Filled with mixed emotions during this Virtual Safari, we set out on a cold misty morning hoping to find the Mashaba Female and hopefully get a view of her cubs. Since she has shifted her territory further south and had this recent litter of cubs, we hardly ever see her. As a result, the cubs are not well habituated to the vehicles. Ranger Melvin is successful in finding the Mashaba and we do our best to get across there to see her and hope that she leads us back to the cubs.
After following her around for a while as she is determined to find her cub, the two eventually meet up and she leads it to a kill. We hope to use this as an opportunity to help habituate the cubs a little more.
The second part of the Virtual Safari sees us spending some time with the Plains Camp Males and two Nkuhuma lionesses and two young cubs. This is the first time seeing these lionesses and their cubs as they seem to be spending a little more time on Londolozi.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
To view the YouTube link, click here.
Cuteness overload this week! All my thoughts are with the Mashaba female, a super mum, she deserves a success this time with her two precious babies! And the same to the brave Nkuhuma lionesses and their cubs. These have been living stories of courage and determination, as it s with the Tsalala female. They couldn’t fail. Awesome
Thank you so much, Francesca. There was a good dose of cubs this week. I hope that all the mothers do well.
Thank you Sean. It’s quite amazing to see these cubs. Any new cubs in Londolozi?
Hi Michael. It is always amazing to see cubs, but there are no new cubs at the moment.
Wow! Amazing virtual safari this week Sean. I find it so interesting that the females are able to locate their cubs after leaving them like that. Would the den be close so the cub knows to stay nearby?
Thank you so much, Barbara. It is impressive that the mothers are able to find their cubs after leaving them for a period of time. So at this age, the cubs are no longer being left in a den per se, it is rather just an area that has some cover or thick vegetation for the cub to hide in and wait for the mother to return.
Sean, great video of the Mashaba female and her cub. Also, great video of the lions.
Thank you so much, William
Hi Sean, so excited to see my favorite female leopard the Mashaba female. It looks as if her wounds have healed. Pity that there is only one cub left, but rather one cub than no cub at all. Hope and pray that she can keep this cub safe and may it grow up to be an adult leopard. What a surprise to see the Camps male lions and the Nkuhuma lionessess with those two gorgeous cubs. Very glad that the males fathered these cubs, very impressive male lions.
It really was great to see the Mashaba Female and her cub again. She has healed nicely and there was very little evidence of the injuries.
Great sightings. It is so nice to know that at least one cub of the Mashaba female is still alive and thriving. It is really a very tough world in the bush for the leopardesses and cheetahs as well to bring up their cubs with so many enemies around.
The young lions are so cute. Good to see them.
Thanks for the impressive videos!
Thank you so much, Christa. It is such a tough world out here and a real challenge to raise young cubs.
It was wonderful Sean to see the Plains Camp males actually behaving nicely with their offspring, I assume because there wasn’t much left on the kill. They are stunning males who look to be in prime condition, much like the Birmingham duo used to be. It will be interesting to see if they move in to stay….
The Mashaba female is certainly looking fit, despite her age, so her hunting skills must be excellent. Only seeing one skittish cub is worrisome, but the good news is that she is is still a mum, and is looking after her youngster. Do you know how many of the other females still have their cubs, that were born around the same time as Mashaba’s? There was Nkuwa, Xinzele…..
Thanks for the safari footage, which I enjoyed watching whilst enjoying a “bush” coffee this morning!!
There was still a fair amount left but they all had very full bellies. I am sure the Plains Camp Males will shift further into Londolozi as they expand their territory and become more of a force to be reckoned with.
We were so happy to see the Mashaba Female and one of her cubs but yes indeed it is worrisome that there hasn’t been any sign of the other cub.
Thanks for all the info on the lions, Sean. It was indeed exciting to see those 2 cubs for the first time. Interesting to watch the beginnings of a possible pride form, and both males and females look to be in excellent health. Here’s hoping both cubs survive.
Thank you so much, Carolyn. It was great to see these two cubs for the first time, and hope that the mothers manage to raise them successfully and we can see a new pride form.