There are certain leopard sightings that live in the imagination long before they happen: a leopard stretched across a granite boulder, one silhouetted against the last light of the afternoon, or one walking straight towards the vehicle with every rosette picked out in the soft glow of the setting sun. And then there is the leopard in a dead leadwood.
Born 2018, skilled huntress and determined mother. Dominated Sand River territory until her tragic end in 2024.
For years, seeing a leopard draped amongst the pale, skeletal branches of a dead leadwood has been one of those quintessential safari dreams of mine, and I know I am not alone in that. Ask most people who spend enough time looking for leopards what their ultimate sighting would be, and somewhere in the conversation a leopard in a tree will inevitably feature.
So when the call came through that the Shingi Male was in the area, we headed towards the sighting with no idea we were about to experience exactly that. He had made an impala kill and left it safely tucked into the branches of a knobthorn tree, and with his meal secure he had moved off towards a series of muddy wallows nearby. We soon found him. He stopped at the edge of the water and lowered his head for a brief drink.
After feeding on an impala ram carcass for the best part of two days, the Shingi Male decided that with his kill well-positioned and safe in the canopy of a nearby tree, he would quench his thirst at the nearest mud wallows.
The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
Then, all of a sudden, something changed. The Shingi Male lifted his head, and his attention shifted completely. Nearby, a hyena was approaching to investigate whether he had any scraps to offer up. The change in his behaviour was immediate. His relaxed demeanour disappeared, and he locked onto the threat, because he knew exactly what the hyena meant: competition. His impala was still hanging in the knobthorn, and the last thing he wanted was for his hard-earned meal to be discovered and stolen. He left the wallow and headed away from the hyena, quickly finding the nearest available refuge. A dead leadwood.
For a brief moment, as the circling hyena passed our vehicle, I locked eyes with the Shingi Male as he gazed over us, keeping a close watch on the movement of the pestering scavenger.
Watching a leopard ascend a tree is something that never becomes ordinary. The power in their forelegs, the ease with which their claws find purchase and the seemingly effortless way a heavy-bodied cat can pull itself upwards is remarkable. Within seconds, the Shingi Male was several metres above the ground, stretched along the branches of the dead leadwood, his golden coat standing out against the pale, weathered wood. As the hyena carried on investigating the scents around the base of the tree and the wallows where he had been drinking, the young male kept repositioning himself to watch it below, giving us one fantastic frame after another.
As the scene unfolded and the hyena continued to investigate scents and smells near the base of the tree and around the mud wallows where the Shingi Male had recently had a drink, the young male continued to provide us with fantastic photographs as he repositioned himself to keep an eye on the hyena below.
It was exactly the image I had imagined so many times before, something I had long dreamed of seeing since I started guiding at Londolozi.
The right leopard in the right light can transform an already remarkable sighting, and in this case it was the gloomy grey cover of the clouded afternoon that made it. Perhaps it is the contrast: the white-grey wood against the golden coat, the intricate branches framing the rosettes, the leopard’s powerful body appearing almost weightless several metres above the ground.
Leadwood trees have an extraordinary presence throughout Londolozi. They can stand for decades after they have died, their hard wood resisting decay and weathering into those characteristic pale trunks and twisted branches. For leopards, they offer another advantage: elevation.
Leopards are exceptionally capable climbers, and trees play an important role in their survival. A kill is a valuable possession. After investing all that energy into hunting and bringing down prey, a leopard needs to protect the food from competitors, and with lions and hyenas both capable of stealing a meal, the safest solution is often to get the carcass off the ground. This is where trees such as knobthorns and marulas become so important. The Shingi Male had used the knobthorn for exactly that, leaving his impala suspended above the ground before moving away for a drink.
The dead leadwood, however, served a different purpose. It gave him height and security the moment the hyena appeared. From his position amongst the branches, he could watch everything below while remaining safely out of reach, shifting every so often as his eyes followed the hyena on the ground. He was alert, but no longer exposed, and for us the timing could not have been better. The pale leadwood seemed almost purpose-built to showcase him.
Truly, a sighting I will never forget.
Great sighting and I can well imagine your excitement! In 2025, we heard that the Shingi male was up a dead leadwood… Jess Shilaw did her best to reach the sighting, but by the time we got there, he had alreafy come down again! All hope dashed! Things change so quickly! So, I am glad for you that you were there to see him him aloft such an awesome tree!
