I often get asked what has been my favourite sighting of all time and it gets me thinking. It is a tough question because of just how varied sightings can be and the emotions that get stirred up differ greatly, from watching new born leopard cubs for the first time to the thrill of watching a hunt.
For me, I definitely cannot pin down one specific sighting and say that’s the one that is better than all the others. I would have to say that being very lucky to have the luxury of time out here, my favourite “sighting” would have to be watching the Ndzanzeni young male leopard grow from a little cub into a big male. Even though he still has some growing to do I was struck with an incredible sense of nostalgia when I saw him a few days back in the presence of the Mashaba female.
At one point the Ndzanzeni female was keeping both her new cubs in some rocky boulders not too far away from the Tugwaan river bed. If you look closely and compare the spot pattern just above the whiskers of this cub you will see that he is indeed the Nzandzeni young male at just a few weeks old.
Any sign of shyness towards the vehicles quickly disappeared within a few weeks as we began to see more of him once the Nzandzeni female started allowing him to venture further afield from the den site.
I first laid eyes on this leopard when he was only a few weeks old. Born to the Ndzanzeni female and with one other sibling, the three of them were always a favourite sighting when they were found in the south-eastern parts of the reserve. As he got older we became used to seeing this maturing male slowly gaining more and more independence and were completely gobsmacked when the most astonishing picture of him catching an Nyala was caught on a camera trap survey.
This female is a success story all in herself, being born as a single cub to the Riverbank 3:3 female in early 2012.
In humans the teenage years are often described as the awkward phase in one’s life as you begin growing into your adult look. This would have to be the Nzandzeni in his awkward phase. Although bigger than a cub, he certainly still looks quite young.
The Ndzanzeni young male eyes out the lone bull hippo wallowing in the mud of Shingalna Dam. You can just make out the heads of all the catfish that were sharing the wallow with the hippo. Having very versatile diets we assumed that this young male leopard was weighing up his chances of catching a catfish but with the presence of the hippo it wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped.
There was one waterhole in particular called Mad Elephant Pan which became a firm favourite of the Ndzanzeni young male. He was found there on a regular basis trying to get to grips with his new found independence.
During a camera trap survey run by Panthera on the reserve this incredible photo was caught on one of the remote camera traps. If there was any doubt about whether the Ndzanzeni young male was able to take down larger prey or not, this picture laid that to rest.
I had always thought of him as a harmless juvenile male leopard with memories of him as a tiny cub rooted in my mind. This all changed the day as he was witnessed killing the cubs of the Mashaba female in the Maxabene river. He was now behaving like a normal adult male leopard and was definitely growing up. Ironically, a few days back it was his behaviour with the Mashaba female again which further highlighted his transition into adulthood. They were mating.
As I watched this fascinating aspect of leopard behaviour, the mating ritual, I could not help picturing this tiny vulnerable cub poking his head out from behind some rocky boulders along the the Tugwaan river bed only a couple of years ago. It was almost impossible to believe that that same little cub was now mating with the Mashaba female in front of me. The sighting itself was an incredible one, but having followed the growth of the Ndzanzeni young male and seeing just what he had been through to get to that point was the true highlight.
Lovely memories James. They grow up so quick. It is amazing to think at one year old they are teenagers and at, is it two or three they are mature.
My all-time favorite image is of the Ndzanzeni female drinking from a pool as she was basked in early morning sunlight. Guests never fail to comment on it. (It was also my only sighting of the young male cub.)
Hi James. Yes. It is quite an amazing thing to watch the development of the tiny helpless little leopard into a powerful and lovely adult leopard. Like watching ones’ own children grow up from helpless babies to men and women – and remembering the various stages of their development. Makes life very interesting indeed! Best regards. Wendy M
Ahhh – that photo of Mom kicking his head. The EXPRESSION in his eyes. ‘Does Mom HAVE to wash my face in front of the camera!’
My favorite young male, although he was the only one I saw up close and personal during my Londolozi stay. On this same afternoon. I took this same photo of him in the stare down of the hippo. He’s a stunning male and as he seems to have come into adulthood with both guns blazing, it will be interesting to see how he will insert himself into the dynamics of the various territories. He’s up against his father, the Inyathini male as well as the Flat Rock and Anderson males. I’ve also read that there are a few more contenders for claiming space….. could be quite crowded, so who knows what the future holds.
Would be ironic if the Mashaba female ends up pregnant by Ndzanzeni male, inasmuch as he killed her cubs. Looking forward to more news of this dude!!
Spectacular shot of the leopard taking down the nayala.
Agreed Doug! One-in-a-million!
A really nice blog James. He is a beautiful cat and great to see that he made it from cub to adult. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hello James, I love your story about this young male leopard, especially as I was able to watch his mating partner, the Mashaba female, together with you only ten days or so ago when she was mating with two other leopards. She seems to be a very busy lady. The photos of this leopard as a young cub are sooo cute!
Hi Christa, watching him with the Mashaba female really got me reminiscing about him his early years. It was great that we got to see him with her. I hope you are well.
I love this blog, James! I’ve been following him from afar since I saw him as a young cub – he and his sister were playing with his mother’s tail after suckling. The next time I saw him was 2 years later, and he was scent marking and following Mashaba. Hopefully I’ll see him again when I come back in September.
For those of us that come and go from the African bush and only catch glimpses of the perpetual circle of life, we envy your ability to see the entire circle and chronicle it in photographs. It is much appreciated by those of us that only see it in spurts!!!
The leopard made famous by a nyala kill at the right place and time!!
Hi James ,
was it the little one we managed to find together with cath?
Hi Dina, it most certainly was! I remember that day clearly when we found them. He must have been a little over 6 weeks old at that stage.
So glad you were able to see this circle of life and collect those special memories! I simply love the image of the take down on the bush camera….grow up and coming into manhood for sure!
James, Great story! Love your perspective on the joy of being able to experience these amazing creatures growing up!