Since I was young I have been going to the Kruger National Park about 2-3 times a year. I’ve seen lions countless times, but the animal that has eluded me the most was the leopard. I can only recall seeing leopard about four times. This all changed since I started working at Sabi Sabi. Game viewing in general is excellent at Sabi Sabi, but the reserve is probably best known for its leopard sightings. In a three part blog I will run through Sabi Sabi’s resident leopards from my accounts, some which I have really grown fond of.

Mahlathini Male
Mahlathini was one of the first leopards I came across at Sabi Sabi. I remember sitting at our training camp listening to the sounds of leopards snarling and growling, when Andre, our Safari Manager, told us to jump in the vehicle so that we could go looking for them. We eventually came across two leopards, Mahlathini and Nottins female mating. What a way to start! Mating leopards as my first leopards at Sabi Sabi! Mahlathini was the dominant male of our Northern property when I had started guiding, but his reign didn’t last long whilst I was here. He has never been the best leopard when it comes to viewing, because he would always disappear when he sees a vehicle. We would count ourselves lucky whenever we got a chance to view him properly and for guests to get a decent photograph of him. Even though he has been pushed out of his former territory here at Sabi Sabi, now and then we see him on the far Eastern boundary of the Maxabeni male’s territory.

Maxabeni Male
Mahlathini’s dominance at Sabi Sabi was ended by Maxabeni, a male that had come in from the North. Maxabeni has provided guests and guides with many great sightings since he has come onto the scene and is still the dominant male leopard in our Northern property. He is definitely not camera shy like Mahlathini and loves the paparazzi, walking down every road like it’s a ‘cat walk’. It seems that he did not read a mammal textbook, and would be found walking casually through massive open areas and walk for hours during the heat of the day. I only recall seeing him up a tree twice. Let’s hope that he stays dominant in our Northern property, not just for the sake of the great sightings that he provides, but also because he has cubs which rely on his protection.

Sandriver Male
When it comes to the most intimidating leopard I have ever set eyes on it would definitely be the Sandriver male. With 1 blind eye and a massive build, he was one leopard that has won many battles during his days. I would have liked to have seen this leopard more often, but we had very erratic movement patterns when I started working at Sabi Sabi, and would move way out of his territory in our Southern property and trespass though many other males’ territories north of Sabi Sabi. We would go a few months not seeing him and all of a sudden we would find him again, without a scratch and in the best condition ever. Although recently he has been seen nursing some serious wounds, which we suspect was caused by the younger, stronger and less experienced male, Mandleve.

Mandleve Male
The Mandleve male could be called the new kid on the block, but he has definitely made his mark in our Southern property, slowly pushing Sandriver away and was even seen mating once with the Lisbon female. He is a big male, and still growing. If he is going to grow up to become like his father, the Mbavala or Vin Diesel male as they call him in the Kruger National Park, he will surely be one of the biggest leopards in the Sabi Sand area. In my experience, the Mandleve male is a bit skittish during the day, but when viewing him at night he is much more comfortable around the vehicles, I hope that over the next few months he becomes accustomed to the vehicles because I think he is here to stay and will call our Southern property his home.