Thanks Fransje. The bush waits for nobody, and luck is a major factor when it comes to the timing of sightings. Thanks so much for your comment and look forward to having you back at Londolozi soon.
What a dream. I love the third image, with his arm draped over the trunk—a perfect souvenir of a memorable sighting.
Thank you Chelsea.
Dear Nic, what an epic pic of Shingi male. Amazing.
Thank you very much Jutta. It was a fantastic sighting.
Hi Nic,
So glad you finally got the photo you had been imagining in your mind. It is a beautiful photo. I miss Londolozi and hope that I can return again one day.
Hi Linda, good to hear from you. Thank you for your comment on the blog post. We hope you can return soon too.
Hi LGR. That was such a very interesting and great blog about the large & young Shingi male leopard stashing a impala kill up one tree, then after seeing a hyena approach whilst he was drinking, climb another tree which the spotted and scavenging hyena thankfully for him, couldn’t climb at all. I suppose in that sense, he clearly thought it was best and sensible to get out of the way & get to safety quickly. His ability to climb trees undoubtedly saves him from getting harmed and killed by other leopards and rival predators before they can get to and reach him. Born in January 2024 to the Nkoveni female and the Maxim’s male, he’s very clearly inherited his massive and jumbo father’s size and build.
At two years and nine months old, I’m so very sure he will go of and start setting up his own territory and looking for females to cross paths, mate and sire his own first ever new cubs with. I don’t know if he will or not, but I hope he doesn’t give them a hard time like he gave his mum before he left her side. He is one large and muscular young male.
If it is likely the he’s got to his full size now, then I think he and his father will be the two biggest male leopards around on your property. Due to his powerfully large and stocky size, I bet he could take down prey that are probably twice his weight and size. He is so very handsome indeed, and because of that, I wonder how many females will aim for him.
With a powerfully muscular and stocky build making up his entire body, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble pulling and taking down something as big as a yearling half grown wildebeest calf or a adult kudu. I also expect he will have some very good and large genes inside him that he can pass into his own offspring in his own time once he’s got his territory set up and he’s old enough eventually. But at his age he’s at right now, I’d think that won’t be for at least a good couple of years or so really. But he is slowly and surely getting there as the days, weeks, months and years just absolutely fly by. Let’s hope he’ll be just as successful as he was when mentioned in the blog that he had taken down and killed a impala and successfully hoisted it into a tree quickly.
I wonder which lions or leopards will be next mentioned in a good update there.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 10.10.26
Hi Nic… the opening picture is supreme! I’ve always thought that the Plaque Rock Female was the most beautiful female leopard (or one if the best) I’ve ever seen. Her personality crowned her fashion .the Shingi male being also the Nkoveni ‘ son is a guy of thousand resources… he will likely become a wonderful large male. The Plaque Rock female in leadwood tree (a very elegant tree!) Is a million-to-one image…
Thank you Francesca. The Plaque Rock female and the Shingi male are both fantastically beautiful leopards.
Perfect combination between the starkness of the Ironwood and the color of the leopard … great pics!
Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed them.
Magnificent Pictures! Congratulations,
Thank you Jacqueline.
Patience and timing are essential whilst driving around the bush. Congratulations on realizing your dream sighting of a leopard in a Leadwood tree, and even more special is that it was Shingi !
Thank you Denise, it was an absolute dream.
Absolutely wonderful photos! A great viewing.
One favor to ask, could someone PLEASE update The Leopards of Londolozi data so that leopards who have passed over the last couple of years are shown accurately? That would be great for all of us who are tracking them. Thanks!
Great photos Nic, of the Shingi Male in this Leadwood tree.
The leopards are really lucky that they are able to climb high up into trees and keep their hard earned meals safe there.
Even nicer for us humans, that we can take such wonderful photos of them when they are up there
Exactly Christa, we are so lucky to be able to view these wonderful animals perched high up in the canopies of the trees.
Hi Nic, beautifully written and your images are stunning. Shingi male is a stunning leopard and he positioned himself perfectly so that you could get these amazing images. Loved the first photo of the Plague rock female as she was a favorite of mine before she was killed. Always lying on her rock made the perfect photo.
Thank you Valmai.
The vibrant colors of the Shingi male’s Sunsetbend-drenched coat, the lack thereof in the leadwood tree; a stunning contrast.
Thank you Paul, I totally agree.