Jaco van Schalkwyk
View Artist Biography
Title:
LALUKA OF THE SABI SANDS
New:
NEW
Medium:
Oil on belgian linen
Category:
Original paintings
Category:
Oil
Size:
31 3/4 X 59 7/8
INV. #:
JVS30958
Laluka – Blue-Eyed Beauty of the Northern Sands
Laluka is another young female leopard of royal lineage in the Sabi Sands. Born to Tiyani—one of my all-time favorite females—she carries forward the legacy of Salayexe, the matriarch of the northern sands. Tiyani herself is remarkable: one of the largest females in the area, fiercely protective, and uniquely gifted with the most striking blue eyes. While most leopard cubs lose their blue eyes as they grow, Tiyani has passed this rare trait to at least one cub in each litter. Astonishingly, in her last three litters, it has always been the blue-eyed cub that survives to adulthood.
I first met Laluka when she was only a few weeks old. At Tiyani’s den near Elephant Plains, hyenas prowled the ground below, and high in the flimsy branches of a tree, a tiny blue-eyed cub clung to safety, waiting for her mother’s return. From that moment I followed her journey through dangers with hyenas, lessons in hunting, and the tender care of her mother.
The painting captures Laluka at the threshold of independence. On a rocky ridge by a dam, she waited as another leopard approached. It was Tiyani, but the mood had shifted. No longer the nurturing mother, she came salivating, chasing her grown daughter up a tree in a fierce display of separation. Laluka called and chuffed, confused by the change, until Tiyani finally allowed one last moment of closeness—a snuggle, a bond—before walking off into the sunset. It was the end of childhood, and the beginning of Laluka’s life as an independent leopard.
Her story is a reminder of the beauty and fragility of nature, and of the importance of protecting these wild spaces.
Laluka is another young female leopard of royal lineage in the Sabi Sands. Born to Tiyani—one of my all-time favorite females—she carries forward the legacy of Salayexe, the matriarch of the northern sands. Tiyani herself is remarkable: one of the largest females in the area, fiercely protective, and uniquely gifted with the most striking blue eyes. While most leopard cubs lose their blue eyes as they grow, Tiyani has passed this rare trait to at least one cub in each litter. Astonishingly, in her last three litters, it has always been the blue-eyed cub that survives to adulthood.
I first met Laluka when she was only a few weeks old. At Tiyani’s den near Elephant Plains, hyenas prowled the ground below, and high in the flimsy branches of a tree, a tiny blue-eyed cub clung to safety, waiting for her mother’s return. From that moment I followed her journey through dangers with hyenas, lessons in hunting, and the tender care of her mother.
The painting captures Laluka at the threshold of independence. On a rocky ridge by a dam, she waited as another leopard approached. It was Tiyani, but the mood had shifted. No longer the nurturing mother, she came salivating, chasing her grown daughter up a tree in a fierce display of separation. Laluka called and chuffed, confused by the change, until Tiyani finally allowed one last moment of closeness—a snuggle, a bond—before walking off into the sunset. It was the end of childhood, and the beginning of Laluka’s life as an independent leopard.
Her story is a reminder of the beauty and fragility of nature, and of the importance of protecting these wild spaces.