Zawadi (aka Shadow)

I have to agree, too far to tell for certain. Still no reports of any other leopards in her territory that I've seen so seems she could just be being a leopard and staying out of sight. She does have a history of staying unseen when she wants to.

Ronnie

Not sure if you saw this on J&A's Blog Miss Leopard, it's series of comments
# Dominickon 01 Aug 2012 at 6:53 am
Hi everyone,

Just reading through the latest Governors’ Camp Game Report, Masai Mara for July 2012 and was pleasantly suprised to read he following,

Walking in the Mara North Conservancy
“On the 26th, earlier on that morning, we saw Zawadi and her 15 month old cub near to the start of Leopard Gorge. She looked in very good condition, on first sighting we mistook her for a male, as she is a big leopard as female’s go.”

Such good news to know that Zawadi {Shadow} is still alive and kicking up her “heels” in the Mara.

# Pepe Puyon 03 Aug 2012 at 12:17 am
¿Zawadi? I have my doubts. The last two cubs of Zawadi were born around November 2011, so a surviving cub should be 9 months old, not 15. The report said that she is a female very big, but Zawadi isn´t big; really she was an average leopard… I think there is a mistake.

Pepe Puy

# Dominickon 03 Aug 2012 at 2:33 am
Hi Pepe,

Thanks for weighing in with your input.

Since there may be a d1screpency here, additional verification would be appreciated to try to determine her wereabouts.
Here is a case where if we had someone like Jonathan or Jackson to investigate, results would be more reliable.
I’d like to believe she is still with us, but I’d rather know the truth of the situation, even if it would have a different result.

take care

Dom

I've had another go at your picture, this is not zoomed as much, and I've used a sharpen tool. It's the right side, it's not been flipped. Not sure if it helps you any better


WS

That'd be so weird if they saw her on July 26th as that is my birthday! I really hope we get some clarification soon. I still cannot tell if that is Zawadi even with it sharpened. I wish her face was turned toward the camera.

Fingers X as it was your Birthday, it could be a sign. It is really difficult to identify unless you get the right shot to compare with past photos as we know on here. When we've tried with other big cats. Still we can keep hoping, that one of these reports will turn out to be true
WS

whitestarling wrote:Fingers X as it was your Birthday, it could be a sign. It is really difficult to identify unless you get the right shot to compare with past photos as we know on here. When we've tried with other big cats. Still we can keep hoping, that one of these reports will turn out to be true
WS

Maybe I'm in denial because I don't want her to be gone. She's such a great character from Big Cat Diary. However, I am really hoping that it is her! If she's been seen once, she'll hopefully show up again. Maybe someone will get a better sighting of her. :)

I'm not ready to give up on her yet either guys. That shot is just the wrong angle to positively ID her. She truly is one of the original stars from the first episode of BCD. Until there are reports of different leopards roaming her territory in Leopard Gorge, I have to believe the reason is because she still is. She knows it far better than anyone looking for her.

Ronnie

I am never giving up hope that Zawadi is alive and well and will be spotted soon.

Lai

Hey everyone, I guess this is really not any new info on Zawadi, but it is video I've not seen and it is from Jonathan and Angie's time in the Mara earlier this year. The title is incorrect, it should be Zawadi & Malaika. Could this be the project they referred to on the blog earlier in the year?

https://vimeo.com/43883080

The other leopard Jonathan references is Manana, of Leopard Queen fame.

Ronnie

Thanks Ronnie - a great clip. Zawadi is such a beautiful leopard.

Lai

I,ve not seen that one either thanks Ronnie. I know they mentioned earlier in the year that they had been to Leopard Gorge, and seen Zawadi with Malaika. I think if I remember right Paul kirui was with them at the time, but I dont remember anything about a project.
WS

Well, it appears that my suspicions are correct. I just looked at Jonathan Scott's blog and he asked for any information about Zawadi and her history. One of the posters knows her story very well and reported that she was gone for good around April or May of this year. I haven't seen any new information on the web and I have stopped looking. It's sad, I know, but I keep thinking how amazing it was that she was able to survive this long when so many lions and hyenas are around in the Mara. She was definitely my favorite big cat and I will miss her. I always wished I would have been able to meet her in person but never made it to Africa.

