Kids of the nineties were enamoured with the mythical fluffy cartoon creatures called the “Gummi Bears”. Their theme song became synonymous with adventure and exploration. The opening lyrics detail their constant quest for the thrill-seeking life. The theme song begins with “Dashing and daring, courageous and caring, faithful and friendly with stories to share” and these are just a few of the attributes we can also assign to our aloof cat species. I understand it’s quite a leap, but the song certainly represents the qualities of the leopards of the Sabi Sand.
Dashing after their quarry, daring for being opportunistic hunters, courageous for fighting off hyenas from kills, the caring love between leopardess and cub, faithful to their territory, friendly (tolerant) towards new cubs exploring the periphery of a female’s territory and of course, there are plenty of stories to share!
These qualities owned by both the fictional Gummi Bears and one of Africa’s most elusive cat species were exhibited this week during Umkumbe’s leopard sightings, hence the correlation between the two.
The most recent sightings have included our resident stocky males, Bicycle Crossing and Mxabene. Slender leopardesses White Dam, the youthful Tatowa and Kigelia were also present for our game drives.
The Boys : Mxabene, Bicycle Crossing and Inyathini
Mxabene is often spotted on the confines of our traverse and having a history deeply entrenched in the Sabi Sand, he has quite the dominant presence. Not one to shy away from game viewers, we often enjoy close-up encounters with this lightly amber colour cat. In 2008, Mxabene was born as one of two twin males to the Mxabene female – a well known and revered leopardess in the area. She was incredibly relaxed around the presence of game viewers, which Max naturally and quickly became accustomed to the presence of vehicles.
Our dear Max oozes confidence and courage!
Bicycle Crossing occupies a different territory to Max and sightings of this broad male are somewhat more elusive. It’s always rewarding spotting this powerful machine of muscle swaggering through the drainage lines.
Male leopards are highly territorial and “homes” don’t often overlap. Males home range can overlap with that of several females – after all they select their turf based on availability of females and abundance of food sources.
Inyathini was spotted over the past few days and ranger Marius Zeilinga says that he has been spotted in close proximity to the lodge almost on a daily basis. He has been aggressively staking claim on new turf and scent marking excessively. Leopards mark territory by scent marking and emitting a series of low growls.
The Girls: White Dam, Tatowa and Kigelia
Our slender female leopards are slightly different from their male counterparts when it comes to territory and will seek out turf based on availability of prey and potential den sites. The territory they occupy is a lot smaller than the male. When their cubs come of age and are ready to leave their side, they will occupy the peripheries of their mother’s territory.
Females will even tolerate sub-adults coming over to their territory when they begin their solitary lifestyle. Because a female’s territory is smaller, we often see plenty of females on our traverse. This past week we’ve managed to observe Tatowa, Kigelia and White Dam. All in a day’s work really !
White Dam managed to take down an impala in front Marius’s guests but a fast-paced, sneaky hyena stole the kill within a few seconds of the kill being made.
MJ Bradley