We knew where she was denning them, but she had moved them in the last week — we think to put some distance between them and the Shingi Male, who had been moving through that area. Tracks of her and both cubs had been seen about 1.5 kilometres from the original den. We have not been able to locate the new den, and we do not yet know whether the cubs are still alive.
That stretch of southeastern Londolozi along the Sand River will not stay vacant for long. Her scent markings will fade. Her territorial vocalisations will stop. Other leopards will register the absence before we have finished processing it. Who moves in, and when, is something we will be watching closely.
A glimpse into the Sand River. This is one of my favourite parts of the river, where it is tucked away by Riparian forest and flows over rocks, creating a waterfall.
The Tinxiya Female is newly independent and needs somewhere to settle. Leopard mothers sometimes pass part of their territory to their daughters, a kind of inheritance. Nobody could have scripted the circumstances of this one. But it is not impossible that the territory the Three Rivers Female spent her whole life building becomes the ground her daughter starts from.
We do not know how it plays out from here. There is a lot we do not know.
What we know is that she lived well, and that we were lucky to be watching.
So sad to hear. Especially , with her background. Let’s hope that her daughter will continue her story .
We are all hoping the same.
Shaun and I were there with you when she went back to the den and we heard her contact calling the cubs at Dudley riverbank in late April. I took a photo of her passing your vehicle. We had been following her from TortoisePan that morning all the way to the den. My first ever sighting of her was at Londolozi when she attempted to lure a sick young Tinxiya across the road into MalaMala. She even attempted to lift her up and carry her, even though she was too big for that. Eventfully the two moved across the border. I have seen her regularly since then. It is heartbreaking – especially for her cubs. Three cubs and three adult leopards have died since I first started visiting Londolozi and MalaMala. It brings tears to my eyes. An oxymoron as to the light, high energy I always feel when in the bush. It is the other side of nature. Enchanting, liberating and that feeling of connection … the other side is equally devastating. I am sorry for all the rangers who lived with her for so long. It cannot be easy to put on a happy face while feeling her void.
What a sighting to have had — following her all the way to the den that morning. Those are the ones you carry with you. Thank you for sharing that. The other side of the bush is real, and you have described it honestly.
very sad news, but she lived a good and long life in the sometimes cruel world.
I doubt the cubs will be alive and maybe her death was part of that.
Agreed on both counts.
Hi Sean. I have a lump in my throat and can well imagine you all… when I found this blog, I thought she was the must wondrous and courageous female, then I found out Nkoveni, Mashaba, Ximungwe and others. But she always stayed deep, as her whole story is a drama and success in the most difficult circumstances. She appeared to be, like Nkoveni and Ximungwe, a though cookie…. someone that never gives up and magically takes herself out of danger. Her cubs were particularly beautiful and adorable (with such a Mother) and this is worrying and really the top as you wrote. I can’t do anything but think of her and her cubs. I feel for her litter and for all people who are going to miss her….
She really was that kind of leopard — the ones that seem untouchable, and then the bush reminds you that nothing is. Thank you for following her story so closely.
What terribly sad news!
It really makes me cry. The Three Rivers Female was such a character, such a beautiful leopard and excellent mother.
I remember every sighting I had of her and her cubs, like the Tinxiya Female. And I am glad that I have the videos and photos as a memory of this wonderful leopard.
And- as you sad- it is a double tragedy because of the cubs she had to leave behind and who have no chance of survival.
By the way, just in case you found these cubs, would you try to save them? Or just leave them to their fate?
Nature in the bush can really be so cruel.
Same answer as a few others — we won’t be looking to save the cubs if we find them. They are wild, and that is how they need to stay. As heartbreaking as it is to say.
What an immense loss… One of the most beautiful creatures we have ever had the privilege of seeing with Barry and Tshepo; we share in the grief of the entire Londolozi team. We know what she meant to all of you—a living legend… Thank you for your words, which bring us some comfort. RIP to the Three Rivers—forever in our hearts and in our commitment to protecting these magnificent animals.
Thank you Caroline. Glad Barry and Tshepo got you that time with her.
Hi LGR. That was such a interesting and very sad blog you put up on the 10yr old Three Rivers female. It sure must be a hard and bitter pill to swallow, as well as very difficult to accept that she’s gone. Even though she was only 10 years old, I thought she still had a good few more years of life left in her to raise her 2 current new cubs, then mate and reproduce at least another 2 or 3 litters of cubs in the next 6 or 7 years or so. But although every bit of detail and description of the dead female leopard found on MalaMala a few days ago didn’t make identification very easy because the state of her unpictured lifeless body suggested that lions and hyenas had been there around the spot where she just lay dead, but right now at the moment, are you just trying to get more info from your neighbours at MalaMala in an effort to try and compare her spot markings there at all? I don’t suppose it makes identification very easy when her body was in a terrible ripped up and possibly fed on state. Have you been sent a good, clear and well taken photos of her body to see how bad & sad a state it was in when found?
