Certain mornings in the bush etch themselves into your memory forever. This was one of those mornings. After an entire evening tracking the Nkoveni Female and her male cub without any success, we decided to call it a night and head back to camp, eager to resume the search at first light. Little did we know this would be one of those mornings we will never forget.
Nothing beats driving out of camp at sunrise and not knowing what each corner may surprise you with today.
As the sun crept over the horizon, painting the landscape in hues of orange and gold, we set off towards the Maxabene Riverbed that lies in the heart of the Nkoveni Female’s territory. The fresh morning air carried the calls of francolins as they perched on stumps and termite mounds to announce their awakening, but our focus was set on finding the elusive leopards that had evaded us the evening before. It didn’t take long for Tracker Rich to give me the command to grind to a halt when the sandy road ahead of us presented fresh tracks of not just one, but both leopards. The Nkoveni Female and her male cub were not too far away.
Leopards tracks cutting through the Maxabene drainage line.
After Rich confidently said that he knew a crossing point in the Maxabene drainage that she often used wasn’t too far away, he jumped off and put his years of experience as a tracker to work. While the guests and I did a loop to have a look around a nearby waterhole, some good news came through the radio. Rich had spotted the young male cub playing in an African Weeping Wattle tree. Six hours of tracking had paid off. We raced towards Rich to find him grinning from ear to ear standing just 50 metres away from the leopard that had eluded us for so long. Although this is a success story in itself, it gets better.
Learning about the behaviours, movements and dynamics of leopards is extremely exciting. Tracking these predators daily is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
Rich jumped back into the vehicle and we got a bit closer. While we were watching the cub jump from branch to branch, the Nkoveni Female appeared out from a thicket nearby. As she approached she suddenly dropped into the long grass and disappeared. Unbeknownst to us, she had spotted a common duiker ahead of her. The duiker took off out of the grass. Two steps, one pounce, and the common duiker was hit head-on by the Nkoveni Female, it had been caught. But what happened next left us in awe.
The Nkoveni Young Male bounding towards his mother after she caught the duiker.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
The young male leopard, hearing the commotion, came bounding towards his mother when she suddenly let go of the kill. Instinctively the young male leopard took it upon himself to jump onto the back of the common duiker and practice a few valuable hunting skills like he was taught. Although this came as a surprise it is actually common practice for a young leopard to learn to hunt in this manner. This was a lesson in survival. A moment for him to hone the skills he will need to thrive one day by himself. His inexperience was evident as he clumsily tried to bring the duiker to the ground. From the video, you can see his movements are a mix of instincts and uncertainty until he finally got it right and managed to get his jaws around the neck of the duiker and bring the commotion to an end. He had done it.
In a recent virtual safari, Sean Zeederberg takes you on a journey where the Nkoveni Female and her cub both go hunting, and he completely outshines his mother. Bringing down a fully-grown impala ewe heavily outweighed his mother’s impala lamb. However, this recent siting showed us that he still has a lot to learn and maybe a bit more luck was involved in his last hunt than we thought. Given that he has only just turned one year of age and still has around a year left to learn a few more skills from his mother before he becomes independent, I’m more than certain he is going to be an amazing hunter. More to come on the teachings of hunting skills soon.
A hyena peers through the long grass at the Nkoveni Female and her cub.
The morning didn’t end there. The bleats of the duiker lured another few predators to the scene. Two hyenas. While the young male cub basked in his glory of finishing off this kill, the Nkoveni Female knew there was a possibility that a hyena might have heard the commotion and she was right. As she spotted the hyenas she picked the freshly killed duiker up in her mouth and darted as fast as she could to the African Weeping Wattle where the whole morning had begun. With the kill hoisted, the hyenas at bay and a memory that would last a lifetime, we began our drive back to camp.
Hi, it may be that the Nkoveni Female left the duiker to her son on purpose, and when he got the impala ewe he chose the bigger prey on instinct and she let him try. With a success he got from his mother… the family members of the Mashaba female are very skilled… and he looks very promising, furthermore he’s very, very handsome! I still regret his sister was caught in a such terrible situation. He must learn not to leave his prey to hyenas that are often hidden somewhere waiting. If they are lucky, they will got some falling scraps, so to let cubs in peace is an advantage in the end… I’m sorry for the poor duiker but leopards really are the most perfect and quickest killers they are the perfect hunters and don’t let their prey suffer. I think we are all fond of this special family, thank you for the update!
Wow, Bryce, such an exciting sighting! I am always a bit sorry for the poor prey who have to suffer while the young predators learn to kill an animal. However, of course it is a necessity for them to learn this skill.
And wow, the Nkoveni female sped up onto the tree in no time when the hyenas appeared. Clever female.
Mother and son are really a great team and two wonderful leopards.
Splendid blog Bryce, thank you for sharing that amazing experience with us. We are very much looking forward to seeing this beautiful young leopard again – he’s really grown up since we last saw him.
That was quite some sighting, Bryce! Although I did feel sorry for the duiker, which Nkoveni would have killed in seconds, I appreciate it’s the only way a predator can learn. I’m very attached to him, as we were lucky enough to have had a lengthy sighting of him in November, soon after his sister had been killed by the lions. He was in a very playful mood that day and it was very special to watch him.
I saw the video and it was awesome watching him jump in there and try to take down the duiker. So glad mom realized hyenas were coming. She grabbed that duiker so fast and was gone. Such a wonderful mother. Now did she have 2 or 3 cubs in this litter?? I know 2 for sure, but can’t remember if she’s the one that had 3 cubs in which one ended up with a broken jaw as a young cub. Thanks for sharing this story
Marvelous story and sighting. Can’t wait to see video Well done to tracker Rich.
Fun story of your morning, Bryce! This young male captivated me on my last visit and his increasing maturity is amazing to see.
Hi Bryce, this is such good news hearing that the young male is learning to kill his prey and Mom Nkoveni, showing the ropes. He is going to be a stunning leopard and soon he will be doing more killing and getting more independent. I know he still has a year to be his mom, but at least he is starting to catch his prey and kill it. He must learn to take it up the tree now.
Great video Bryce. Everyone needs experience and he certainly gained some today.
What a fantastic morning for you and your guests to witness the takedown of the duiker by Nkoveni. It was interesting to watch her male cub take over her initial kill, only to have difficulty in finishing the job. It was definitely a lack of skill to complete the job quickly but he finally did, and thankfully his experienced mother spotted the hyenas and ran for her life to the tree in order to hoist it out of reach – exciting and heartstopping to watch!