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Leopards of Sabi Sands
Leopards of Sabi Sands
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Leopards of Sabi Sands
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Credits to Villiers Steyn & Lance van de Vyver - At Close Quarters.
LEOPARD TRACKS Our trackers found some male leopard tracks close to Jacana Dam and soon we found some female leopard tracks with the male tracks. The tracks were so fresh that we could see saliva on the road where the male had walked. Unbelievably, we found a third set of leopard tracks, another male. Our minds raced with predictions of what must be happening close by. Our trackers headed into the bush and soon let us know that they had found two male leopards fighting- it was Tingana and Gijima.  *This image is copyright of its original author We made our way into the block and caught up with a bloodied Tingana. He was walking with a strut in his step. We did not see Gijima who had disappeared. Tingana moved through the bush and a few open areas which was brilliant for photography. He finally settled down next to a pan and we parked the vehicles perfectly to get some photo opportunities of the big male drinking. Everyone was thoroughly excited and happy with the resulting images.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
 (06-11-2018, 08:11 PM)Tshokwane Wrote: Credits to Villiers Steyn & Lance van de Vyver - At Close Quarters.Great to see the old guy bouncing back
Credits to Lance van de Vyver - At Close Quarters.
The temperature had now dropped and we surmised that the lions may be more active and headed back to them. To our surprise we found a leopard on the track leading to the lions. It was Tingana. He was moving through the bush, and allowed us to spend a wonderful hour with him as he navigated the roads and open areas into Buffelshoek. Photographic opportunities included multiple walk-by shots in the road as well as the big leopard cruising though some open grassy areas. He soon found evidence of another leopard and skulled in the thickets where we decided to leave him to go about his business.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to James Tyrrell - Londolozi.
A rare shot of the ever-elusive Anderson male in the open. After drinking in plain sight, allowing some of the best photographic opportunities of him anyone who was there is likely to get, he simply melted back into the wild date palms along the Manyelethi Riverbed and disappeared once more.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Savanna Private Game Reserve.
Dewane vs Nyeleti. Another huge fight between our two largest male leopards. Very tough filming conditions. Many thanks to our guests Craig and Minny olson for capturing the main event. This is a takeover, leopard style.
Credits to Fin Lawlor - Londolozi.
The Flat Rock male walks straight towards us in perfect afternoon light. Almost daily we are seeing this male leopards expand his territory in all directions.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Hosana Male in golden light. This was my highlight of the week. In my opionion patience is the key to getting decent photographs. Long time guest repeat and friend, Bernard …… and I waited for over an houe for this male leopard to walk out of the thicket he was resting in.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Clint Ralph.
Anderson, His Majesty the King ... of all Leopards. The largest Leopard I have ever laid eyes on. His presence can be felt when in his company, when he looks at you it feels as if coals of fire are boring through you. He is the man!  *This image is copyright of its original author Arguably the largest Leopard I have ever encountered. This male Leopard goes by the name Anderson and is around 10 years old. Probably coming to the end of his reign but still demands incredible respect.  *This image is copyright of its original author Anderson goes on patrol into the night. He would catch a Duiker (small antelope) later that night.  *This image is copyright of its original author Night patrol  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to MalaMala.
Male leopards aren’t often seen with their offspring and when they are it’s often not for long. Fathers will tolerate cubs in their presence but that’s about where the 'affection' ends. Males also tend to be overly aggressive when a kill is present and this can be dangerous for youngsters, especially when up in a tree with 4 hyenas below, but the cub of the Piccadilly female seemed far from concerned in this sighting. For hours the cub and his father, the Senegal Bush male, lay face to face on a branch as the Piccadilly female casually watched from below. The more the male growled at his son, the more the youngster growled back! Then chaos broke out when a lioness came charging in and ascended the tree! The adult leopards made a speedy getaway and the cub climbed as high up the tree as was physically possible. The lioness devoured the carcass and all 3 leopards escaped unharmed.    Anderson has lost an eye while at Londolozi. He was seen with a stolen meal from Thamba. While Thamba was in the same tree Credits to Nick Kleer of Londolozi
Anderson Loses an Eye
By James Tyrrell As is so often the case, it was the alarm calls of impalas that brought us into the area. For one impala alas, the alarm calls were too little, too late, for Tracker Advice Ngwenya spotted the unmistakeable dangling form of an impala leg hanging out of a Marula tree. Draped over the carcass, his massive bulk unmistakeable, was the Anderson male leopard. Above him, right up in the top branches of the tree, was another leopard, at first difficult to identify because of all the branches in the way. The ID of the second male was suddenly unimportant when the Anderson male turned his head towards us, as with horror we realised that his left eye was gone. Not injured, not scraped, not shut, but gone. Eyeball out. I know that sounds pretty gory, but that’s the reality of it. Exactly what happened, we will never know. The Flat Rock male looks like he has recently been in a fight. Tracks of a male and female leopard were found on our western boundary, and the male tracks may well have belonged to the Anderson male, and then there was this sighting of the two leopards in the tree together. The second male was the much younger and much smaller Thamba male, who almost certainly made the kill, only to have the Anderson male rob him of it. Any one of the three scenarios – encounter with the Flat Rock male, mating, or stealing a kill – could have resulted in the Anderson male losing an eye. An errant claw on the end of a vicious swipe could easily have hooked out his eyeball. To be honest I’m just surprised that more leopards don’t lose their eyes in fights. Even mother/cub play-fights, meant as training