Windows users can see this informaton for each image in the actual screen saver for A Passion for Leopards by Phil Perry: Click on the Green Leaf icon in the system tray. Click on Image Manager. Right mouse click on a thumbnail image. If there is a text file associated with this particular image, a choice of Image Information will pop up now. Some collections have text files, such as The Dutch Masters, Through the Eye of Hubble, Hubble: Mysteries Revealed, The Claude Monet Collection, The Wilderness Collection by Rodney Lough, Landscape Majesty by the Smithsonian Institution, etc. IF there is no text file, you will not see the Image Information option. 01. About to jump: Sadly Shangwa lost one of her triplets, but the remaining two, a male and a female, survived to adulthood. This is the female at 7 months. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 02. Among the branches: Sindile (25 months old) is one of Mambhirri’s sisters. Her name means ‘the saved’ in Tsongaan, a reference to the fact that the park warden had to arrange for a veterinarian to remove a life-threatening snare. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 03. Baleful stare: Always opportunistic, here Makwela is stood in a tree, staring at a herd of impala some 500 yards or so distant. After watching the antelope for a while she settled down to rest, but likely moved off in their direction as the sun went down and her chances of a successful hunt increased. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 04. Challenging stare: Mambhirri looks out across her woodland savanna home. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 05. Checking surroundings: Leopards frequently use trees as vantage points from which to check the surrounding area for danger or prey. Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Phil Perry 06. Checking the view: Makwela, or to give her full name, Kwela Pezulu (‘tree climber’) is one of the most relaxed leopards around safari vehicles. She is also one of the best mothers and has raised a male cub, a litter of three females and, most recently, another male cub to maturity. Leopards habitually lose their first two to four litters, but gradually they learn how to become effective mothers. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 07. Cub showing daring: One of Shangwa’s three cubs at two months old. Emboldened by mother’s close proximity, the small cub feels confident enough to stand up on a branch and peer out at the world. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 08. Cub staring, unsure: Despite his mother, Makwela, being ultra relaxed around vehicles, this 6 month old male cub is still a little unsure. This is because Makwela raised him in a series of rocky outcrops where vehicles could not reach and he is only now seeing them for the first time. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 09. Dappled beauty: Daughter of Makwela and Wallys, Mambhirri at 42 months is in the prime of life and ready to mate and produce her first litter of cubs. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 10. Dozing in tree fork: 15 month old male cub sleeping while waiting for his mother, Makwela. Male cubs start to become independent of their mother at around 18 months or so, female cubs often a little later, around 24 months. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 11. Inquisitive triplets: To see three leopard cubs at two months old is a rare privilege indeed. Only where leopards are habituated to safari vehicles is this possible. Happily their mother, Shangwa, is quite comfortable with visitors watching her tiny youngsters. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 12. Lightly panting: Amazingly leopards quite regularly manage to make two kills in one day, sometimes even three. This is testament to their formidable hunting skills. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 13. Magnificent male: For six years now, Wallys as he is affectionately known, has been the dominant male leopard over the whole of the Western sector of the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. As such he has fathered cubs with all of the area’s females, around six in number. The ratio of territorial males to breeding females is often 4 to 1 or even more. © Phil Perry 14. On patrol: Mambhirri at 36 months – patrolling her territory, which she is trying to establish alongside that of her mother’s. Female cubs often stay near their mother when they mature, but male cubs invariably move well away. In this way males avoid competition with their father and inbreeding with their mother or siblings. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 15. Playtime: One of Shangwa’s cubs at 3 months old running across a fallen log in play. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 16. Rolling: Makwela rolls over (after mating with Wallys). This behavior of female leopards is very typical after they have just copulated. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 17. Snarling: This leopard, the Othawa male, is exhibiting a snarl known as flehmen. This is used to analyse scent particles from an area that has been scent marked by another leopard. In this way a male leopard detects whether a resident female is ready to mate. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 18. Stretching: Perfectly framed in a old jackalberry tree, Mambhirri stretches herself fully before setting off on some activity. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 19. Stunning young female: At 42 months old, this beautiful young leopard is known locally as Mambhirri, which means ‘two’. This refers to the spots above the whisker line that are used to identify individual leopards and Mambhirri has two spots on each of the right and left sides of her face. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 20. Together: Makwela and Wallys together. Territorial male leopards regularly meet up with female leopards that live within their home range. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 21. Too close!: Wallys registers his displeasure at Makwela who is sitting too close. In fact she wants to mate with the territorial male, but he is finding her too demanding. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry 22. Waiting for mother: In this picture of Makwela’s male cub at 8 months you can see clearly the juvenile pelage which gives him the ‘cuddly look’ common to so many young animals. Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Phil Perry Second Nature is a proud supporter of nonprofit environmental organizations and has contributed more than $2.5 million dollars to help preserve the world's natural wonders and wildlife. CUSTOMER APPLAUSE: Second Nature's customer service is quick to respond and the site is very generous both with the amount of product and the frequent sales prices and coupons they offer. - Maggy Stricker, Lyon Mountain, NY All images copyright © by respective artists and photographers. All rights reserved. You may not upload this software or images to a web site or distribute it commercially or otherwise. It is illegal to use these images on your web site and/or to post on community web sites. Copyright © 1992 - 2009. November 8, 2009. Privacy Statement.