Leopard Cubs: Kikilezi's Boy at 3 Months

Shot at Mala Mala Game Reserve, South Africa in June 2012 with the Canon 1D Mark IV and 500mm f/4

This was my favorite leopard mom, the Kikilezi female. On this visit, Kiki was nurturing a new spunky 3 month old cub. He was clearly a handful and loved being pampered.

Note: leopards meander between camps and over at Londolozi Lodge next door, Kiki was known as the Xidulu female. She was the daughter of the famous Ngoboswan female and sister to the Tamboti and Campbell Koppies females. Kiki reigned as the matriarch at Mala Mala ever since her mom passed away in 2010. She successfully raised many cubs to adulthood; including, my favorite that I nicknamed Keisha aka the Emsagweni female. Sadly, Kiki passed away in May 2017 at age 16. But her legend will live on through her daughters - the Emsagweni female and the Three Rivers female (from Kiki's last litter in April 2016).