We had a bad start to the New Year and it was with great sadness that we learned that one of the most legendary Leopard females in the area got killed by another female leopard in a territorial fight the 1st of January.
Ixongile was probably the leopard seen most in the area, and countless visitors to our reserve will remember this beautiful cat with the very relaxed demeanor.
She was believed to be around 14 – 16 years old and this was also more or less the duration she successfully managed to defend her territory which included vast areas of Kapama and the neighboring Thornybush reserve. She fought countless battles, had many offspring and most of all provided thousands of guests to our area with excellent sightings because of her relaxed nature.
Unfortunately, her time came to an end after a fight with a much younger, much more agile “Twinspot” believed to be her own grand daughter. This is not an uncommon thing for a female to be “ousted” or even killed by her offspring or other related females. It happens all the time in the wild and there is not much we can do about it except maybe hide a tear because it was our beloved Ixongile.
She had one last fight and lost… Ixongile R.I.P you will be sorely missed but your legend will live forever!
