Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Tshokwane]

From Sabi Sabi, A WEEK IN THE BUSH VOL. 114:
We also witnessed an incredible saga with some of the leopards this week.  For those of you who may follow us on a daily basis, you may have noticed an increasing frequency of Mahlathini male leopard sightings and as such may have expected some trouble, I know I did.  Well, the day came.  We had sighted the Little Bush female very close to Bush Lodge one afternoon and she had successfully killed and treed a young bushbuck.  She finished off the kill and left by morning.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Then Mahlathini entered the picture once again the following afternoon, sniffing around the area and looking for either the female or the kill.  He eventually found remnants of the latter and while there, was found by the resident male, Maxabeni.  Needless to say, a fight ensued and Maxabeni emerged victorious, but not without some minor scratch marks.  He was furious with the rogue male and eventually chased him up a large Leadwood tree.  He would keep him up there for almost two days before they both disappeared.  It’s an amazing thing to watch two cats vying for domination over the other, especially when they have a history.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

In other leopard news, we have been seeing the Flat Rock male fairly frequently as well within our area and if he doesn’t move on soon, he’ll also be having a problem on his hands from Maxabeni.


The Kigelia female has been quite active as well over the last week, pushing further east as her territorial has shifted alongside her mother’s.  It’s great to have seen this young leopard grow up and to see her doing so well now after such a rough start.  She is looking amazing!

*This image is copyright of its original author

The Little Bush female’s cub is also growing in confidence and we were lucky enough to see her on her own one day as she waited for her mother to return after a hunting mission.  She was relaxed with us, but not so much so with some large male waterbucks that were grazing very close to the termite mound she was resting upon.  This naturally led to her ascending a tree, which we were not complaining about.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply