The Elusive Nsuku 2:3 Male – Londolozi Blog

Roughly halfway along the Maxabene Riverbed, along its banks lies a large tamboti grove that surrounds a giant weeping boerbean tree. Seeing that tree always reminds me of the Three Rivers Young Male, where we had a special sighting of him and his mother about two years ago. We watched him effortlessly race up and down its massive slanted trunk as a playful youngster.

Somewhat skittish after becoming independent, he is an impressive young male with a rich golden coat.

U

Spotted this leopard?

You’ve seen this leopard

13 sightings by Members

The Three Rivers Young Male, now officially referred to as the Nsuku 2:3 Male, has been completely independent of his mother for quite some time now.

The Nsuku Male hears the distant alarm calls of a herd of impala; an indication to him that there might be another leopard nearby.

Rangers and Trackers decided that “Nsuku” was a fitting local Shangaan word, in reference to his beautiful golden coat. Both his mother and father (Three Rivers Female and the Maxims Male) also have rich golden-coloured coats.

The Nsuku Male’s parents, engaging in another mating bout. This time hoping to conceive what would be a litter of younger siblings. Here in amongst the lush deep greens of summer, you can see the rich golden coats of these two magnificent leopards.

Up until about roughly 18 months ago, he had been one of the most relaxed leopards on the reserve. He was known for being very inquisitive and often coming right up close to vehicles. Sometimes locking his eyes with guests – a deeply touching and unforgettable experience. He’s become rather shy since the marking of his independence, and sightings of him are now quite infrequent.

He has proven to be quite a challenging leopard to find in recent months, very often favouring very dense bushy terrain.

The Nsuku male lies in the fork of a Brown Ivory tree.

However, he is still very much alive and thriving. He is a proficient hunter and is never seen looking like he’s desperate for a meal. Just this past week, soon after leaving camp for our afternoon game drive, Tracker Terrence pulled off another great spot – and saw the Nsuku Male slinking through a guarri thicket, stalking some warthogs that were nearby. He is already larger than most adult males in the area and he’s only two and a half years old, so I have no doubt that he will have no problem becoming a territorial male in the next few years.

For the past couple of weeks, he has been spending quite a bit of time around the Sand River close to our causeway. This area is very much part of the Maxims Male’s territory and therefore the Nsuku Male will not have to worry about encounters with other large males such as the Senegal Bush Male.

A vehicle makes its way across the causeway. Along the river is considered a prime habitat for leopards with there being an abundance of water and prey and the right terrain for them to remain hidden.

To every ranger and tracker’s surprise, in September last year, he was even seen mating with the Nkoveni Female for a brief period. This interaction served as a testament to his size and level of maturation for his age – even just for him to be perceived as a potential mate by a female who is a decade his senior was rather unusual!

One of my favourite photographs from last year. Here you can see the size of the young Nsuku Male over the Nkoveni Female, who is quite a bulky female herself.

It is always such a joy to be able to follow the life story of each one of the leopards of Londolozi, and recognise how different each of them are.

Perhaps with time, his confidence will one day be restored when he is older with more experience.