MalaMala - The Wildlife

Weekly Cyberdiary Update 16 - 22 September 2007

White Rhino - Photograph taken by ranger Anthony Harding

All of the members of the Eyrefield pride, including the Rollercoaster male were found during the morning drive in the Sand river, to the north of West Street bridge. The lions were all resting in some thick reeds and poor visual was had. Fortunately the lions emerged from the reeds at dusk, with a number of the cubs playing in the steadily dwindling watercourse.

Eyrefield pride, Rollercoaster male and cubs - Photograph taken by ranger Nic Proust

A large male lion was seen on Marthly following a herd of buffalo from a safe distance. The male was not identified, but was very relaxed and presumed to have ventured onto Mala Mala after hearing the buffalo. Although the male seemed interested in the buffalo, he eventually gave up without even disclosing his presence to the herd. He was left moving north and west towards the north-western boundary of Mala Mala.

Three lionesses and two male lions of the Selati pride were seen during the duration of the day, feeding from the remains of the giraffe carcass close to Croc Loop. Unfortunately thick vegetation in the area hindered rangers manoeuvrability in the area, however, the lions did provide great viewing from the area.

The Rock Drift male was seen in the area of the giraffe carcass for the duration of the day, however he was not seen to feed as there was always at least one lion in the area of the kill. Rangers were concerned with the fact that he is clearly in poor condition; and he was supporting an injury to one of his legs. Although it is expected that old leopards lose condition and sustain injuries, which they acquire whilst desperately trying to scavenge or steal a meal, one hopes that he bounces back.

The Tjellahanga male was found in the vicinity of the Golf Course during the morning drive. Interestingly, a young, relatively nervous young female leopard was seen to follow the male and show signs of readiness to mate. No mating was witnessed.

An adult female leopard was briefly seen at Charleston north. The female crossed west over the watercourse and headed north. She was not identified.

Late in the morning rangers found the Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female close to the prominent rocks to the south of the Matshapiri open area. The female was relatively active and it was not long before she noticed a bushbuck in a nearby guarri thicket. She immediately began to stalk, however the buck obviously got wind of her, for it barked and dashed off to safety. The female was followed late into the morning where she was eventually left. Unfortunately she was not relocated during the afternoon drive.

Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard (YO) - Photograph taken by ranger Anthony Harding

A large unidentified male leopard was found on the 16 September, having finished drinking at Mlowathi dam, moving north. The male was very relaxed and provided some awesome walk by’s as he made his way towards the Mlowathi River. He was seen to scent mark a number of times, demonstrating that he was in fact interested in making inroads into Mala Mala’ unclaimed northern reaches.

The Kikilezi female was found moving south and west from the track that runs past Stwise. Although lean, the female was in good condition and very active. She was left moving south towards the Manyelethi River.

The three lionesses of the Eyrefield pride, together with the Rollercoaster male, were found moving north from Flockfield compound. Eventually all the lions reached the West Street region and reunited with the cubs.

During the afternoon two of the lionesses were found moving east from Drum Crossing. The lionesses were clearly hunting, but eventually returned to the cubs at around eight in the evening after having been unsuccessful. The cubs were, however, clearly excited at their return with much greeting and calling taking place.

Only a single lioness of the pride was seen in the area of what little remained of the giraffe carcass. She stayed in the area for some time before moving north and west. Early in the afternoon two lionesses of the pride were found resting in the reeds close to Island Crossing. The lionesses were very well fed and clearly uncomfortable.

Cub of the Ngoboswan female & Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard (YO) – 17 September

On the morning of the 17 September two leopards were seen in the area of the giraffe carcass. Interestingly, rangers initially presumed that they were the Ngoboswan female and her cub, as the Ngoboswan female had been seen to feed from the carcass quite soon after it was discovered.

Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard (YO) - Photograph taken by ranger Bruce Hedges

Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard & the Cub of the Ngoboswan female
- Photograph taken by ranger Bruce Hedges

Rangers were eventually able to clarify things a bit, identifying the animals as the Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard, and the cub of the Ngoboswan female. As it started heating up, the leopards moved off the carcass, with the young female returning during the afternoon for a short period.

Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard (YO) - Photograph taken by ranger Anthony Harding

A large male leopard was found late in the evening moving eastwards along the northern lip of the Mwana Nonantshemeni donga, close to the junction with Old Borehole Road. Rangers believe that it was in fact the same male as the one seen in the region of Mlowathi dam from the previous day.

An adult female leopard was found early in the evening, just east of the Mlowathi, close to the northern reaches of Mala Mala. The female was not positively identified, however a certain ranger tracker combination were certain that she was in fact the White Cloth female.

