Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Tshokwane]

Dominant Male Leopard started to do some territorial calling while we were sitting with him last night. Field Guide Andrew Khosa managed to capture it on video. 

Click on it to play.

Credits to Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve. Reply

[Tshokwane]

Credits to Bruce Douglass
The Dayone male, on drive this evening. Minor injury to upper inside left front leg. The ranger told us he's been thumping other males in the area and expanding his territory. Nice yawn as he rose for the evening. Low light, so yawn and stretch is a little grainy.

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[Tshokwane]

The Rangers Report April  from the Elephant plains blog:

The leopard sightings were such a treat this month. We had a wonderful time with all the tiny babies around. 

Kurula and her two cubs are doing really well and she is so relaxed with us being around them. She has moved her den into a nice thick donga with a lot of hiding place for the little ones. One of the little ones are a bit skittish but getting better with the vehicles. The other one is fine with the vehicles. 

Shadow surprised us all as she is much more relaxed than previous years. It is wonderful because both her cubs are much more relaxed than her mother’s two cubs. Although one of Shadows cubs are more shy than the other one they still provide us with a good show when playing around the den. This next few months will be very crucial in the habituation stage of these little cubs. Shadow has moved the cubs to a great area where it is very thick but still great for the cubs. The only problem with the new den is that it is very close to Anderson’s territory. A very good sign is that both mothers are so relaxed with the vehicles at the den. If they had enough of you they will let you know with a quick snarl. 

Salayexe and her daughter is also doing really good. Salayexe has been snarling and hissing at her daughter a lot this month. This looks like Salayexe will be breaking the mother – daughter bond between them. For the young cub this new behaviour of her mother came as a shock to her. Salayexe hissed at her before but never to the extent that it looks like she wants to bite her. Salayexe also expanded her territory further south and that is where the little one spends more of her time. So it looks like it is sorted, the daughter will set up her territory to the south of Salayexe’s territory. 

Tsakani was also seen a lot again this month and she is moving all over her absent mother’s territory. This is going to be such a beautiful female leopard and we can’t wait for her to set up her territory and have young of her own. We have started seeing Nsele’s older daughter also a few times this month. She is also such a great leopard female.

And now the males:

Mvula is spending a lot of his time back in the western part of his old territory. It looks like the leopard dynamics are starting to change again, concerning the male leopards. Now that Mvula has moved more west it is clear that he is under enormous pressure from the other male leopards like Tingana. With him being here it puts tremendous pressure on Kurula and Shadow as they have tiny babies and he is not the father. When he stumbles onto one of the dens he will kill the cubs and there is nothing these ladies can do. 

Tingana is pushing more north and further east expanding his own territory and does not have the faintest idea that Mvula is in his territory. Tingana is really looking great but still getting pressured from Anderson. 

Anderson does not stay very long in one area as he has such a big territory that he needs to check. This male most definitely has the biggest territory of all the males in the area. Anderson spends a lot more time with Salayexe and her almost one-year-old cub. This might be a sign that Salayexe might come into season in the next few months. Reply

[Ngala]

Photo credits: JRD Photography
Quarantine male

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Kunyuma male

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[Tshokwane]

If the ID is correct, then this fight is Xivambalana male vs Quarantine male. Credits to Marlize van Romburgh.
It's a video. Click on it to play.

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[Ngala]

From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve:
"Maxabeni was moving along through a river in the Northern section of the reserve. He showed some interest in a small herd of impala but they spotted him and darted off. Maxabeni then decided it would be a good idea to take a nap."

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From Leopard Hills Game Reserve, credits to Hugo Breed Wildtography:
"This morning we heard a male Impala alarm call not to far from us. We stopped and watched the Impala for a couple of seconds and realised that he was definitely seeing a predator. We drove in the direction he was looking and we found Torchwood busy patrolling his territory."

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"Torchwood trying to get the fur and quills off of the porcupine he killed."

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Photo credits: Hugo Breed Wildtography
"Beautiful Boulders."

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"Ravenscourt having a break while Boulders follows him."

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"Basile"

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"Dayone flehmen grimace"

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"Handsome Torchwood"

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"Dramatic skies" Torchwood male.

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[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: Dawie Jacobs from E.p. Rangers
"Anderson the male leopard"

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"Graceful descent of the big male leopard, Anderson" 

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"Salayexe the female leopard"

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"Salayexe, the female leopard, having a drink"

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Photo and information credits: JRD Photography
"Big male leopard Mvula with the remains of his duiker kill"

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Photo and information credits: Photowildsa
"The West street male leopard marking his territory along the Sand river!"

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"The West street male leopard patrolling his territory!"

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[Ngala]

From Londolozi Game Reserve:
"The Mashaba female glances towards her youngster. This is the first female I ever saw in the wild, back in 2013, and thus remains my favourite to this day."

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"The Mashaba female plays with her one year old youngster. We spent an entire morning with these cats who seemed to thrive in each other’s company."

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"The Mashaba female grooms her youngster. It is likely that within the next 6 months to a year this leopard will be predominantly on her own and independent of her mother."

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"The Nkoveni female rests on the banks of the Sand River. Apparently this female’s name means “in the river” in English, which seems apt based on her movements."

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"The Nkoveni female sits atop a termite mound in plain sight. It still blows me away how relaxed these creatures are and how unperturbed by our presence they seem."

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"The Nhlanguleni female lounges in a cool drainage line."

