Male Leopard Phalanta

Phalanta male was the sixth male leopard to be fitted with a collar for the Leopard research project of Erindi Private Game Reserve. The leopard was named due to his rosette markings that all take the form of a butterfly shape.

Lion Kills Young Leopard

It is an exciting and hugely emotional game drive morning for all those who has ever been a part of Mother Nature’s “wrath”.

The guides and guests were following one of Erindi Game Reserve’s dominant male lions early one March morning when the lion began to act strangely. He appeared to have picked up on something ahead of him – whether it was a smell, sound or something that caught his eye, it is hard to say but the lion’s body language changed and his gentle walking gate exploded into a full speed run.  The game viewers following could not keep up at first but they heard the commotion and then desperate cries of a 6 month old female leopard.

As they caught up, the entire story began to unfold slowly.  A mother leopard had killed an adult impala ram and she was at the kill site with her 6 month old youngster. The cats had already been feeding on the impala carcass for about 2 days when the lion came across the kill.

New Leopard Cub

Honey-thorn Female has become quite a celebrity all around the world as she is the only adult Leopard habituated to vehicles that has managed to survive on Erindi Private Game Reserve since the Global Leopard Project began in 2007.  The research has revealed a higher mortality rate of 33% on adult leopards than on cubs (7% mortality rate) born over the past 4 years – a very unusual discovery.  In 2010, this female leopard nearly became part of the mortality statistics when she was found with a broken thigh bone on her hind leg. This amazing leopard managed to survive the ordeal and her leg miraculously healed over a 3 month period. At the end of her healing time, she gave birth to her first litter of cubs, 2 males.

Erindi’s Global Leopard Project

Erindi has many conservation and research programmes running on a continuous basis.  One of these is the Global leopard Project, aimed at increasing our understanding of this magnificent species.

Because leopards are prized on any serious hunter’s trophy list and because they pose a threat to valuable livestock on farms, they are a primary target for elimination from many areas of Southern Africa.