As guides, being in an area or knowing an area for many years has massive positives. Not only does it mean you know where to find certain species and individuals, but it also means you get to know the animals themselves. If you are in an area long enough, you may get to watch an animal’s entire lifecycle, especially when it comes to big cats.
This has been the case with one of our female leopards that was first seen as a six-week-old cub and was now recently seen with her own small cubs. This is the story of the female leopard Saseka (beauty) or Thlangelani (celebration).
Family
Found in the Western Sector of the Sabi Sands, her mother was a magnificent female leopard named Hlangisa (playful, as she was as a cub), and her father was the then dominant male named Homelite (chainsaw, named after his short rasping calls). Hlangisa herself had been born in the area, but we are not sure as to where Homelite came from. He was a very secretive cat, and we would usually only catch glimpses of him. Occasionally, though, he would spoil us with a great sighting.
Hlangisa, on the other hand, was a very relaxed leopard. She was a favourite cat for many guides and photographers, as she always managed to show up when needed. After Hlangisa left her own mother, she spent a lot of time around Ulusaba and Leopard Hills before pushing north of the Sand River. This is where she set up a very large territory that she defended well and raised a good few litters of cubs. Her first successful litter, made up of two sisters, Basile and Khokovela, are still to be found in the area and are now successful mothers themselves.
Born and raised
Saseka herself was born in April 2018 and was part of a litter of two. They were found at a very young age, but with good care and guide cooperation, the two youngsters were quickly habituated to vehicles. When mom started taking them to kills at around ten weeks of age, they were already happy with our presence. Both cubs were incredibly confident, always a good sign of a cat that will do well.
Unfortunately, this confidence cost the young male dearly. One evening, while with the now 8-month-old cubs, they led us to a pride of lions. We immediately left the youngsters, as we did not want to attract their attention to them. This curiosity, combined with confidence, was not good. The next morning, we headed straight back into the area to see what had happened. By the tracks, we could see that the young leopards had followed the lion pride for some way. One of the cubs must have made a mistake, though, and alerted the lions to their presence. This was a mistake, and we found the remains of the young male where the lions had killed him.
There was no sign of the young female, though, and we weren’t sure if she had been killed and eaten or if she had managed to evade the pride. Hlangisa was found that afternoon calling for her youngsters, but to no avail. You could see the disappointment in her face.
A week or so later, though, one of the trackers found tracks for what looked like a young leopard. This gave us hope, and after some time, we managed to find her and reunite with her mother. She had obviously been given such a fright by the lions that she stayed in hiding before venturing out to rejoin her mother.
The rest of her time with Hlangisa was non-eventful. It was easier for mom to raise a single cub, meaning more food for the both of them. They were quite close, and they spent a fair amount of time together. We watched as the young female grew nicely, and as she got bigger and older, she spent less and less time with her mother.
Thlangelani
When the young female reached a year old, the guides of the West decided to name her Thlangelani. Thlangelani means “celebration.”. She was given this name after what had happened to her brother and how she had managed to survive. Thlangelani stayed with her mother until she was about 18 months old, before she became independent. She spent the next few months moving freely around in mom’s territory.
Time for change
Usually, after leaving mom, a young female leopard will be allowed to take over a small portion of their mother’s territory. From here, they slowly increase in size as they mature and have their own cubs. Thlangelani didn’t even get the chance, unfortunately.
Just before Thlangelani turned two, something drastic happened, changing the usual path of a young female leopard. Her father, Homelite, was beaten and chased out by a new and upcoming male, Ravenscourt. This new force took no prisoners, and he chased all other leopards that were not mature females. Although the new young female would have been a great partner in time to come, she was still a good year away from breeding age, so she was chased away as well.
This meant that Thlangelani had to act more like a young male leopard than a female. She had to start a nomadic existence that very few young females undertake.
A nomadic existence
Over the next few months, the West would see their beloved young female sporadically, popping up in areas she had never seen before. As she was far out of her mother’s territory, though, she was constantly being chased by already-set territorial females. One such female was Basile (her older sister), who gave her a good hiding before chasing her off.
Eventually, the young cat had to move, and she pushed further east into the Sabi Sands. There were reports of her on Singita and Londolozi as people followed her progress. Here too, though, she was pushed out by mature females.
Saseka
At one point, the young leopardess looked like she was finally settling in the Northern Sabi Sands. The guides here weren’t sure who she was or where she came from, so they gave her a new name, Saseka. Saseka means “beauty,” and the name fits the young lady. It was only later on that they realized she had already been named Thlangelani.
Her fairytale in the North ended abruptly, though, and she was chased again after a good six months in the area. Guys were unsure of where she went, and it was feared that she had left completely or, worse, been killed.
A place to call home
After a few months of not seeing Saseka, we received pictures of a young female leopard that had set up a new territory in the Manyaleti Game Reserve. This reserve was just to the north of Sabi Sands, and we were all ecstatic to see that it was hers. From the news we had received, she had set up a large territory, following in her mother’s footsteps.
Over the next few years, we followed reports that she had settled in completely and was still the relaxed girl we all knew. She has provided great sightings now for Tintswalo Safari Lodge and their many guests. The name Saseka had stuck, and that is what she was referred to from then on.
Reunited
After not seeing this female personally for almost 4 years, it was really special to be reunited with her last month. After viewing her one evening, some research was done, and suspicions were confirmed that it was a well-known and loved animal.
What made this even more special was finding her again the following morning with her own small, 6-week-old cubs. We found them from a distance and watched as she suckled the cubs before enticing them to play with her tail. They paid little attention to us as we sat and watched quietly. After a good 45 minutes, the exhausted youngsters were led to their hiding place by mom, where she hid them and left the area. This was our time to do the same, but what a special moment!
Here is a video clip of the awesome sighting.
Conclusion
It is incredibly special to witness a cat from a cub to a mother. One of the joys of being a guide for so many years. People ask how we can do it for so long, but we ask, how could you not? Special times and moments like these just remind us of how special our jobs are and why we love what we do.
What an incredible feet it was for a young leopard to achieve. Managing to feed herself and be on the constant run, avoiding other leopards as best she could to survive. For now, both mother and two cubs are still doing well, and hopefully there will be further updates on them all in the future.
