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Leopard
Leopards of Sabi Sands
Leopards of Sabi Sands
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Leopards of Sabi Sands
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Dewane male, credits to Rob the Ranger.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Kashane male, credits to Umkumbe Safari Lodge.
Ranger Marius Zeilinga said that Kaxane is normally to the far north of our lodge but recently headed south, which meant him spending time in our neck of the woods.  *This image is copyright of its original author Kaxane was born in 2005 east of the Sand River and recently had a huge showdown with firm favourite, Mxabene. According to history, this is not the first fight between these two powerful males. However, things are heating up - Kaxane is now on Umkumbe turf. There will be interesting times ahead!  *This image is copyright of its original author We spotted Kaxane relaxing on a termite mound before he decided to leave the vicinity and head back north. This regal looking leopard has a heavyset body and oozes confidence. Quite a force to be reckoned with!  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve:
"We had a very welcomed sighting of the Torchwood male last night. He was unusually far North of the river."  *This image is copyright of its original author "The Torchwood male treating us with yet another amazing sighting this morning."  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Idube Game Reserve:
Nyeleti male  *This image is copyright of its original author Dewane male  *This image is copyright of its original author
Photo and information credits: Photowildsa
"Lazy Sunday. The west Street male leopard taking a time out!"  *This image is copyright of its original author
From At Close Quarters - Photographic Safaris:
It is with great sadness that the ACQ team has learnt of the tragic death of Xiluva 2005. This image was taken on a recent #BigCatPhotoSafari in August. Both groups of guests that we hosted left with some amazing images of this stunning cat. She was mating with a large male when we saw her in August, and we speculate that she died whilst protecting a litter of cubs or due to the imminent birth of her litter.  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve: Field Guide Favourites – Interesting Leopard Behaviour
By Justin Glanvill, November 21, 2016 The leopards in the Northern Sabi Sands are well known and well followed through various social media streams. A female leopard who we only started viewing in the last couple of years is an older female, referred to as Xiluva 2005 female. She has been relatively active in the north, and was even seen mating with male Leopard, Mvula, a while ago. Image by Andrew Khosa  *This image is copyright of its original author Details are still really sketchy, but we were informed that the leopardess was located yesterday evening, however she was paralysed (her lower body was totally non functionable). We suspect that she had been bitten and her spine snapped. It is known that she was able to fend off two hyenas who had attempted to get close to her during the night. Image by Andrew Khosa  *This image is copyright of its original author Image by Andrew Khosa  *This image is copyright of its original author This morning, the guys went to follow up, and found the resident dominant male leopard in the exact spot where the injured female had been left during the previous safari with no sign of her. The vehicles left the area, and we headed up to investigate. There was no sign of either leopard, but Myke & Ephraim were persistent and after about 20 minutes of tracking, Ephraim called in that he had located the male leopard. This was no ordinary sighting though, as the male leopard was actually feeding off the carcass of the female. We still cannot understand how the female got the 80m or so from where she was left to where she was being fed on. There were no drag marks, which would’ve been left had the male dragged her or if she had moved herself due to the back legs being non functional. Image by Myke Glasson  *This image is copyright of its original author Image by Myke Glasson  *This image is copyright of its original author We are wondering whether she had cubs sired by the male known as Mvula, and attempted to protect them? We will never really know precisely what happened, but this is nature, and there are many things we will never fully understand
From Tusk Photo, 22 Nov. '16:
Elephant Plains Safari: Success Tracking Anderson … News of the Day from Villiers: (All images from back of Villiers’ Camera) We had a slower drive this morning – probably because of the heat. We stopped under Jackalberry trees for coffee where we listened carefully to the bird sounds to identify the many species that we could hear. We found the Spotted Hyenas again in the open plain close to the Lodge. One of the youngsters was very busily gnawing a chunk of buffalo hide. There was little, if any nutritional value as he seemed to just chew and chew – typical of a youngster chewing on some chewing gum. The other youngsters played nearby while one or other of the adults wandered past from time to time, keeping an eye on their offspring. We found Anderson’s tracks again, but we could not find him – even when we visited his favourite haunts. Maybe he was simply in some deep shade to escape the