Where Will The Xinkhova Female Establish Territory? – Londolozi Blog

Driving out of camp is always exciting, but a few months ago, it was even more so as we frequently encountered the recently independent Xinkhova Female Leopard. Often found around the airstrip, she could be seen either perched on a termite mound or lounging on the branch of a beautiful marula tree. She was quickly becoming one of the more commonly sighted leopards here at Londolozi, with us presuming that she would eventually set up territory very close to camp.

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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At just over three years of age, the Xinkhova Female is now at the stage where she’s looking to establish her own territory. Typically, female leopards receive a portion of their mother’s territory. However, the Nkoveni Female already raised the Plaque Rock Female to independence and now the two most recent offspring, the Xinkhova Female and her sister the Stone-drift Female, creating a complex situation. If she ceded territory to both daughters, her own territory would shrink significantly. Moreover, the area around the Nkoveni Female’s territory is already densely populated with female leopards, making it challenging for a young and inexperienced leopard like Xinkhova to establish herself.

The Xinkhova female resting in a Marula tree near the airstrip

Given these pressures, the Xinkhova Female may have been pushed to seek a territory beyond what her mother ceded to her. This could explain her movement towards the airstrip as she attempted to establish territory there. However, she faced further pressure from the Plaque Rock Female and Nhlanguleni Female, limiting sightings of her near the camp. We even went some time without seeing her at all, leading some to believe she may have ventured far beyond Londolozi’s reach to find a suitable territory.

A once-in-a-lifetime shot of the Xinkhova Female in a dead deadwood.

Fortunately, recent sightings have placed her further south on our property, close to the river. This area aligns with where the Three Rivers Female has settled, suggesting it may not be a long-term option for the Xinkhova Female. For a young leopard to take over another female’s territory is a daunting challenge. On several occasions, rangers have observed these two interact, as seen in the video below.

Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.

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Just the other day, my tracker Life Sibuyi and I witnessed such an encounter. Although they didn’t come into physical contact, the Xinkhova Female was chased away and retreated to the tops of a nearby tree. There was plenty of snarling between the two leopards, with the younger Xinkhova Female exhibiting fairly submissive behaviour.

The Xinkhova Female is nearing the age of being ready to start mating and thus needs a place to set up territory and only time will tell as to where this will be. I will keep you posted as to where she moves next but I do think that she will not hang around this area for much longer