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"Her full belly evident after the kill, the Nhlanguleni female leads her cubs through the thickets."

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"The first cub crosses a gap in the bushes, and was noticeably more shy than the other one."

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"The slightly more relaxed cub is bigger than the other one, so although it isn’t yet confirmed, we think he is a male while the other is female."

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"A last glimpse before the leopards disappeared."

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[Tshokwane]

From The Week in Pictures #235: By James Souchon.

Chattering monkeys and Impala alarm calls alerted us to the presence of the Anderson male leopard as he patrolled his territory north of the river one morning.

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After a supreme tracking effort by Rich Mthebeni that lasted 3.5 hours, he managed to find the Dudley Riverbank Male. It was the first time I had viewed this leopard as he is not often seen. Wounds on the top of his head and paws showed us that he had been been in a few territorial scraps, possibly with the Anderson Male whose territory borders his.

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So it appears it did happen, after all. Once more, Airstrip got beat up by another beast much bigger than him. I wouldn't be surprised if he shifts his territory a bit more now, but in any case, it shows how big his heart is, no matter his small size. Reply

[Ngala]

Airstrip male isn't easily intimidated and doesn't hold back, even if it's a big leopard like Anderson male. True warrior.

From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve:
Leopard update:
We spent most of the afternoon trying to track the Little Bush female down. Just before sunset we heard her calling which pin-pointed her location to us and steered us in the right direction. We eventually found her and her cub who were on the move.
Maxabeni was patrolling through the reserve this morning and eventually spotted a pair of common duiker across a drainage line, where we were able to watch the stalk, chase and capture all unfold. What an amazing experience for our guests!

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From Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve:
"Dayone male on patrol this morning"

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Xivambalana male, credits to Karin van der Merwe.

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From Idube Game Reserve:
Dewane male

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Torchwood male

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Kashane male

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[Ngala]

From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve:
"We found the Maxabeni male leopard yesterday afternoon and spent some time with him as he awoke and moved through the reserve."

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From Dulini Private Game Reserve:
Dayone male

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Scotia female

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From Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve:
"Xikavi's Cub has grown in size and his mother is showing a little more resistance when he approaches her for the usual display of affection."

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Photo and information credits: Tristan and Grayson Dicks Wildlife Photography
"Salaeyxe's cub watching a group of hyenas that stole her kill. I can't believe how much she has grown in the last few months."

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Photo and information credits: Ale Olivieri - WanderingThru
Anderson
The biggest male, the biggest attitude!

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Photo and information credits: Scott Dyson Safaris
Tingana male

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[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: Walk The Earth Photography by Angèle Rouillard
Torchwood male

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Dam 3 female

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Ravenscourt male

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Close encounter with the Dewane male

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Photo and information credits: Flipside Wildlife Photography
West Street male

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Maxabeni male

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[Tshokwane]

Beautiful pics, Ngala. West Street seems to be such a dense packed male, and Maxabeni, well, he's the son of his father no doubt. Always the casanova. Reply

[Tshokwane]

Very interesting article from the blog of Savanna Private Game Reserve:

In the central parts of our concession, Scotia has been providing equally great sightings! Although she does not have the attraction of the cubs, it seems that she is starting to think about it! She recently met up with Nyelethi and was very flirtatious with him, trying hard to get some attention from him. He seemed less amused and was not sure about her at all, snarling and backing off each time she approached him!

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Eventually she got tired of his disinterest, ran up behind him and lashed at his head with her paw, claws extended! Understandably, he did not take too kindly to this, and she had to take evasive action to avoid being injured by Nyelethi!

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Things did calm down, and the two of them went east off our concession, where they reportedly mated for the next two days or so. Perhaps we may have some new cubs to look forward to in the forthcoming summer! In the picture below, it clearly shows the size difference between the male and female leopard!

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Dewane has been very dominant over the past few months and is walking tremendous distances to cover his entire territory. He makes regular forays down to the south, but is understandably concentrating around the river. This is where the most competition will be and he has had a number of altercations with the rarely-seen male in the north. Recently, he had a roaring match with the northern male across the river, but when they do meet up, it seems that Dewane has been dominating!

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*This image is copyright of its original author

During one of his visits to the river, after extreme patience and a number of attempts at stalking impala, he finally had some success! In between the full moons of April and May, most of the mating happens in impala, and there is intense competition for dominance. During this period, the male impalas fight and rut, chasing each other incessantly and vocalising with distinctive guttural ‘roars’ often mistaken for those of a predator. During one of these ruts, Dewane became alerted to their presence and in a heartbeat slunk into position above the riverbank. It took us only a minute or two to get around to where he had gone, but by the time we got there, he already had a large male by the throat. As soon as it was dead, he dragged it down into the river next to a small pool where he would be able to have food and water for the next couple of days!

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The battle between Ravenscourt and Torchwood continues. It seems that Kashane had decided to vacate the area in the south-east of the concession near Savanna, as we have hardly seen him at all over the past two months. With Dewane concentrating around the river, it has opened up the south slightly and there is a definite increase in the altercations between the two youngsters. As has proved to be the case for almost all of these battles, Ravenscourt seems to dominate and Torchwood always has to flee. It seems likely that Ravenscourt might take over in the south, but as we know in nature, nothing is certain.

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[Tshokwane]

Tingana resting on a termite mound after the sun had gone down. What a beautiful male leopard. Credits to PJD Photography and Guiding.

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