Our recent visit to Londolozi marked our 16th trio, and it was nothing short of extraordinary. Among the highlights, one family stood out- The Mashaba Female, her daughters the Nkoveni Female and the Ximungwe Female, and all of their little cubs.
The Mashaba Female has always been my favourite leopard, so seeing her along with both of her daughters in one visit made this so much more special. I’ve written about her and her family before, but this visit was exceptional.
I remember the first time I laid eyes on the Ximungwe Female, just an 11-month-old cub resting in a tree alongside her majestic mother, the Mashaba Female, and a prized impala kill dangling above. Fast forward to March this year, and we arrived at Londolozi with knowledge of the Ximungwe Female’s new cubs.
We drove up and down the Maxabene dry river bed for an hour or so and could not find them but did establish that there were tracks of the Ximungwe Female and her cubs going in and none coming out. They had to be there somewhere! Our fabulous ranger Barry Bath decided to send our just as fabulous tracker Tsepho into the bushes where they had been previously seen with a radio. Soon after we received an excited call from Tsepho that he had found her!
Thankfully she settled in the riversand perfectly for us.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
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Soon after one of the cubs came down
and then walked up to the Ximungwe Female and cuddled together
To crown this sighting the other cub came back and all 3 cuddled and played.
All 3 then went back into the bushes and played on the tree branches.
One of the cubs resting on a branch.
Before settling down the Ximungwe Female left the cubs well hidden in the den area we left them too.
We never thought anything could be better than that!
We had also heard that the Mashaba Female’s other and older daughter, the Nkoveni Female also had cubs.
This is a photo of the Nkoveni Female as a 5-month-old cub which was the first time we saw her in February 2013.
We had now been at Londolozi for a few days and were told that the Nkoveni Female had crossed to Mala Mala and come back with only two cubs. Later that day Nkoveni was seen in the thick bushes with only one cub visible but she had a kill up a tree that had very little eaten!
The next morning we headed out to where the kill in the tree was supposed to be, but when we got there it was very depressing as there was no kill in the tree and no leopards were present and thought that something bad had happened.
We waited around for a few minutes and then the Nkoveni Female came calmly walking down the road towards the tree where the kill had been and started contact calling.
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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The next thing that happened was movement at the top of the tree and we saw a tiny little leopard cub in the tree wet and soaked from the rain the previous night.
The cub very slowly and with difficulty came down the tree!
The Nkoveni Female then started walking with them in the direction of the den site.
They then walked into Maxabene dry river bed and abruptly stopped walking and then silence and magic happened -first cub no 2 appeared and then cub no 3. What an amazing site to see Nkoveni and all 3 cubs together.
There was lots of playing in the dry river bed.
Soon after the Nkoveni Female took the cubs into the bushes adjacent to the river bed and the cubs played and suckled.
The family then walked in the river bed again and then went deeper into the bushes and stopped at a fallen tree and the 3 cubs played on the tree and entertained us for another hour with a magical sighting
All four on the fallen tree.
The mother jumped down and the cubs kept on playing.
It was magical.
And finally disappeared into the thicket.
I doubt will ever experience anything like that again!
A few days later it rained during the night and Barry Bath our ranger had a vision of the Ximungwe Female making a kill as leopards often do in the rain so our plan that morning was to try and find Ximungwe and hope she would lead us to “something”. So we went out to the den area and we were able to find one cub alone.
We could not find Ximungwe but no tracks were coming out so we presumed she was lying somewhere not to be seen so we left for something else.
A little later we heard that the other Ximungwe Cub was up in a tree with a kill and Maxim’s Male was up there too. Being the cub’s perceived father, he was not a threat to the cub and we planned to go there! Just a few minutes later we heard that the kill was displaced to the ground and was then taken by hyenas and Maxim’s Male and the cub could not be seen so we abandoned that plan.
We were then told that the Ximungwe Female was now moving and appeared to be on a mission so we headed there to follow her.
She was moving rather quickly and then stopped in the area where the previously mentioned kill was and started contact calling and it was phenomenal how she knew where to go as it was very thick bushes. Soon after we heard a soft reply with a subsequent gorgeous reunion of the two in the bushes and no photo view. It was presumed that the Ximungwe Female made the kill and brought this cub there and the kill was stolen by Maxim and then by hyenas after it fell.
She then walked back to the original den area taking the cub with her
The next morning we found the Xinkhova Female, a daughter of the Nkoveni Female.
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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On our last evening drive from this trip, we really put the cherry on top and found the queen of Londolozi, the Mashaba Female in the late evening golden light. She was really looking very good for a 16-year-old leopard and what a treat for me to see her again.
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
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The Mashaba Female, her daughters and grandchildren put on quite a show for us !!
We plan to return to Londolozi later in the year and would love to see all these leopards again.
Anthony Goldman
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