Late one afternoon, Joy and I set out with our guests in search of the elusive Ximungwe Female. As we approached a prominent four-way crossing in central Londolozi, Joy suddenly raised his hand, which meant he had spotted some fresh tracks crossing the road.
Not just one set, but two. Alongside what looked like the Ximungwe Female leopard’s tracks were the much smaller tracks of her five-month-old cub.
Evidence of fresh tracks of a leopard seen on top of vehicle tracks from the morning game drive always spark some excitement.
Judging by how fresh they were, Joy suspected that the mother had recently made a kill and was leading her cub back towards it. Excited by the prospect, I jumped off the vehicle and joined him on foot. Knowing we only had about 45 minutes before sunset, we had to move fast to make this tracking exercise a success. Less than 300 metres down the road, Joy suddenly froze and pointed towards a nearby jackalberry tree.
This was the face we saw. We stopped dead in our tracks and observed the beauty of a leopard in a tree.
Then there was movement. A young leopard cub leapt from the branches and disappeared into the surrounding thickets before we could properly process what we had seen. We swiftly returned to the vehicle and approached in our Land Rover. As we rounded the corner, the scene unfolded before us. High in the jackalberry tree sat the Ximungwe Female feeding on an impala carcass.
The Ximungwe Female successfully hoisted an impala during the day, which she had fed on already.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Yet despite having secured a meal, she appeared uneasy. Repeatedly she lifted her head and stared towards the thickets where the cub had disappeared, emitting soft contact calls. Adding to the tension was a hyena lingering beneath the tree. Whether it had noticed the cub was impossible to know, but the female’s attention remained divided between feeding and locating her youngster.
Then the Ximungwe Female leapt down the tree and disappeared into the thickets in search of her cub.
Given that we were losing light and not wanting to add further pressure to the situation, we spent only a short time at the sighting before watching her descend from the tree and disappear into the vegetation in search of her cub. Feelings on the vehicle were mixed. We had just witnessed an amazing sight of a leopard feeding in a tree at sunset, but our guests had a lot of questions regarding the safety of the cub and wondered whether the youngster had safely reunited with its mother.
The following morning, fellow ranger Chris Fox and I headed straight back to the area. Our concerns were quickly eased when we found the Ximungwe Female once again resting in the Jackalberry tree. After about forty-five minutes, she moved out onto one of the branches and began contact calling repeatedly. The cub, however, remained hidden.
Eventually she descended, stopped briefly for a drink at a nearby waterhole, and disappeared into a patch of tall grass. Moments later we caught sight of both mother and cub together. The reunion was heartwarming to watch.
She elegantly dropped down the tree and walked over to a near-by waterhole to drink.
The female groomed the cub while the youngster responded with playful bursts of energy, reminding us that behind the solitary nature of leopards lies an incredibly strong maternal bond.
The view of the reunion was not great due to the tall grass; however, I managed to get a snap of the little cub’s face peering through.
After spending some time together, the pair made their way back towards the tree. Knowing the cub still seemed nervous, we chose to give them plenty of space and repositioned ourselves at a respectful distance. Without hesitation, the Ximungwe Female was already back in the tree, but there was no sign of the cub.
The ease with which leopards can climb will never cease to amaze me.
And up to the carcass she moved.
Then, finally, it appeared!
With remarkable confidence for such a young leopard, the cub began climbing the trunk of the jackalberry tree. Slowly but surely, it made its way up before carefully navigating the branches towards the carcass.
I was totally surprised to see the cub in the tree.
What struck me most was not the climb itself, but the patience shown by the Ximungwe Female. Over the course of nearly a full day, she had encouraged, called to, protected and guided her cub back to the safety of the kill. For a young leopard, climbing into an exposed tree requires courage. It means leaving the safety of thick cover and trusting the lessons being taught by its mother.
And it was a beautiful moment to watch as the youngster manoeuvred its way towards the impala carcass.
As we watched the pair feeding together high above the ground, it felt as though everything had finally fallen into place. The cub was safe. The mother was relaxed. And we had been fortunate enough to witness a small but significant chapter in the life of one of Londolozi’s most remarkable leopard mothers.
Here’s hoping this young leopard continues to grow in confidence so we can have more special sightings of these two leopards.
Hi Nick, surely this is an old post? She lost this little male in August last year?
Hi Fransje, She lot her litter last year but has had a new litter as of January 2026.
Hi Nick, what beautiful stunning ans much awaited news! The cub looks very much alike her previous one indeed…. she’s gorgeous as always. She’s one of the most secretive mother when having cubs I’ve seen. Have you noticed if he’s a male, according to her previous ones? And how old is he now,? So many questions….
We are still unsure of the sex of the cub as sightings of it have been few. It cub is approaching 7 months old.
