Baby-boom for predators on Karongwe Game Reserve

Maggie, one of two lionesses (Panthera leo) on Karongwe, gave birth to three cubs (two males and one female) in March. We see the cubs regularly during routine monitoring drives, often with Maggie’s sister Lisa and their father Zero. They are very playful and extremely rewarding to watch. This morning Zero had been left to babysit them whilst Maggie and Lisa were off hunting in another part of the reserve.

Savannah, one of the three female cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) at Karongwe, surprised everyone early in July by producing three cubs. Savannah has given birth on the reserve on two previous occasions and in each case, for reasons unknown, the cubs have been abandoned. She is, therefore, being left well alone and neither research nor game drives are allowed to approach the den site at present. Another of our female cheetahs, Nyelethi, gave birth to three cubs early on in the year, two of which are still alive, and now hunting with their mother! On 13^th July we watched Nyelethi bring a live grey duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) to them for kill training, which they then killed themselves.

Tilo, the collared female leopard (Panthera pardus) on Karongwe, has also recently given birth to cubs, and a few weeks earlier than anticipated. A new den site has recently been located and we take a vehicle into this location on a daily basis to habituate the cubs to our presence. Whilst no-one has seen them yet, the cubs have been heard and we hope that we will soon get a visual.

Baby-boom for predators on Karongwe Game Reserve