At the time of her death, she was busy raising her third litter of cubs there. I don’t know how and where her two new tiny cubs are right now at the moment, but if they are alive and well, then I think it’s fair to say there’s some ir a lot of uncertainty over their future and survival. I know human people shouldn’t really interfere with animals unless it is absolutely necessary, but in this case because the two small cubs are only about eight to ten weeks old, tiny, young and vulnerable, I’ve just been thinking to myself if it’ll be better for them if they were taken to a rehabilitation centre where they can be cared for, looked after and fed in devoted and expert hands safely.
I expect everyone there who had the joy and pleasure of knowing and meeting her, are feeling her loss very deeply and probably in deep mourning her death very hard. She might not have been the oldest leopard in terms of age, but I suppose the only comfort we know is that at least she has raised two beautiful and young independent offspring ever so very well and successfully. It might be better than none at all, but she hasn’t raised as many cubs to independence as we would have liked to see her raise. I’m in no doubt that everyone who knew her right from when she was a tiny cub herself, are also very upset and devastated to hear and learn of what happened.
Born in April 2016 to the Kikilezi female and Treehouse male, both of whom were sadly killed by the now 2 late Southern Avoca male lion brothers just 3 months apart respectively, it is just incredible how she managed to survive to independence and adulthood alone without her mother to feed, provide for and play with her from such a shockingly young age of less than 2 years old at the time. I know she will be missed so deeply and very much indeed by all of those who were lucky enough to meet her and know her right from when she was a tiny cub herself, but despite the fact that it will now look and feel very strange without her around anymore, she won’t be forgotten about but she will be very well remembered indeed. Her late mum’s legacy will now only live on in her 2 older half sisters, the Piccadilly and Sibuye females individually. I hope they’ll be able to mate and reproduce a good few more litters of cubs and hopefully raise them to independence just as well and successfully in the future.
Will you be thinking about what to do next, if you ever do come across the spot where the beautiful Three Rivers female had moved her 2 tiny cubs to while out and about there very soon one day? But as we would love to see them both live and survive to independence, I still think it will be best and better for them to be rescued and taken to a rescue and rehabilitation centre where they can and will be cared for, looked after and fed by people until they are well over a year old, and hopefully released back to where they were found and rescued from. But that is just a suggestion, and I’ll be very interested to hear from you about what you all think about that thought. It is such a terrible thought knowing that you and guests will never see her again at all in the long and distant future. If any thoughts and plans are come up with on how to find and save the cubs, then do let me know as soon as possible please. Long may she rest in peace.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 4.6.26
Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful message Robert. On the identification, the dental match was the clearest evidence available given the state of the body. We are as confident as we can be. On the cubs — we will not be intervening or sending them to a rehabilitation centre. We understand why people ask and the instinct behind it is a kind one. But these are wild leopards. Raising them in a human environment and attempting to release them does not produce a wild leopard — it produces a compromised one. The bush will determine what happens to them. That is where they belong.
Thank you Sean and Londolozi for the approach that “The bush will determine what happens to them. That is where they belong.” We saw here with her young cub in the fall of 2024 and hoped to see her with her young cubs this September AND completely understand ‘the bush will determine’ despite the human impulse otherwise. Looking forward to what unfolds in September.
Glad that lands the right way. See you in September — there will be plenty of story left to follow.
So sad, we just saw her last month. Her story is incredible and beautiful just like she was. Wild life is beautiful and cruel at once. Feeling privileged that I met her. 🩶
Privileged is exactly the right word. Glad you got that time with her.
If it was her then that is very sad. We had the pleasure of viewing her with 2 tiny cubs that she had stashed away in an anthill 5 years ago on one of the neighboring properties. She was small, beautiful and had amazing resilience to get through what she did as a subadult. RIP
That sounds like an incredible sighting. She had a quality about her that made every encounter stick. Thank you for sharing that.
Such heartbreaking news, especially given her young cubs. She beat the odds for many years, and left two independent cubs, so by all accounts she was a success. Let’s hope her end was quick, that the young cubs are already gone and won’t suffer starvation, and that the Tinxiya female will step in to claim her mothers territory.
Well framed. On all counts, we hope the same.
Unfortunately nature has its way sometimes great news sometimes sad news maybe her cubs are still alive maybe another female leopard has found them only time and nature will tell
Time will tell. We are watching.
Thank you for giving words so well to sadnesses which are the reality of the wild lives we witness through these stories played out before us and reported faithfully by you all.
Thank you Dawn. That means a lot.