heat. Even Salayexe and Tiyane were nowhere to be seen. Then we spotted the very first newborn Impala Lamb. Many of the Impala are heavily pregnant – and this was the very first little one that we have seen. It was just a few hours old, and very wobbly on its feet, trying hard to work out how to stand or take steps without tumbling over. The lamb and mom were still in a thicket where they will probably wait for a while until they rejoin their herd when more lambs arrive and a nursery is formed. We saw many birds, incuding our first Woodland Kingfisher for the trip and a small raptor – a Shikra. Now for this afternoon. As I suggested repeatedly previously, very high on everyone’s wish list was to see Anderson, the huge male Leopard, and although we have seen his paw prints on almost every drive, he has remained very elusive. We set off this time with renewed determination. We had been anxious about the heat this afternoon, but it was cool with a heavy cloud cover, and we hoped that the leopards would be a little more active. We combed the areas where we had spotted his tracks, but as there was no sign of Anderson we started to feel a little despondent. We did see two Leopard Tortoises, however … was this a sign? The tortoises were being a bit romantic – no, actually the male was, but the female kept running away from him! The tension and expectation levels increased with every passing moment. Then a very fresh drag mark was spotted by a tracker. It was accompanied by blood smears and large Leopard tracks. Maybe – hoping – maybe. And there was Anderson! He had a newly killed Duiker in a thicket and was just settling down to enjoy his meal. The big guy was starting to open up the buck and we captured our images first without and then with our spotlight as the light faded. The bush was dense but we were so thrilled to see him that the twigs and leaves in the way didn’t bother us in the least. We went for a short drive to give another vehicle the opportunity to visit Anderson, but as soon as we could we returned. Anderson had climbed into a tree, but soon after we arrived he came down from his lofty perch to pick up his Duiker and then he dragged it right past where were were sitting. We were able to light him with two spotlights for some stunning images as he transferred his kill to a larger tree to stash it high up and out of the reach of any Hyenas that would possibly arrive on the scene. So there is mega excitement as we celebrate our great success back at the Lodge. Who know, maybe our luck will hold and we will see Salayexe or Tiyane in the morning …  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Tusk Photo, 23 Nov. '16:
Elephant Plains Safari: Anderson Entertainment and Cavorting Hyenas News of the Day from Villiers: (All images from back of Villiers’ Camera) We had an incredible final drive for this safari ... it is difficult to even think of anything better. It all started with a truly wonderful sighting of Spotted Hyenas at Serengeti Pan. Seven Hyenas (quite a number of youngsters) were cavorting around in the water again with plenty of splashing, chasing, playful, nipping and generally having a hilarious time. When they finally tired of that and came out of the water the game continued with wild chases in all directions across a large open plain. We were able to do panning shots and action shots. Then one of the Hyenas came right up to our vehicle to examine Morne, our guide very intently, giving us more photo opps and even some GoPro footage using a GoPro stick. After this great start to the morning we headed to where we last saw Anderson yesterday. We found him a little further to the south but in a very poor spot from a visibility point of view. He was right in some Tambotie Trees where photography was quite impossible. But we were patient enough – until he stirred and first walked along next to a small river course. He emerged to pass through a block of large and small Marula Trees. Luckily we could follow him and photograph his progress. Eventually the huge leopard settled on a termite mound surrounded by bushes but with big gaps on different sides. He lay there cleaning himself, licking his paws, and continually tried to bite at a large number of flies that buzzed around his head. He really looked quite comical as he snapped again and again at the irritating insects … It was a fitting way to end our fabulous safari and everyone leaves with a ton of excellent photographs and memories of a lifetime. The new group arrives at lunch time for their wonderful adventure in this amazing place …  *This image is copyright of its original author
Anderson male, credits to Nkorho Rangers.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
West Street male, credits to Mathew Poole.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Arnoud Quanjer - Elephant Plains.
Anderson male.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Nyeleti male, credits to Idube Game Reserve.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Photo and information credits: Villiers Steyn
"How wonderful to spend the last two drives at Elephant Plains Game Lodge with Anderson - my favourite leopard in the Sabi Sands!"  *This image is copyright of its original author
Dewane male with Basile female. Credits to Idube Game Reserve.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
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