Shakira and Ombeli April 2012

Shakira and Ombeli seem to have lots of energy at the moment as they run alongside the cars and chase the volunteers as they do daily enclosure patrol. Ombeli and Shakira are so social, whenever you go to their camp, whether by car or on foot, they seem to know you're there often without even calling them. They quickly pitch up to the fence and even when they realise it's not feeding time and you don't have food for them, they still keep you company and stay there. Watch this short video clip of Shakira relaxing one day.


Ombeli and Shakira have really been enjoying the cool weather that this rainy season has brought. The pair enjoy frolicking through the wet grass and have turned their enclosure into a playground. 

All this rain means the grass in their camp has now turned a beautiful green colour and become very overgrown once again so it was time for some more de-bushing! We laid out some tasty and enticing meat in two transport cages to lure the leopards into them. Once safely tucked inside the cages, our Wildlife coordinators and volunteers entered the camp. We cleared the camp of any bones as well as pulling grass from close to the fence line as overgrown foliage can interfere with the electricity. We found some rather interesting things...

One of Namibia's more unusual plants

Flo just loves his job!

De-bushed and clear!

Happy Leopards

Ombeli has really perfected his jumping skills. Almost every day he leaps through the air to catch his incoming meal. He can get so high that we’re starting to wonder if one day he’ll just hop right out of the camp!

We think Shakira and her neighbour Duma have a secret admirer! Judging by the tracks outside of their camp, there has been a male leopard stalking about. We haven’t been able to find him yet, but he sure seems determined to make a new friend.