Finding Tilo's second cub

After two weeks of hoping and praying we would find some evidence that female leopard (Panthera pardus) Tilo’s 2nd cub was still alive, the 26^th of Jan finally gave us all some closure on the sad sighting we had witnessed the week before. According to EM Simon WaiShing, the 26^th of Jan is Chinese New Year- a lucky date, and this proved to be a very lucky day indeed!

We headed north for afternoon research drive, and in David’s typical routine, checked for Tilo, as soon as we entered Edeni Gate. With the ‘Luck ‘O The Irish’ on our side, we immediately picked up a fairly strong signal. Tilo had tactically hidden herself in dense riverine bush, so Dave made the call to off-road into the thickest, sub-tropically humid block imaginable. With the trusty telem on a minus 5, and humidity at plus 100, David was close to turning around and heading back when, with our t-shirts sweat-soaked and our legs stinging with mozzie bites, we spotted Tilo’s little cub peeping out at us, sitting serenely and picturesquely between two branches, atop a termite mound.

I burst into happy and excited tears of relief – the cub was alive and it was also my first uncollared leopard sighting ever in my 25 years in South Africa! We didn’t manage to spot Tilo herself that day but we thank her nonetheless for giving us long enough to view her cub and put our minds at ease. We radioed base, cheery as ever, and continued our drive, which proved to be the best yet for our Group C.

EM Hayley Cocks- South Africa

Finding Tilo's second cub