Imagine having to leave your young children at home alone
for prolonged periods while you head out to search for food; a quest that might
take days to accomplish. Imagine leaving your children exposed and alone in a
rough neighbourhood whose occupants wouldn’t think twice about securing a quick
meal or at least removing competition.
Imagine a home where you have no dead lock, no home security system, no
friends to call on to babysit and no police force to ‘protect and serve.’ Couple all these terrifying factors with
children who are born with a natural independence and rampant curiousity and
you have a recipe for disaster. The life
of a leopard mother is tough. Despite
all these terrifying thoughts that she has to contend with, the need to procure
food outweighs all of the potential risks and each time that she returns to her
cubs, the discovery that one or all of her offspring have perished is very
real.
Animals however are blessed with a narrow mindedness that we
will never be able to fully appreciate.
Their life is simplistic: find food for yourself; find food for your
cubs and protect them from the dangers that lurk in the African bush. We have no idea how strongly animals feel
loss but it is something that every leopardess will have to learn. With mortality rates as high as 80% in some
areas, the chances of raising one cub to maturity is slim, but a leopard’s
biology means that she will never give up until her final breath escapes her
beautiful body.
Xikavi is stunning leopard from the western sector of the
Sabi Sands and she is in the midst of this eternal struggle as we speak. I have been fortunate enough to follow her
progress over the last few months thanks to frequent visits to the area and have
experienced both heartache and loss watching her try to provide for her new
family. Around 4 months ago, Xikavi
introduced us to her 2 beautiful cubs.
Alas, 2 quickly became 1 due to, what we believe, to be a snake
bite. I was privy to witness a heartbreaking
scene about 3 months ago when we followed her to her den site where she found 1
happy cub eager for her return, and 1 lifeless body. Her attempts to revive her lost cub were in
vain and we watched in heart-breaking sympathy as its sibling nuzzled and nudged
its former companion trying to understand its motionless.
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Despite her loss she had no time to wallow in self-pity and
regret. Her last remaining cub needed
her more now than ever before, and for the last 3 months, Xikavi has dutifully
provided for her legacy. The thick
undergrowth, fueled by the summer rains, has given her the ability to
disappear. Her perfect camouflage allows
her to become one with her surroundings and on this occasion, nature’s silent
assassin made no mistake. As we rounded
the corner, we were met with the somewhat gruesome sight of a half-eaten impala
hanging in the fork of a tree. No
leopard was to be seen, but the bush’s opportunists had already arrived. An elegant yet powerful Bataleur eagle
occupied the kill, using its strong beak to tear flesh away from body. Every animal must suffer the same eternal
need to survive and, in the wild, an unattended carcass does not remain
unattended for long.
Soon after we arrived, movement distracted me. Like a mirage, a sleek form was slowly taking
shape as it weaved effortlessly through the dense undergrowth. When it saw that its hard-earned food had
been compromised, it leapt from the shadows, bounding with ease up the tree
like a velveteen simian. The troublesome
Bataleur erupted from the branches in a cloud of feathers as it sought refuge
from the razor sharp teeth and swiping claws.
Xikavi had returned from quenching her thirst and reclaimed her
prize. We watched in awe as she
negotiated the tree limbs with the poise of one quite at home in the treetops
and settled down to watch her feed.
The sighting was not for the faint hearted however. The antithesis of nature is all around us,
and the majestic sight of this beautiful creature feeding high above the ground
was neatly coupled by the demise of the impala.
As she maneuvered the carcass, various internal organs were loosened and
began to emerge from their host’s body, culminating in the sickening thud as
the stomach slowly succumbed to its own gravity and landed on the floor only
meters from us. Despite the obviously
revulsion felt by most, this is life.
The impala would not live, but its sacrifice would go far in
replenishing essential energy for its killer, and more importantly, for her
cub. Although we did not get to see the
other beneficiary, the other vehicles did say that after dark, Xikavi returned
to the kill with her cub in tow and the 2 of them were able to feast in peace.
Despite the odds and the danger, Xikavi continues to do
everything in her power to supply her cub with the nutrition and safety that it
needs to grow. Should she be able to
provide for it for another 18 months, her biological clock will tell her that
the time has come for the cub to move on.
The cub will not understand why the apron strings are being cut so
painfully but it will be the first of many lessons as it embarks on its lonely
life of solitude. Xikavi will receive no
thanks for the duties that she performs but she will have done all that she can
do. Her thoughts now will be focused on
repeating her actions and continuing to expand her genetic reach. The life of any mother is hard but to be a
single mother in the midst of the war zone that is the African bush must be
supremely taxing. Xikavi, I salute you.
