Unusual Leopard Mating Behaviour Spotted At Game Reserve In South Africa

Leopards are solitary animals and are not known to share things with other members of their species, whether that be territory, food or a mate. Therefore, experts were extremely surprised to learn that South African park guides had captured footage of a male leopard mating with two females. Experts says they have seen two males attempting to mate with a female in heat but have never seen a situation where the roles were reversed.

Sister leopards

The unusual behaviour was filmed by guides a Londolzi Game Reserve. The guides are familiar with leopards in the park and know that the two females in question are sisters that were born three years apart. Experts say that probably because the two females are related and know one another, they probably tolerate sharing a mate. However, if two unrelated females were to come across one another, the experts say, the claws would definitely come out.

Real coincidence

Richard Laburn, one of the guides said he had seen the male mating with the younger of the two females on the edge of her older sister’s territory. Leopards mating is not a quiet affair and the sounds probably drew the attention of the older female who arrived at the scene. Leopards do not usually come in to heat the same way lions do, so it is a real coincidence that both females were receptive to mating at the same time.

Older sister became pregnant

As leopards become adults, they leave their parents territory to stake out their own and once their private space has been carved out, they tend to stick to it and interact with other members of their species at the boundaries of their territories. The strange behaviour was witnessed at the end of last year and it is quite likely that the older female probably became pregnant because she is currently raising a litter of cubs. The younger female aged just two and a half years old at the time was probably too young to conceive. Leopards do not usually get pregnant until they have reached the age of four.