The Ximungwe female had stashed a kill under a thick Combretum bush that was growing at the base of a marula tree. The grass was long and we could hardly see her two cubs that were also present at the sighting.
Less than 50 metres away, the Mashaba female – the Ximungwe female’s mother – was lying in the branches of another marula tree, well fed and sleeping.
It has been well documented in the Sabi Sand Reserve that female leopards will regularly establish territory alongside their mother’s territory, or even appropriate some of it for their own. Adult females will in fact cede off territory to their daughters, so eventually you end up with pockets of related females – mothers, nieces, cousins, etc. – with the theory being that a high level of genetic relatedness helps reduce infanticide, thereby furthering genetic lineages, which is the whole point of being a reproductive organism. Although this approach in leopards will only really work above a certain degree of relatedness (third cousins twice removed won’t recognize the fact; it will generally only be between immediate relatives eg. mothers and daughters or siblings from the same litter that there will be tolerance), it is still effective enough to work, and we have seen a number of mother/daughter interactions over the years in which cubs of one or the other are tolerated by the encroaching female.
The Mashaba female plays with her daughter; then the Mashaba Young female and now the Ximungwe female.
The Ximungwe female and cubs started feeding on the kill one by one (they will almost never feed on a carcass at the same time). One of the cubs started moving into a more open spot and the quality of our view skyrocketed.
The Mashaba female rises from her sleep to look towards where the Ximungwe female was with her kill.
Suddenly the adult gripped the kill in her jaws and started walking with it. We quickly looked around to guess which tree she was likely to hoist in. A marula tree about 5o metres away seemed the obvious choice; the closest marula in the direction she was walking had a long vertical trunk which would have been difficult to get up and hard for the cubs to climb. Having made up our minds and hoping the leopard had reached the same conclusion, we drove ahead to position ourselves near the chosen tree.
The Ximungwe female snarls back towards where the Mashaba female was.
The Ximungwe female paused at the the first tree and looked up; a good sign she would hoist there. Our hearts fell.
She then decided against that tree, thankfully, and continued towards where we had parked.
The angle of the trunk was far easier for a climb with a kill, and up she went:
The way the kill was initially positioned in the tree was rather precarious, and we suspected it may fall before too long. Sure enough, after about 10 minutes, down it came, slipping just too fast for the female, who made a quick snatch at it.
The light was fading, and the leopard was almost certainly aware of the chance of losing the kill to hyenas if it stayed on the ground, so she scurried down the tree and immediately re-hoisted it:
The cubs went up the tree to join their mother on the kill.
Unfortunately my camera battery died just about now.
The Mashaba female meanwhile had come down from her marula, and moved towards the Combretum thicket where the kill had originally been stashed. She began following the scent trail of where it had been dragged, steadily approaching the new tree where the kill was now hoisted. The Ximungwe female saw her mother approachin, and shot down the tree to confront her, snarling and making sure she knew her presence was unwelcome. The Mashaba female responded by scent-marking, while the two Ximungwe cubs shot to the upper branches of the marula they were in.
The Ximungwe female stayed at the base of the tree growling, while her mother moved off into the gloaming.
It was fascinating to see the hostility between the two adult females. They may be mother and daughter, but the overriding instinct in the Ximungwe female was to protect her cubs, even if it meant acting aggressively towards the female who birthed, cared for and raised her…
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
Amazing to see the four leopards together. How old are the cubs Guy? The Mashaba female was the first leopard we viewed at Londolozi and she will always be special to us. We also saw her mother Vomba.
Guy thoroughly enjoyed todays Blog. To hear that the female would challenge her own Mother in an effort to protect her cubs and her kill fascinates me to no end. The law of the jungle is supreme. Thanks for today’s contribution
Hello guy. What a fascinating sequence! Very good pics too. Congratulations on capturing the Gran, the Daughter, and the Grand kids too! I am just wondering which one(s) to keep as Screensavers on my computer! Difficult choice. Thank you. Keep it up! Wendy M
Ah, the dreaded camera battery dying…
We’ve all done that , last time it happened to me there was a huge male lion about five metres and walking towards me…
I cannot repeat what I said
If it’s anything like what I say when it happens to me Ian, I’m pretty sure I can guess..
Fantastic shots and description of a fabulous siting!
Guy I found your post to be very interesting to me on several levels. Firstly, the Mashaba female has long been a favorite (like so many others) and her daughter the Ximungue took over that place when she was a cub. To have all three generations present at once had to be an over the top treat! Your pictures of the second hoist was perfection and the image of the Cubs, safely and finally, with the kill was a wonderful way to end your story. I am happy there was no altercation between the two females and am glad to learn from you that close female generations tolerate one another …. for awhile. My thanks for a great Londolozi treat today!!
Guy, What an incredible sighting! Mashaba is our favorite and it so exciting to see her daughter doing so well!
Incredible example of behaviour!! I wonder if the situation would have bee less tense had the Ximungwe Female not had cubs at the time.
That’s an impressive game drive accompanied by stellar photos and prose. Probably a once in a safari sighting!! Sorry about the dead battery….😟📷📷
Wonderful story Guy. And it’s always amazing how much you are capable of thinking like the animal you are tracking! Congratulations!
Hi Guy! I just read your post (perfect depiction of the scene)! My family and I were there that day riding with Peter and Bennet! It truly was an amazing experience to watch seeing the cubs exit from the termite mound to the feat of dragging the kill up the tree twice to the altercation. Got great close up of cub in tree trying to hold onto the kill before it fell. So glad second cub got to finally eat. Did you stay and watch mother take it up for a third time? Your post of this made us realize how truly epic this experience was. Thank you!