How 1920s Cattle Farm Became Land of Leopards
Londolozi is one of the most famous private game reserves in the world. But it wasn’t always a renowned haven for wildlife; in fact, the lands of the reserve were once on the verge of extinction. This is the story of how a hundred years of conservation efforts created an environment that produces the best leopard sightings in the world.
Nature guide and head of Sales, Garrett Fitzpatrick, could not be prouder of the tremendous success that the organisation he represents has had in its land restoration efforts. In a recent Londolozi production, Garrett opened up by saying:
“In 1926, Londolozi was a bankrupt cattle farm, whereas today it stands as a beacon of restoration, a bastion of hope for the rewilding movement, both of land and of our very human nature, boasting some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing anywhere in the world.
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Although world-renowned for our luxury safaris, what guests see at the interface between visitors, staff, and wildlife is only a small part of a much bigger picture; a picture that has at its heart the reclamation and conservation of wilderness.
Londolozi is probably most famous for our leopards, but the real story is that the viewing of these incredible cats has not always been this good. It is only thanks to carefully thought-out and implemented land management practices that the reserve is able to sustain such a healthy population; unofficially considered to be the densest on the African continent.
In the 1970s, with Londolozi already establishing itself as the blueprint photographic safari destination, maverick ecologist Ken Tinley was instrumental in developing Londolozi’s conservation development model; a bold new approach to reserve management that revolved primarily around the restoration of the land itself. Dr. Tinley’s philosophy was simple: if you take care of the land, the animals will take care of themselves.”
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Londolozi Landcare Manager, Chris Goodman, continued with the production:
“Basically, what Ken advised us was to find an ecological driver, and all you need to do is noodle on that driver, just tune it, and get it right.
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In this instance, that driver was ground moisture. The more water we could infiltrate into the soil, and the longer we could hold that moisture in the soil, it meant we could extend our grazing season, especially in the seep line areas.
There had been a lot of woody encroachment due to cattle farming in the 1920s and 1930s. So, the first thing we did was remove those woody species, get them out of the seep lines, and lay them in the drainage lines to reduce erosion.
Within six months, the seep lines started to flow again. The animals returned. And over the years, with the improvement of antelope herds, impala, wildebeest, waterbuck, the predators moved in, and the game just abounded.”
At this point, the Londolozi editing team included some incredible sightings, while the production swung back to Garrett, who moved on to the closing scenes:
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Leopardess Who Started it All
“A female leopard began to be viewed on the reserve. She would roam Londolozi for a further twelve years and raise no fewer than nine litters of cubs; spawning a dynasty that lives on to this day, which forms the basis of what is now the best leopard viewing in the world.”
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The final words of the production came from Chris:
“Where we find ourselves today is in this patchwork mosaic, this diversity of little microhabitats: thickets, drainage lines, open crests, rocky outcrops. And when you have diversity in habitat, you have diversity in species.
So ultimately, by removing the woody encroaching species and retaining our ground moisture, we have just created this amazing space for nature to just get on with it.”
