The Xivati female is the sister and litter-mate of the Xivindzi female. Once she gained independence from her mother in 2018, she moved her territory closer to the Kruger National Park, and in so doing became an enigma. She was a leopard which we only found during exploratory missions into the far reaches of the reserve, and this bestowed on her a certain amount of mystery.
Xivati
Xivati
This was a very memorable photograph: we found her resting in the branches of a Matumi tree - looking radiant in the afternoon light. It wasn't until spending a good 20 minutes with her that we realised she had a kill in the tree with her.
She had hoisted the remains of a Cane Rat into the Matumi. Cane Rats are secretive rodents which are very tricky to find in the wild; this was the only time that I ever saw one during my guiding career.
This was a very memorable photograph: we found her resting in the branches of a Matumi tree - looking radiant in the afternoon light. It wasn't until spending a good 20 minutes with her that we realised she had a kill in the tree with her.
She had hoisted the remains of a Cane Rat into the Matumi. Cane Rats are secretive rodents which are very tricky to find in the wild; this was the only time that I ever saw one during my guiding career.
Leopards have one of the most varied diets of any large carnivore; it ranges from birds to reptiles, and from rodents and other small mammals to large antelope. Because of their diverse dietary preferences, leopards sometimes provide you with your only opportunity to see a certain rare mammal. As it turned out, Xivati feeding on a Cane Rat was not going to be the last time I witnessed a leopard feeding on some enigmatic mammal: I also watched the Ndzilo female feeding on the remains of an Aardvark - which remains the only occasion that I have ever seen an Aardvark!