Duma April 2012

Our stunning Duma has an admirer! We have spotted the tracks of a wild male leopard outside her camp frequently over the last few months. He stalks the fence line, clearly trying to flirt with Duma. If those fences weren't there we just wonder might happen...

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.

Keanu and Timbila April 2012

Keanu and Timbila have been enjoying quite the show recently as the watchtower next to their camp is being rebuilt. We have a security tower positioned directly next to the camp where our Security guards and volunteers sleepout over night to look out for poachers or any other activity. The safety of our animals are our main priority and our leopards are very precious.

Shakira and Ombeli - January 2012

Shakira and Ombeli remain the soft spot in our hearts, nobody will ever forget in what bad physical condition they were when they arrived on N/a'ankusê, but goodness have they improved! They are beautiful creatures reminding us how important it is to conserve their species for the next generation.

Duma - January 2012

One can actually not believe how Duma's character has changed since she has moved to her beautiful big natural enclosure, she has become calm and seems happy, sitting for hours staring at Ombili through  the fence. She is probably a bit jealous of Shakira, her younger and leaner neighbor!

Keanu and Timbila - January 2012

Keanu and Timbila's camp is so green and full of beautiful yellow flowers that even the leopards seem to be getting friendlier and inspired by them! They delight any visitors with their presence straight away and even show off splashing around in their waterhole at times!

These two magnificent leopard still have visitors on the carnivore feeding tour in awe when they see their power, they are however a sad reminder how we humans have played a role in them ending up in captivity for the rest of their lives.

Keanu and Timbila - October update

Keanu

Keanu and Timbila remain the fiercest animals at N/a'an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary. Their ferocious nature continues to awe all who visit them.

Shakira and Ombeli - October Update

Ombeli and Shakira

Our lovable pair of leopards can certainly no longer be called cubs - just take a look at them! They still enjoy a healthy appetite and have a harmless scrap with each other every feeding time, as each leopard vies for the first piece of meat to be thrown over to them.

Duma - October Update

Beautiful Duma has been rather elusive recently as she is on heat again and rarely comes for food when called. This is normal for big female cats when they're on heat - maybe they're looking after their figures!

Keanu and Timbila - July 2011

Our fierce and fiery leopards Keanu and Timbila continue to remind all visiting guests of the true nature of Africa's wildlife - their wild instinct! Their growls and roars are enough to make anyone jump back 10 feet!

Duma - July 2011

Our little leopard Duma has grown considerably over the last couple of months and put on quite a bit of weight! Normally very slight and slender for a leopard, Duma has developed a big belly. 

Shakira and Ombeli are growing up!

 

Shakira and Ombeli continue to amaze us at how they are growing up so quickly. It is hard to compare them with the tiny cubs of last year. Ombeli is even bigger than their neighbour Duma now who is about 3 years older than him!

Leopards in the Grass.....

Duma

Because of all the rain recently the grass in all of the animal camps is growing out of control! Duma’s camp is particularly overgrown and the long grass is beginning to affect the electricity supply to the fence around her camp. Therefore the co-ordinators and the volunteers were sent into Duma's camp this weekend to clear away all the long grass and overgrown bushes and generally tidy up her enclosure.

Duma was put into a capture cage inside her enclosure so that the volunteers could work away safely. It was an extremely hot day so whilst Duma snoozed quietly in her shady capture cage, all the volunteers and co-ordinators worked incredibly hard pulling out grass, clearing paths around the fence, removing tree branches and picking up old bones and hartebeast heads which Duma had been storing away!

After about 8 hours of hard labour from the volunteers and co-ordinators, the camp was deemed ready and Duma was released back out into her newly cleaned enclosure. Clearing away the grass will not only help ensure the electricity supply is always on around Duma’s camp but it will also give Duma much more space to move around in within her camp and give her less cover for hiding in when she is stalking the volunteers on enclosure patrol!

Next weekend it's Ombeli's and Shakira's turn for a camp spring clean!



Duma relaxes in the shade whilst her camp is cleared



Ombeli and Shakira

Ombeli and Shakira have grown up so much over the last few months and are starting to revert back to their wilder nature. As a result they are no longer being taken for walks as it just wouldn’t be safe to take volunteers out with them anymore, after all leopards can never be truly tamed. Ombeli's last walk with volunteers was early February and Shakira's on11th March. 