Afternoon LGR. Thank you so much for putting up such a interesting and good update on 2 great days you spent with the elusive Ximungwe female and her 6 month old cub over there. I know the cub was a bit nervous of game drive vehicles as it hasn’t had as much exposure to them as some of her other previous cubs have been in the past. If it is just given the space and the prospect of been viewed from a safe and respectable distance there, then I’m very sure it’ll relax down in time a lot more in time. Despite it’s understandable nervousness, were you able to see, just out of interest, if the shy little youngster was a boy or a girl?
I know she did have two cubs at one stage when she gave birth to them back in early January, but despite the lack of great viewing of the cubs, she has clearly lost one since they were last viewed. However, besides that sad loss, it’s not the end of the world for her, as she’s still got one cub left over with her to feed. I’m not so sure why she’s become so elusive if she has got a shy young cub to feed, as she would normally be seen a lot more. I know the mother herself is a very highly relaxed mother, but her six month old cub is nowhere near as calm.
While the loss of one cub is sad, but in reality, a single cub has a greater chance of survival then a litter of two or three. So all we can do now is just hope that she gets this bashful little youngster all the way to hard independence and adulthood like it’s two older half brothers are. If she brings the cub out into the open a lot more of the time, then maybe one sighting after another and with very careful viewing from a ideal and respectable distance, perhaps the cub will relax and settle down a hell of a lot more then by a few months time, it will give you some great viewing almost as if it didn’t know or care if you were there watching it at all or not. It’s mum doesn’t have that issue with been viewed, as she has always been highly relaxed right from when she was a tiny cub. I hope this cub will get as relaxed as it’s mum.
The view of the impala carcass that the highly experienced Ximungwe female had hoisted into a tree wasn’t very clear, so it wasn’t easy to see how big it was as well as it’s gender either. But though I don’t know if they were successful in keeping their kill or not, but if they were, I’m sure it would have lasted them a good couple of days or so providing they weren’t disturbed and robbed of their meal. As the hunt wasn’t witnessed, it is difficult to say whether the mother had caught the unfortunate animal during the previous night or during the day. It could have been either, but it also depends on how much there was left over. She might not be the oldest leopard there, but she is one of the most highly experienced mothers & spotted hunters on your huge property. Isn’t she? I do really admire the Ximungwe female for how well she is doing in feeding and looking after her shy little cub, but if she just assures her youngster that the vehicles represent no threat at all, then maybe it’ll get the idea and not dash up or down a tree to try and hide from you. It might be slightly nervous if it’s by itself, but possibly a bit more confident if it’s mother is around for it nearby. I’d like to wish her the very best of hopeful luck with raising her single cub in her fifth litter all the way to independence and adulthood very successfully.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 25.7.26
Hi Robert, Thanks of the comment.
Sadly we are not 100% certain of the cubs sex. This will be revealed soon. as I’m sure the sightings of the cub will become more frequent (hopeful).
Here’s to hoping that by caring for one cub instead of 2 or 3, she will have a greater chance of getting it to independence age. We are certainly confident oin the mother because her territory is big with lots of amazing hiding places. It just becomes risky when taking the youngster to kills. This is when the cub is at its highest risk.
As of today, the 26th of July, The cub is healthy and feeding on kills so we are optimistic of its chances of survival. In terms of our viewing of the cub, this is still up in the air as its reaction to game drive vehicles is still very skittish.
Thanks Nick for the great news. What a treat that must have been for you and your guests to finally see both of them together.
Great to hear of this so far elusive cub, Nick. In April, my team couldn’t find neither her nor her cub. Then we fly heard about the Ximungwe. And now, finally, good news of the cub. I do hope that it can grow in peace and quiet and become a beautiful big leopard.
Thanks for the comment Christa, Yes the cub is alive and well. We recently saw it feeding on a carcass however it is still shy of the vehicles.
This is fantastic news Nick! After seeing her with her two cubs one afternoon this past April, then hearing the next morning one was killed by a Gijima male, I was hoping her second cub that had survived the Gijima raid was still alive. It looks strong and healthy and hopefully will become more at ease around vehicles. Michael and I saw her with her same age male cub last year with you and know he survived until 9/10 months before disappearing, so fingers crossed this cub has a better chance of survival to adulthood…..
Hello Denise! Great to hear from you. Well, you must have been one of the lucky few guests to see Ximungwe when she still had the two cubs from this recent litter. Very lucky sighting indeed. We have noticed the surviving cub is very skittish so here’s hoping it relaxes when it reaches a year old.
Nick, what a great story! It’s so great to see her cub making such great progress!!
It’s a beautiful story – lucky guests! Thank you Nick.
Wonderful news that the cub is alive and well! We waited hours to glimpse a view in May to no avail. Fingers crossed that the cub can overcome the trauma experienced early and relax in the future.
Hi Nick, I am so excited to see the Ximungwe female and her cub. For a while back I thought she lost her cub because there was no news of her or the cub. So fantastic to see them together and the little cub climbing high up to feed and be safe. Thanks for sharing this good news with us. Mom and cub are very skittish.
Any word on the two cubs that were left after Three Rivers died. We saw one of the cubs when we were there in early June.