03/08/2026
Hanyile — “he who lives.”
It is with great sadness that we share the news of Hanyile’s passing on 1 August.
We knew him from the beginning, watching him grow from a young leopard into the territorial male who would inherit the land of his father, Xovo, a rare continuation of a family line we were privileged to witness across generations.
He carried the marks of a life lived fully: the scar across his nose, his confidence in familiar territory and the remarkable ease with which he moved around vehicles. He defended what was his when needed, but was never known as a brute.
For a leopard, an animal so often moving between shadow and light, Hanyile allowed us an extraordinary window into his life.
While his tracks will fade from the roads, his story remains forever part of Lion Sands.
Image 2: Last image taken of Hanyile
Image 3: Hanyile with Rocky Ridge
Image 4: At age 1
Image 5: At age 2
Image 6: At age 4