Sadly I'm afraid we are going to have to face up to the fact that our beloved Zawadi has gone to the Savannah in the sky She was a magnificent Leopard, and one of the iconic big cats of the Maasi Mara.
RIP Zawadi
WS

Ps Thanks for the update MissLeopard

The only way this will be solved to everyones satisfaction, is that there is proof of a sighting of Zawadi, or someone sees her body. The second part is very doubtful, as the remains would'nt be around very long, and the chance of someone coming across them is a very long shot. So I think that only the lengh of time she is not seen, is the only way we wiil know she's gone. That time will depend on each individual, as to how long it is before they give up hope of seeing Zawadi again. We know she can vanish for long periods, but her age, and the rains they had there, are really against her this time. I think we will all make our own minds up as to when the time is right to say goodbye to Zawadi.
Thanks for the FB nudge Doogs
WS

Does anyone have any new information on Zwadi? It seems to me she may be gone for good, why havnt JS posted any important knews about, don't you think he cared about her that much?

Sadly Ghost as far as we know there has been no sightings or any further news. I certainly do'nt think its a case of Jonathan not caring, Jonathan, and Angie are rarely in the Mara now, they have so many commitments elsewhere in fact Lai one of our members has only just returned from a Safari in Zambia with them, also Angie has recently had a serious operation, and is only now recovering. So he has'nt really had time to investigate, especialy around Leopards George where she would most likely be, but there are lots of eyes out there looking for her. As I said in my last post, she is a Cat we all loved, and although Pepe said about her dying in the heavy rains there is no conclusive evidence of that, so individuals will make their own minds up about her passing.

WS

I think with the amount of no news and no sightings, we all can conclude are beloved Shadow has left us. I believe she died towards the end of summer of 2012. I wish we could track or know some of her cubs, just as we did with after Bella died(with Olive). It just saddens me to think that most of the star of BCD are gone from this planet. Watching the show on youtube or t.v. always saddens me, knowing that stars like Shadow, and Bella are gone.

Ghost, it's sad that the stars of BCD have gone to the great savannah in the sky. Watching BCD was so special and you really got to know the characters over the years.

Lai

Thats so true Ghost, so many of our favourites gone. Not only the Leopards, but also the Cheetahs, and our Marsh Pride stars that we loved so much . Still we can enjoy there offspring as you mentioned in your post about Olive. They have all left us a legacy of their time in this world that we can enjoy
WS

You are right Ghost that it is very sad that so many stars of BCD have now gone but remember how much enjoyment they gave us and how much we learned from them, so they may have gone in body but not in spirit, they are all with us as we remember them fondly in our hearts.

littlewid-x-

Doogs wrote:

Couple of pictures posted on Kicheche Bush Camp's FB Page of Zawadi :-

These pictures really warm my heart, knowing that they were probably the last two pictures of Shadow and her young cub.

The main reason why i feel really heartbroken from the death of Shadow, is basically it feels as if ive lost a close childhood friend. I grew up watching Big Cat and remember her being a cub and growing day by day into an independent adult. The Big Cat Diary series really made me form a bond with Shadow and her unique story. I remember one episode when she lost her 2nd cub to a fire, and instead of mourning the lose she started to play around with a log. Leopards like Safi were never really formed a bond with Johnathon, while Shadow would continously show indirect trust and affection to Johnathon. I really wised they followed Shadow for many more series, and filmed her stories about raising her other successful cubs. I've read that she raised a total or 5-7 cubs to adulthood, and i wished BCD and BCL could have docummented the other 11 years of her life. Maybe we could have had a Shadow 2, just as we have Olive from Bella, and continued to read about Shadow's daughter living at Leopard Gorge. In a way i wonder if the current female leopard residing in leopard gorge is Shadows undocumented daughter? In a way it makes sense right because Olive resides in Bella's former territory, the Talek river?

whitestarling wrote:Thats so true Ghost, so many of our favourites gone. Not only the Leopards, but also the Cheetahs, and our Marsh Pride stars that we loved so much . Still we can enjoy there offspring as you mentioned in your post about Olive. They have all left us a legacy of their time in this world that we can enjoy
WS

Yes the cheetahs and the Marsh pride stars are all passing away too.
I really really wonder what happened to cheetahs like Amber and Kika? I mean i understand they disappeared and no one saw them again but what happened. Last time i check Amber was a really good hunter and disappeared into the bush or something? Kika was last scence mating with that male, and JS said that she probably died or old age on BCL. Could'nt they have seen Kika when they were filming Honey with totu and the next series with her 3 boys(in which two are alive now and living). Also is it true that Honey was Kika's daughter? BC really left a lot of questions on the table when the series was over.