Much like Duma’s camp, Ombeli’s and Shakira’s camp is in dire need of being cleared as the grass is so overgrown and again is beginning to affect the electricity supply. So now that Duma's camp has been done Ombeli and Shakira will be put into capture cages so that the volunteers can go in and clear their enclosure. Hopefully the clearing process won't take too long although I am sure that as long as Ombeli and Shakira have a tasty bit of meat in the cages with them, and some shade, neither of them will mind the whole process at all. After all Duma and the Lions certainly didn’t seem to mind!



Ombeli




Ombeli




Shakira




Shakira



The latest adventures of Ombeli and Shakira - January 2011

Shakira and Ombeli, who both arrived at the farm as small cubs, have been living up at Marlice's house for most of their first year and have now finally been moved into their new large permanent enclosure! Thank you to everyone for fundraising and donating to help build this camp for them. The 3 hectare camp allows them all the space they need and they're loving exploring their new territory. The move took place in December and was a very exciting day for us all.

The cubs are now 15 months old and becoming extremely energetic and playful teenagers. They love to run, chase and play-fight with each other and, as they are now much bigger and stronger, their games can become quite rough and less easy to control and contain! For this reason, Wildlife Co-ordinator and Leopard Man, Shaun has decided that it is no longer safe to take both leopards out for walks together as he doesn't want to run the risk of any volunteers being placed in danger. So the two siblings are now being taken out for solo walks.

Ombeli was the first one to go out for a walk on his own and he seemed to love the extra freedom and attention! As soon as he was released from the truck to start his walk, he climbed straight on top of the truck to see if he could spot any wild animals/potential prey! Then once he was coaxed down from the truck and set off on his walk he promptly disappeared into the bushes chasing an oryx. For over an hour Ombeli happily hunted in bushes whilst Shaun and the volunteers looked for him, until he finally decided to give up the hunt and let Shaun find him! It is amazing how well the leopard's camouflage works when he doesn't want to be seen!

In comparison Shakira was a positive paragon on her first solo walk! She obediently stayed away from the bushes and spent most of her walk happily sitting up a tree trying to bat down a bird's nest onto the volunteers' heads!

August 2010

Ombili and Shakira, recently had their rabies injections by our vet Ian Baines, which was an interesting afternoon!

May 2010

The gorgeous cubs are growing so quickly and starting to be just a little bit of a handful at feeding time, especially the male, Ombeli.  He gobbles down his portion and then tries to take Shakira’s, too!

Both are becoming very proficient tree-climbers, though Ombeli is not always a good judge of whether or not a branch will hold his weight. As the bigger of the two cubs, he falls, shakes himself, and races up the tree again. It’s a treat to see them chasing each other from branch to branch, improving their skills each time.

Shakira is the more active and playful of the two and loves to jump after a rope swung for her to play with during their daily walks at the waterhole. Brother Ombeli, sits with his head on one side, thinking about what to do next, looking so sweet!

The walks home from the waterhole have become quite entertaining as it’s not always easy walking them back on the straight road home – they dive in and out of every bush along the way and like stopping off for a climb up the odd tree now and then too! To help keep them on the straight and narrow, canine friends Kandas and Ouboet join us. The dogs became firm friends as soon as the cubs arrived at N/a’an ku sê, although it won’t be long before Ombeli is larger than Kandas, our big black Labrador. At present she handles with ease the tracking and pouncing of both of them and it’s beautiful to watch to group of cats and dogs play together.

To keep these young cubs entertained and to encourage their development of climbing skills, we have built them two climbing frames and platforms in their camp which they seem to love – every day there are seen sitting on top of one of the platforms or using them to shade from the hot African sun.

We’re delighted that both cats have overcome the ailments they experienced when they first arrived here. Ombeli’s cloudy eye has cleared up and Shakira has responded well to the extra calcium we gave her to strengthen her hind leg which caused her to limp.

We’re currently fundraising to build them a permanent camp here at N/a’an ku sê, as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to be released back into the wild after their poor start in life. If you or anyone you know would like to donate towards the camp, please email donationsnaankuse@iway.na.

March 2010

Our two little Leopard cubs, Shakira and Ombeli, are growing rapidly and we probably won’t be able to call them “little” for much longer! Since they came to N/a’an ku sê just 11 weeks ago, their health and strength has been hugely restored. It’s an incredible transformation from small and malnourished cubs to playful, adventurous and healthy looking cubs.