Where is The Xinkhova Female's New Territory? – Londolozi Blog

There is no doubt that leopard viewing in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, and Londolozi in particular, is nothing short of spectacular. The leopard density in this area is among the highest, if not THE highest, in the world. Over the last few weeks, we have been following the movements of a specific young female leopard, the Xinkhova Female, and have been excited at the prospect that her behaviour suggests that she may be looking to set up a territory relatively close to the Londolozi camps. Exciting stuff!

A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.

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Following on from Ranger Matt Rochford’s blog one year ago, where he introduced the Xinkhova Female, here I will highlight the most recent developments, more specifically the possibility of her establishing a new territory. In Matt’s blog, he eludes to the fact that often female offspring will have a portion of their mother’s territory ceded to them. Although this is most often the case, if two female cubs come into independence, there tends to be too much pressure in the area, and at least one of them will have to try and set up a territory elsewhere, a fair distance away from where they were raised. This was the case with the Finfoot Female, whereby her sister, the Nkuwa Female, has established herself in a portion of her mother’s territory, the Nhlanguleni Female.

A blast from the past; the Nkoveni Female and her two newest independent offspring, the Xinkhova and Stonedrift Females.

A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.

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Also young and playful but rather with a spot pattern of 3:2. She is slightly bigger than her sister.

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A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.

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Spotted this leopard?

You’ve seen this leopard

22 sightings by Members

Back to the Xinkhova Female. For the last year or so, this female’s movements have been fairly erratic. She has been staying under the radar for the most part, successfully making kills by herself, and has yet to be seen showing territorial behaviour. That was until three weeks ago, when I watched her actively scent-marking and performing what looked very much like a ‘territorial patrol.’

The Xinkhova Female has grown in confidence and stature significantly over the last six months, now moving around scent-marking and advertising that she has claimed this territory.

Now that she is roughly three years old, it’s about time that she looks to claim an area of land for herself, as her body is most likely telling her that she needs to reproduce. She wouldn’t be able to successfully raise cubs if other female leopards were roaming the area in which she raises cubs, nor would she have a territorial male leopard keeping other males at bay (male leopards that are not the fathers of a specific female’s cubs are the biggest threat to their survival via infanticide).

The area that looks like she wants to claim as her own seems to be near the Londolozi airstrip, as well as the greater area to the east of this. As it stands, this is a melting pot of three other female leopards’ territories, namely the Plaque Rock Female (her half-sister) to her north and east, the Nhlanguleni Female (also from the Sunset Bend Lineage) to her west, and the Ximungwe Female (her ‘aunt’) to her south.

I understand that all of these cardinal points I have used to describe this area can be confusing, to make things simple here is a diagram illustrating what I have described above.

Competition for this prime real estate is rife, and should any of the other females mentioned above sense that a new female is looking to encroach on their existing territories, conflict may arise. Despite this competition, the Xinkhova Female may successfully establish herself in this area. Because this is close to camp and she is an extremely relaxed leopard, this may result in her soon being the most viewed leopard on Londolozi; only time will tell! I’ll be sure to update you on any further developments in the months to come.