We start this week’s Virtual Safari absolutely baffled as we come around the corner to find the Mashaba Female and her two cubs walking down the road towards the Southern Boundary. An area in which we would not expect to find the Mashaba Female as it falls out of her normal territory and over and above that it is incredibly far from where she was denning her cubs. We begin to wonder what might have gone down to cause her to be moving so far away from the core of her territory. The cubs are at an age where she is taking them to carcasses to feed on meat and with this comes an increased level of danger and risk. One cub is significantly more nervous around vehicles than the other, likely due to them seldom seeing vehicles, but they were both doing well and we hope to see them venturing further back on to Londolozi in the near future.
We then enjoy a brief but fantastic sighting of the two Nkoveni Young Females while their mother must have been away hunting. One certainly more lethargic chooses to rest under a thicket, while the other being a little more full of energy chooses to entertain itself by racing up into a few different marula trees.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
We don't know much about this leopard.
To view the YouTube link, click here.
Great footage! Love the little cub that stayed behind, so cautious unlike the sibling. Thank you for the views!
Thank you so much, Debra. It was interesting to see how the two cubs differ in their behaviour.
Wonderful blog with the leopards this morning, thanks Sean.
Thank you so much, William.
Thanks for the lovely video of those young leopards. The little cubs are so cute. I do hope that they won’t be taken too far away from Londolozi by their mom and that they will make it.
The young sisters are really beautiful. The they are fully independent, will they share more or less the same territory? Or do they have to go and look for something completely new?
Thank you so much, Christa. I do hope so too, but I guess only time will tell. It is difficult to say what will happen when the two Nkoveni Young Females become independent, as the mother will likely cede territory to them, but there will end up being a lot of pressure for territory in that area as we also need to consider the Plaque Rock Female. So what we will probably see is, the mother moving a little further east, one cub remaining behind and becoming territorial here, while the other will move away to establish herself elsewhere.
Lovely Leopard footage. The Mashaba females cubs are so sweet hopefully they will reappear when the time is right for them.
Thank you so much, Kara. I hope they do reappear.
Hurrah! The Mashaba female is alive and kicking and so her two adorable cubs! I see one has no problems with your vehicle already. Age surely help her in choosing what’s best. Among ethologists some argue that solitary animals are forced to use much more mental skills than social ones as they face harder conditions and I’d cautiously agree. I always thought that leopards show mental skills that are unrivalled by other African large predators. She is a living proof. The Nkoveni young girls are always a fun to look at, I have the suspect that Londolozi leopards are gradually replacing leopard populations, as in most countries it seems that because of human hunting leopards and lions are 1:6/7 ratio it depends on the countries. Great heartwarming video!
It is such a relief that the Mashaba Female is alive and well.
sorry – I forgot to specify 1:6/7 ratio with hyenas
I’m so happy that Mashaba female has resurfaced with both cubs at her side, well almost. The one cub is definitely more nervous, although it’s difficult to know if it’s the vehicles or just it’s nature. She’s a very attentive mom and I hope she is successful in raising these two. You mentioned them moving south, which I know is Nottens territory -are you allowed to drive in this area? I know you can’t venture across the eastern border.
The Nkoveni twins have certainly grown and must be about the size of their mom now. I would think they should be hunting more as well, since they’re over a year old. For Nkoveni, that’s a lot of hunting in order to satisfy three large appetites. Terrific virtual safari this week, but then every week is special.
I think we are all happy that the Mashaba Female has made an appearance. Sadly we cannot drive south of where we followed her to.
Hi Sean, that was a phenomenal sighting of the Mashaba female and her 2 cubs. So very happy to see that both are still alive and well. See has not been very successful in the past with her cubs. Sad to see she has crossed over the border, but maybe it will be safer for cubs. Nkoveni’s cubs are big and very beautiful, will be leaving their mother soon I suppose. Mashaba is the mother of Nkoveni if I remember correctly.
Thank you so much, Valmai. I was so thrilled to see the Mashaba Female and her cubs. Hopefully, we will see the cubs again soon.
Yes the Mashaba Female is the Nkoveni Female’s mother.
Must be so nerve wracking waiting and watching when that situation presents itself! Littlest cub waiting for mom at both points so vulnerable!!!
I continue to be amazed that a leopard is able to raise any cubs to maturity when faced with the plethora of dangers in the wild for small cubs. The leopard dynamics in the northern Sabi Sands appear to be in flux now so maybe Mashaba is responding to a domino effect of leopard territorial pressure.
Awesome to see the Mashaba Female! Is this a recent clip? Glad to see her doing so well so far with this litter!
Hi Michael, it is from a few weeks ago, but I believe that one cub is still alive. We have not seen it much but we have seen tracks of it.
Fascinating about the difference in how comfortable the two cubs were with your presence Sean. Also, I do hope we see more of them and wishing them all the best of luck in the bush!!