The Rock Drift male was again seen in the area of the giraffe carcass, to the west of Croc Loop. The male was seen to approach the carcass carefully, however he was not seen to feed. The mere fact that he had been seen in the area for over twenty-four hours suggests that the male had obviously managed to feed when all the lions left the carcass to go and drink.

Tjellahanga male & unidentified female leopard - Photograph taken by ranger Anthony Harding

The Tjellahanga male and the unidentified female leopard were found very early on the morning drive after rangers followed up on the audio of leopards mating. The leopards were found at Calabash Crossing and mated relatively frequently. The pair was seen to follow the watercourse down stream, being relocated in the evening close to KK crossing.

The entire Eyrefield Pride and the Rollercoaster male were found in the vicinity of the giraffe carcass, to the south of the short cut to hyena water hole. The lions fed intermittently from the carcass, eventually moving north and east towards late morning.

Two lionesses of the Styx pride were found moving west along Emsagwen from the Emsagwen Crossing region, late in the evening of the 18 September. The lionesses were steadily mobil, and appeared to be hunting, however did ignore several prey species as they moved west?

Five females of the Selati pride and one male were seen in the vicinity of KK crossing during the morning drive. Interestingly, the lions got audio of the hyena and leopard interaction, and on investigating, discovered the Tjellahanga male up a small tree with a kill. One of the lionesses scaled the tree and stole the kill from the leopard. She then dropped the kill and the lions had a huge fight over the scraps. The lionesses then moved out of the area, leaving the male to himself. The male roared frequently into the night.

The Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female was again seen in the area of the giraffe carcass. This time she was seen on the carcass in both the morning and the evening, and provided some fine viewing as she fed from the carcass.

Daughter of the Campbell Koppies female leopard (YO) - Photograph taken by ranger Nic Proust

The mating pair continued to mate frequently during the course of the day, with the Tjellahanga male being alerted to the excited yelps of a number of hyenas. The hyena had killed a kudu and the leopard managed to steel the kill and hoist it up a tree, only to be stolen from him by a lioness of the Selati pride. After all had calmed down, the leopard escaped from the area and continued his romance with the female leopard.

The Old Harry’s female was found during the late part of the afternoon drive, feeding on the remains of a duiker kill close to Lion Crossing. The female had hoisted the kill up a tree, and fed at leisure form the carcass. She was not located the following day.

The second daughter of the Campbell Koppies female was found in the area of Wild Dog Rocks open area, very late during the morning drive. Although initially active, she moved east into a thick shady area and fell asleep. She was not relocated during the evening.

Very late in the evening of the 18 September, rangers found the Manyelethi male moving south along Skukuza road, south of the junction with old Skukuza road. He tended eastwards reaching the old Skukuza road and continued south. Whilst following the male rangers got audio of frantic impala alarm calls, and with this, the male changed direction, heading directly towards the area of the impala. Unfortunately the bush in this area is virtually impenetrable, and following up in the area proved fruitless.

Early on the morning drive rangers found the Eyrefield pride and the Rollercoaster male in the vicinity of Flockfield boma crossing. The lions rested in the area, seeking shade to avoid the heat of the day, only getting active and moving northwards late in the afternoon.

Whilst returning to camp, after a late night patrol, rangers relocated the two Styx lionesses close to the loop in new firebreak. The lionesses were reacting strangely, and it soon became apparent that they were hunting something to their north. The lionesses split up, with one moving in the general direction of the prey, and the second continuing along the road. In a matter of seconds all hell broke loose. A stampede of hooves flew towards the lioness waiting on the road as a number of zebra broke through the bush line and headed straight towards the waiting lioness.

She pounced, grasping an adult female zebra around the neck, with the momentum carrying both animals toppling over into the road. The second lioness wasted no time in getting to the scene, immediately helping secure the meal. Unfortunately, the lionesses struggled for some time with the zebra, with the zebra managing to stand up for a short while. Eventually the lionesses killed the zebra and began to feed.

A single male of the Selati pride, together with two lionesses were viewed in the vicinity of the Cape ash for the entire day. The male was seen to mate with one of the lionesses at a relatively low frequency.

Following up on drag marks made by a leopard, rangers located the daughter of the Campbell Koppies female, with a steenbok kill in a tree. The leopard was initially nervous, as rangers had discovered her on foot. She did however settle down, and was viewed in the area for the rest of the morning drive. In the afternoon rangers followed up on the leopard and she had descended the tree and was mobile northwards. She attempted to hunt a francolin as well as a squirrel, missing both, but providing some good entertainment for guests as she chased the squirrel to the top of a dead lead-wood tree. She was left to her self around Mataspiri Dam.