for the younger leopard(s), could result in serious injury if the leopards aren’t careful. The question is, what happens to the Anderson male now? There have been many cases of leopards blinded in one eye that have survived to old age. The 5:5 maleis probably our most recent example, although he lost sight in his left eye quite late in life. But is losing an eye as serious as it sounds? Well, for a predator, maybe. Predators have binocular vision, specifically so they can judge distance; a crucial ability when chasing down prey and timing a leap or lunge. For a leopard (that is almost exclusively an ambush predator) an inability to tell just how far away something is may well be thought to be a deal-breaker. Close one of your eyes right now and move your index finger towards and then away from your face. Touch a few objects around you. It’s suddenly not as simple. Having said that, a large male leopard like this probably has less to worry about than smaller individuals. After an adjustment period he will most likely be able to hunt almost as effectively as before (although not quite), but, as evidenced from this sighting with the Thamba male, he can rely largely on his bulk to steal from other leopards, of which there are currently a surplus in his territory, with a number of recently independent young individuals in particular that it should be easy to kleptoparisitize off. Strangely, the Anderson male didn’t seem too distressed by his injury. The wound looked like it had been seeping for a good day or two, so the eye may well have been lost before the encounter with the Thamba male, and this stealing of the Thamba male’s kill, with absolutely zero intention of sharing (the Anderson male simply lay on it for the whole morning, not even feeding, which prevented the Thamba male from escaping), may well have been the first step in this enormous male’s adjustment to a new lifestyle, which relies less on hunting, and far more on take-what-he-can-get. Hosana is back from his escapades down in Singita and Londolozi... he’s now home on Djuma and following his father Tingana once again. Photo credits to Safarilive screenshot by moi Other random updates : Hukumuri has mated with Tiyani and Xidulu and if they have cubs he will stay in the West. Thandi and Tlalamba are doing well while the mother is hunting. And Tingana now has a limp ear and sore shoulder after a fight with another cat or possible injury from warthog hunt. 
From:
Londolozi Anderson Male Leopard Loses an Eye As often the case, it was the alarm calls of impalas that brought us into the area. For one impala alas, the alarm calls were too little, too late, for Tracker Advice Ngwenya spotted the unmistakeable dangling form of an impala leg hanging out of a Marula tree. Draped over the carcass, his massive bulk unmistakeable, was the Anderson male leopard. Above him, right up in the top branches of the tree, was another leopard, at first difficult to identify because of all the branches in the way. The ID of the second male was suddenly unimportant when the Anderson male turned his head towards us, as with horror we realised that his left eye was gone. Not injured, not scraped, not shut, but gone. Eyeball out. I know that sounds pretty gory, but that’s the reality of it.  *This image is copyright of its original author We could already see that there was something seriously wrong with the leopard’s left eye as we approached.
 *This image is copyright of its original author A closer look at his left eye socket.Exactly what happened, we will never know. The Flat Rock male looks like he has recently been in a fight. Tracks of a male and female leopard were found on our western boundary, and the male tracks may well have belonged to the Anderson male, and then there was this sighting of the two leopards in the tree together. The second male was the much younger and much smaller Thamba male, who almost certainly made the kill, only to have the Anderson male rob him of it. Any one of the three scenarios – encounter with the Flat Rock male, mating, or stealing a kill – could have resulted in the Anderson male losing an eye. An errant claw on the end of a vicious swipe could easily have hooked out his eyeball.  *This image is copyright of its original author Nick Kleer, Advice Ngwenya and guests take in the scene. The Thamba male can be seen directly above the Anderson male hidden behind some branches.To be honest I’m just surprised that more leopards don’t lose their eyes in fights. Even mother/cub play-fights, meant as training for the younger leopard(s), could result in serious injury if the leopards aren’t careful. The question is, what happens to the Anderson male now? There have been many cases of leopards blinded in one eye that have survived to old age. The 5:5 male is probably our most recent example, although he lost sight in his left eye quite late in life. But is losing an eye as serious as it sounds? Well, for a predator, maybe. 2006 - 2016
Incredibly, the 5:5 young male was adopted by his grandmother, the 3:4 female, and raised by her.Predators have binocular vision, specifically so they can judge distance; a crucial ability when chasing down prey and timing a leap or lunge. For a leopard (that is almost exclusively an ambush predator) an inability to tell just how far away something is may well be thought to be a deal-breaker. Close one of your eyes right now and move your index finger towards and then away from your face. Touch a few objects around you. It’s suddenly not as simple. Having said that, a large male leopard like this probably has less to worry about than smaller individuals. After an adjustment period he will most likely be able to hunt almost as effectively as before (although not quite), but, as evidenced from this sighting with the Thamba male, he can rely largely on his bulk to steal from other leopards, of which there are currently a surplus in his territory, with a number of recently independent young individuals in particular that it should be easy to kleptoparisitize off. Anderson 4:4 Male 2008 - present Unofficially the biggest leopard in the Sabi Sands, the Anderson male is an absolutely enormous individual in north western Londolozi. Strangely, the Anderson male didn’t seem too distressed by his injury. The wound looked like it had been seeping for a good day or two, so the eye may well have been lost before the encounter with the Thamba male, and this stealing of the Thamba male’s kill, with absolutely zero intention of sharing (the Anderson male simply lay on it for the whole morning, not even feeding, which prevented the Thamba male from escaping), may well have been the first step in this enormous male’s adjustment to a new lifestyle, which relies less on hunting, and far more on take-what-he-can-get. |
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