You’ve heard the big cat stories about White Dam, Nottens female and Maxabeni. By now you know these are the dominant leopards of the Umkumbe traverse. The heavy-set, strong male leopard Maxabeni is seen strolling on our traverse quite often. Nottens and White Dam are the regular females who frequent the area. We speculate that Maxabeni fathered cubs with White Dam at one stage.
We’ve decided to put a different spin on things and interview two rangers who come face-to-face with these leopards on a regular basis.
Lezel Labuschagne and Marius Zeilinga are game rangers who take guests on daily game drives. They watch the leopard activity carefully and monitor what is happening with the leopards of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. They have their own opinions about each of the leopards that regularly visit Umkumbe and have shared their thoughts with us.
Both rangers are also enthusiastic photographers and have managed to capture their magical leopard moments on camera.
Without further ado, here is the interview:
Do the leopards Maxabeni, White Dam and Nottens female have distinct personalities?
Lezel: Yes they do. Max has a “I don’t care if you are in my way” attitude. He often just walks around the vehicle and if he wants to brush the vehicle, he will. He’s a very proud leopard who looks after his territory.
White Dam is always found deep in the bush. Over time she has become more relaxed with the vehicles. I have never seen her in a fight, but she boasts some serious scars. She had a deep scar and open wound on her right side for quite sometime.
Nottens is the oldest leopard. She has a torn ear but doesn’t have as many scars as White Dam. We believe Nottens is roughly 14 years of age. To me she is a very, very relaxed leopard. She is really not agressive.
Marius: Yes, every individual leopard has his/her own distinct personality. Through my experience I have noticed that each of them move differently, which is fascinating. Maxabeni likes to walk a few steps and then sniff around. He then repeats this process. White Dam prefers to remain hidden in the thicket of the bush. She will move from one bushy area to another and we seldom see her walking on the road. When Nottens has made up her mind of where she wants to be, nothing will stand in her way. She will climb over obstacles to get to her destination. I have noticed that she loves strolling through open areas.
What has been the most memorable leopard moment you have experienced while working at Umkumbe?
Lezel: Most memorable moment was when I found two leopards mating. We followed them for about an hour until both crouched down and EACH took down an impala. A huge clan of hyenas came out of nowhere and the male leopard escaped up a Marula tree with his kill. The female leopard didn’t manage to kill her impala. As the hyenas ran towards her she abandoned the impala and jumped in the tree with the male. The desperate and bloodied impala stood up and came straight towards my vehicle. The hyenas then pounced and killed the impala – against my vehicle!
I had my camera in my hands but I was stunned and amazed – at that moment my hands didn’t work. They ripped the impala apart leaving nothing behind. The male leopard then dropped his kill out of the tree and the female jumped out of the tree to retrieve it, but the hyenas took it ! The next day we drove past the spot where the action happened and there was nothing but a blood stain on the grass. If you weren’t there to witness what happened that night you would never have known what happens under the cover of darkness.
Marius: I would have to say that when Nottens and her cub (when he was still alive) made a reedbuck kill. They took the antelope up the tree and four hyenas were waiting at the bottom. At one point Nottens was sleeping on the ground whilst the little one was still in the tree. The hyenas came and chased her up into the tree again.
What do you predict for the future of the leopards of Umkumbe Safari Lodge?
Lezel: I don’t think Nottens will have another cub. She is really getting old and has become more secretive since she lost her cub to the hyenas. White Dam is pushing into her territory more and more. Max is trying to expand his territory but if he is not careful, he will run into a stronger male and there will be a leopard showdown.
Marius: At this point of time Maxabeni will be the father of many more cubs to come and I think we will be seeing a lot more of Mahlatini.
Who is your favourite leopard ?
Lezel: Nottens is my favourite female leopard because of her relaxed attitude. Max is my favourite male because he has a rebellious attitude !
Marius: Nottens, because nothing seems to bother her and she is super chilled with vehicles. She ignores game vehicles.
Thanks to Marius and Lezel for sharing their thoughts about the leopards of the Umkumbe traverse.
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