I’m not too sure if anyone has picked up on this, but several of my previous blogs have been about the Xinzele Female.
A stunning female found in the north. Successfully raised the Thumbela Female while establishing dominance in NW Marthly.
For some reason, I’m always drawn to her. She is beautiful, relaxed, and has a certain presence that’s hard to describe. Every time we decide to go looking for her in the morning, I can’t help but have a little extra smile on my face.
Her territory is situated in the northwestern corner of the reserve, so a great place to start searching for her is around Ximpalapala Koppie.
On one of our recent morning drives, we decided to scout the area to see if we could pick up her tracks and determine whether she was still around the koppie. The previous day she had been found on the koppie itself, so we were hopeful. After searching the surrounding area, we couldn’t find any tracks leading away from the koppie, which suggested she might still be there. We spent a good amount of time looking but eventually decided to move on after having no luck.
It was time for a warm cup of coffee and a quick snack. However, just as we stopped not far from the koppie, another vehicle nearby heard klipspringers and squirrels alarm calling from the rocky slopes. Moments later, guide Shaun D’Araujo found the Xinzele Female and radioed through to let us know. We were there in a flash.
When we arrived, we witnessed something that made me incredibly happy. She was carefully sniffing around the boulders, potentially searching for a suitable den site. Seeing this made me take a closer look at her condition, and I’m pleased to say that she looked healthy and, to my eye, appeared to be carrying a little extra weight that could indicate pregnancy.
One fascinating thing about a pregnant leopard is that there is usually very little visible roundness until the final weeks of pregnancy. Much of the cubs’ development takes place higher up in the abdomen, beneath the rib cage, where the embryos are well protected. It is only during the later stages of pregnancy that the lower abdomen begins to appear noticeably fuller.
The next thing we’ll be looking out for is whether, the next time the Xinzele female is seen, she has a sagging milk pouch or obvious suckle marks – both good indicators that she has given birth.
Historically, she has denned on this koppie, so perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to see her raise another litter there once again!
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