Sean, Thanks for the update… very sad but this is the real world, as hard as it is to swallow. She was a beautiful leopard and we were lucky to know her and see her over the years. Hoping for a slim chance that the cubs could survive…
The real world indeed. Thank you for the years of following along.
Good morning Sean,
I wake up every morning looking forward to reading the the blog, asking what wonderful story will be brought to us today ??
They say in human life that tomorrow is never promised , sad to say this holds true for life in the bush as well.
We will all miss the The Three Rivers Female but she will never be forgotten !!!
Thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures.
Hi Tirso, great to hear from you. That is a good way to hold it. She won’t be forgotten. Thank you for reading every morning.
Such sad news, but part of nature. Each individual has a season. Thankful that I was lucky enough to see/photograph her during my visit to Londolozi and love all of the images of her and her offspring since that time. Thank you for your loving description of her, she will be missed by all.
Glad you got time with her in person. Those sightings stay with you.
Beautifully written, Sean. I am heartbroken.
Thank you Mary Beth.
Dearest Sean and Londolozi Family,
Thanking for sharing these sad news. Sharing your loss of the Three Rivers Female.
Thank you so much.
All that can be said is Thank You to the Three Rivers Female for the privilege of bearing witness to your life. From your early independence, growing confidence, and successful motherhood. Her legacy will live on through the photos and most importantly in the memories of the people, now scattered across the world, who saw and were moved by her.
Beautifully put. Thank you.
OMIGOSH 🙁 I am SO sorry to hear this. I do not remember how old she was? And if her daughter (I know this might be a stupid question) were to find the cubs, would she know they were related?
She was around 10 years old. On Tinxiya and the cubs — leopards do not have the kind of kin recognition that would lead her to care for them. They would be strangers to her. And even so, Tinxiya has never been a mother before so she may not have the correct instincts to raise them.
As always, it’s difficult to say goodbye to a longtime acquaintance, particularly one with such a rich history. I had hoped to photo her one more time in July. Sean, I believe it was you who first introduced us.
She had a way of making an impression on first sighting. Hope July still brings something special. yes, I think it was with me when you first saw her.
Such a tragic loss and even more heartbreaking because of her two very young cubs. My heart is so heavy hearing this news.
It is heavy news. Thank you for being here for her story.
Hi Sean, is the third leopard photo in this blog the Three Rivers Female? She doesn’t have the dark spot on her nose. Just curious, that’s all. I and my friends worldwide love the daily blogs. Cheers
Good eye for noticing that. That image is of her when she was much younger. It was actually when she was first returned after her mother died.
I first learned of Three Rivers female’s death a couple of days ago by someone posting on the Leopards of SabiSand post. I didn’t believe it and queried the author further. She had confirmation from MalaMala – that left me devastated as I had seen her for the first time during my visit. But as we all know, she defied the odds of even surviving when her mother was killed , Three Rivers only a year old. She lived a great life, raised two incredible leopards to independence so they will carry on the Sunset Bend lineage and provided staff and guests alike with incredible viewing moments. So I mourn her loss and her cubs who will never really know her love and spirit, but celebrate her life and the joy she brought to so many.
You have described it perfectly. Mourn the loss, celebrate the life. That is exactly where we are sitting with it.
I know it is the way of the bush but it is nevertheless terribly sad to read s out the demise of such a beautiful leopard. I hope her cubs survive but I imagine it will be a miracle if they do. Thank you for the wonderful photos of her.
Thank you. Yes it will truly be a miracle if they survive.
Hi Sean, oh this is such sad news reading the death of the Three Rivers female. What is going to happen to her two tiny cubs. Oh my word this is so heartbreaking and my mind does not want to even comprehend it. She was such a stunning leopardess and it is such a pity she is no more with us.
The cubs will be left to their own devices, as hard as that is to say. We won’t intervene — they are wild, and that has to mean something even in the difficult moments.
Sean, I’m sure I’m not the only one to feel distraught at this news. I was lucky enough to see her as a young cub, then many times since. I’ve seen her with Nsuku (who is hopefully doing well)? It must be the hardest part of being a ranger when you’re following their lives every day.
Nsuku was doing well last we heard of him, moving around and finding his feet much further south of Londolozi. And yes, following them so closely makes the losses hit differently. Part of the job, but never an easy part.
😢😢
It is so sad.
So heart breaking. At least You were able to capture some beautiful pictures of the Three Rivers Female for us all to appreciate and remember her. She is now in “Londolozi Heaven” as her spirit will stay in our hearts and be cared for and comforted upon her passing.
Thank you for the kind words.
Yes. Very touchy story! Story of courage and resilience! We will miss her. For someone who is out and about everyday, you all will miss her more. These things happen in the wild and we have to accept!
You are right, and thank you. We will miss her out there.
