Marius Zeilinga’s Phenomenal Umkumbe Leopard Update

The rangers from Umkumbe Safari Lodge have sent in numerous reports of leopard sightings. The reports are coming in thick and fast, and we’re battling to keep up with them! Umkumbe is located in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which offers visitors premier game viewing opportunities. In conjunction with being a lighthouse for conservation in South Africa, the reserve has a dense population of leopards.

Recently, game drives with Umkumbe rangers have produced a variety of leopard sightings,  delighting both guests and rangers. Sightings have included the shy leopardess White Dam, White Dam’s sub-adult cub, Maxabene the stoic male, the Bicycle Crossing male and Tatowa, the brave young leopardess.

Imagine our surprise when avid rangers Marius, Nicki and Mauritz witnessed two new female leopards on patrol in the Umkumbe traverse. Coupled with the wide-eyed wonderment of two new leopards, there was also another unusual sighting of lesser spotted Inyathini male.

The new leopards are the Hlarulini female and the Ndzanzeni female. Hlarulini comes from the south and Ndzanzeni from the north (born in 2012).  The Inyathini male remains a mysterious enigma. Not much is known about him because he wasn’t born in the Sabi Sand and its speculated he wandered over from the Kruger National Park early to mid 2014.

Hlarulini Female Hlarulini Leopardess Ndzanzeni Leopard Ndzanzeni Sabi Ndzanzeni Leopardess Ndzanzeni Leopardess

Having enjoyed sightings of firm favourite leopards and the protagonists of Umkumbe, it was nice to see fresh faces taking centre stage in our leopard soap opera.

Here’s Marius’ interesting and hilarious sequence of events surrounding the recent leopard sightings (You just can’t make this stuff up!):

“White Dam and her cub were seen on an impala kill. They abandoned the kill while it was still fresh and barely eaten. We have no idea why they did this! The next morning newcomer Hlarulini came across the fresh kill, which she hoisted into a tree. Later that morning the Inyathini male boldly made his way up the tree and took the kill for himself. He actually smacked Hlarulini out of the tree – she fell 4 metres to the ground! Quite a brazen and brave leopard this Inyathini.

Later on that day, the Ndzanzeni female was found on a kill of her own. But she made the fatal mistake of not hoisting the kill up into a tree. Leopards stash their kill in the safety of a tree to avoid the thieving scavengers. Guess what happened? Toothfairy, the rather notorious hyena, stole her kill!”

Toothfairy the hyena White Dam & Cub

We chatted to Marius who provided valuable nsight into why there are  new leopards on the scene. Leopards are territorial, so why do newcomers slowly make their way into another leopard’s turf?

Here are Marius’s thoughts on the subject:

  • Leopards do have territories but over the years, those territories can shift due to a number of reasons.
  • Males have a wide range. They seek out females.
  • Females are often on the move in search of new den sites.
  • As dominant leopards in an area get older, they become more nomadic.
  • The bush is very dry at the moment and antelope are on the move in search of new grazing ground. Follow the food source!
  • When older leopards die, the younger leopards move in to try expand their own territory.

A curious string of events, new leopards and a wealth of sightings. All in a day’s work for the Umkumbe rangers! Thanks to Marius Zeilinga for his incredible knowledge and first-hand information about the leopards of Sabi Sand.