During the morning of the 20 September, the three lionesses of the Eyrefield pride, together with the Rollercoaster male were found on the new airstrip. The lions were resting, and paid little attention to the vehicles. Rangers followed up on the area during the evening eventually locating the Rollercoaster male on Kikilezi hash. He was relatively unmoved until late in the evening, where he was heard to roar several times. The lionesses were also later located, resting close to the watercourse itself. They then moved eastwards and were actively hunting. Rangers followed them all the way to the firebreak to the north of West Street, where they were eventually left still hunting.

Following up on the area of the zebra carcass, rangers discovered that there was nothing left of the carcass, and that it appeared as if the rest of the pride had helped the two lionesses. Following up on their tracks, rangers eventually located the lionesses in the Mlowathi River, close to Mlowathi crossing. The lionesses were all relatively well fed and sleeping. Late n the evening they moved north and east, where they were followed whilst hunting. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful and were left resting.

The five lionesses of the Charleston pride were found resting at Boomer’s Crossing. The lionesses slept in the area for the most part of the day, only getting active towards evening. At dusk they moved west and encountered a number of buffalo bulls close to Rocky Crossing. The lionesses began to stalk the buffalo and once they had got to within striking distance, they ran in. This caused the buffalo to stampede in the opposite direction. A brief interaction between the two species was witnessed, before the lionesses returned empty handed. The two male lions associated with the pride did not appear to be interested in the movement of the lionesses and continued to sleep late into the evening.

Early on the morning drive rangers located the Manyelethi male close to Wildebeest Crossing. The male was resting close to the drying river, seemingly enjoying the cool, wet sand. The male was unfortunately not relocated during the evening, however tracks of the male indicated that he had moved north along the riverbed. Audio of a leopard roaring opposite the camp clarified this train of thought.

A young female leopard was seen briefly as she headed south from flat rocks. Unfortunately she was lost moving through some dense reeds.

Three lionesses of the Eyrefield pride were found hunting along Ambush Alley during the morning drive. Although unsuccessful on a number of occasions, they continued to be active until very late in the morning. The lionesses were relocated briefly on the western bank of the Sand River close to Bicycle Crossing (after a tip off by the boom guard). The lionesses moved south and west, eventually ending up in the area of the airstrip. Here they were left very late in the evening staring towards an unsuspecting herd of impala. Importantly, with all nine cubs now eating meat, the lionesses are forced to try and produce meals for the cubs on a regular basis. Some of the older cubs are unfortunately starting to show signs of malnutrition, indicating that they are unfortunately not providing enough.

A young female leopard was found very late in the evening, hunting impala between the breaks of the Charleston Flockfield boundary. Unfortunately the female was not identified, and her hunt was unsuccessful.

Following up on the audio of leopards mating, rangers located the Tjellahanga male and the female leopard on River Road, at the junction with the Rock Drift donga. They were steadily mobile north and west, eventually emerging at Charleston north crossing. The frequency of mating was about once every two minutes, and they continued to mate late into the day. Unfortunately they were not relocated during the afternoon drive.

Following up on fresh lion spoor on Kikilezihash rangers discovered the Eyrefield pride, Rollercoaster Male and cubs in the Sand River south of Wildebeest Crossing.

The Rollercoaster Male was found sleeping in some shade on Southern Side Mwana Nonantshemeni. He was left to himself and remained there for the rest of the day. In the evening some rangers followed up on the big male lion, he was still sleeping in the same position, later he started to roar.

The cub of the Ngoboswan female leopard was found with a bushbuck kill on Bushbuck Drive. The leopard was very nervous due to all the hyena activity in the area. During the evening the leopard returned to the kill, however he dropped the kill out of the tree and it was immediately snatched away by a hyena. The young male managed to reclaim part of the kill, which he hoisted back into the tree. The male then moved off into some dense cover and watched as a number of hyenas tried unsuccessfully to snatch the carcass.

The Bicycle Crossing male was found in the afternoon just to the east of West Street Bridge. The male leopard moved east and scent marked and roared as he moved through his territory. The leopard came across a Nyala and did start to stalk the antelope but all did not go well for the leopard as the Nyala saw the leopard and moved off. The Bicycle Crossing male then moved and walked passed a herd of impala scent marking as he moved and did not seem too keen on hunting.

MalaMala Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa.
Telephone: + 27 11 442 2267 or 0861 SAFARI.
Facsimile: + 27 11 442 2318
e-Mail: reservations@malamala.com