Sean, I have followed your reports over the years and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I would like to express my condolences to you and the Londolozi team. She was a beautiful leopard with an amazing legacy. My heart hurts but understand it is the way of the wild. Thank you for bringing her story and the story of her offspring to us.
Thank you Sandra. She really was something. Glad you have been along for the journey.
I am so saddened, I read this hours ago, and had to take time to cry, and think about Three Rivers. She was the first leopard I saw in September 2024, with baby Tinxiya. However, as sad as I am, I am so upset for all of the people at Londolozi . You knew her, you loved her, you followed her, you know her story of resilience. I am sending love to you all. This is devastating, especially to you.
I am in the process of framing 2 magnificent photos of
Three Rivers. It now has such a sad and important impact on me.
One question. Can you save and adopt and release her cubs, if they are still alive? I was at Singita in 2009, and my guide/tracker had saved 2 male cubs who lost their mother. They saw /I saw in vehicle, those independent leopards. Is that something that is acceptable practice to you at Londolozi.
I have magnificent pictures of her , and of tiny Tinxiya. I would like to share. They are quite beautiful.
Thank you for the kind words, and those photos sound beautiful. On the cubs — we won’t be intervening. They are wild leopards, and that is where they stay. It is hard to say, but it is the right answer for them and for the ecosystem they belong to.
What an amazing life, fully lived! While she will be missed, her legacy will live on in her offspring and brilliant Leopards of Londolozi lore!❤️🙏🏼❤️
Well said. That is exactly how we are choosing to hold it.
so sad, especially for her two cubs.
It is indeed.
As human beings we have emotions just about everything, so to us this is very sad, but to mother nature it is just the circle of life.
Exactly that. We know it intellectually. Feeling it is another thing entirely.
Even though we logically understand that this is the “circle of life” out there, it still feels very sad. Perhaps because we as visitors see them IRL and then as readers back home continue the relationship and attachment through the blogs and virtual safaris provided by you and the rangers. And those poor little cubs….
That connection you describe — seeing them in person and then continuing to follow their story from home — is exactly what makes the Londolozi blog what it is. We feel it too.
The leopards of Londolozi have lost an incomparable member. So sad that such a great descendant of the Sunsetbend Female has been lost in the very same way her whole journey to prominence began when the Xidulu Female was killed by the Avoca coalition.
The parallel is a painful one. The lineage has always carried a thread of loss through it, right from the beginning. That she made it as far as she did, and did what she did along the way, makes it mean something.
It’s so heartbreaking and has continued to stay with me every day since the news. She is extra special to me because she was my first leopard to see a few weeks ago with Brandon and Rich at Londolozi, after the trackers had spent most of the morning searching for her. I know it must be so hard to all of you at Londolozi who have watched her and see her year after year, and I think we all wonder about the fate of her cubs. Thank you for your amazing stories, blogs, and making us all feel like we are a part of the beautiful world of Nature you get to witness every day. Three Rivers will be missed for a long time. xoxo
What a first leopard to have. Glad you got that time with her, even if the timing of this news makes it hit differently. She was worth the morning search.
This news is so so sad…..we had such an enjoyable morning with her and the very young Tinxiya in Sept 2024. I absolutely hate seeing our beautiful cats come to their ends. Very thankful that Tinxiya is doing well, and I do hope that she inherits her mama’s territory.
September 2024 with young Tinxiya — that would have been a special one. Tinxiya is doing well and we are watching her closely. Fingers crossed on the territory.
Thank you, Sean, for bringing this sad news to us with such respect. Both for the Three Rivers female and for all of us out here that watch and care and know these magnificent animals. It is respectful to tell us the truth so we can share in the sadness and keep her in our hearts and memories.
The Three Rivers female was the first leopard we met when Roberto and I came to Londolozi in January 2025. Gesh and Reese found her and we were so delighted. Such a beautiful diminutive female. We also met her daughter during our subsequent game drives during that stay.
This year we were back in March and had another privileged sighting of her with her daughter, Tinxiya, trying to connect with her. But mom would not have it and kept snarling at her, as if to say, ‘you are on your own, don’t be coming to me for handouts, I have new mouths to feed.’ It was so interesting to see the shift in the relationship as must happen in the wild.
We would like to think that this sad loss and the reality of young cubs perishing may give room for the Tinxiya female to take on her mothers territory and keep it ‘in the family’
Thank you for being so honest with us. My sympathy goes out to all the trackers and guides who will feel the sorrow of her death.
That sighting of Three Rivers snarling Tinxiya off is exactly the kind of moment that tells the whole story in one interaction. Independence is non-negotiable out here, and she was making that clear. Glad Gesh and Reese got you that first introduction in January, and that you had another chapter of it in March. Thank you for sharing that.