December 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 8 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(5 sightings)
Like a phoenix from the ashes this male has made a miraculous comeback. In winter he was seldomly seen but December has brought him back to his old stomping grounds of the norther Mlowathi. Big competition from the Emsagwen male seemingly sealed this males fate to a life of nomadic wondering but he’s holding on for everything he’s worth. But how much longer can he hold on for? We will have to see.
November 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 7 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(2 sightings)
An improvement in sightings from last of this leopard when he was not seen at all. Theone occasion that he was seen was close to Tlebe Rocks, which is quite far south for this male and within the territory of the Emsagwen male. The other time that he was seen was as far east as Boessei road. Both times he was seen scent marking though! The reason for this shift in his territory is unknown and hopefully next month will give more clarity.
October 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 6 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(0 sightings)
There were no sightings of this old male during the month.
September 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 5 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(1 sightings)
The one sighting of this male proved to be one of the highlights of the month. A dead female rhino was found in the Mlowathi river with the four Manyelethi males in close attendance. For some reason the lions were transfixed on a jackal berry close by. Upon inspection of the jackal berry the Gowrie male was found lying in the lower branches. But this was no ordinary lion/leopard sighting, the Gowrie male had with him in the tree the still born rhino calf. Not many people can every say they saw a rhino in a tree once. The male fed off the rhino infant for the night and the next morning had made good his escape.
August 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 4 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(0 sightings)
There were no sightings of this male this month
July 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 3 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(3 sightings)
This male leopard has made a comeback, after being chased out of the area 2 months ago by the Emsagwen male. However he has not wondered as far south as he normally has in the past, as a matter of fact he was on our northern border and he did not come further then 20m south before moving back north into the bulk of his territory. At his age he is no match for the Emsagwen male, who is in the prime of his life and looks to be taking over the southern portion of the Gowrie male’s territory. On all three occasion he was seen were over two duiker kills. He was found with and adult male duiker kill and within 50m of his kill the Ostrich Koppies female had a female duiker kill. He finished his and then moved over and stole the females kill chasing her away and spent 3 days in the area eating both kills. H e might not be able to compete with the Emsagwen male, but his is still very much a dominant male leopard who hold a large territory and still rules over many females, and no female will be able to stand-up to and beat this male, not for a long while to come still.
June 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 2 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(0 sightings)
There were no sightings of this male leopard during the month.
May 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS 1 MONTH
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(1 sightings)
He was only spotted once this month but perhaps he was on the property more than that, his territory extends south onto Mala Mala along the Mlowathi river but the vast bulk of it is to our north hence why we don’t see him much. Still in good condition and looking healthy he moved through the property in one afternoon but didn’t scent mark. The Emsagwen male is taking over this area and pushing the Gowrie male further north and west and with his advanced age and small size it’s unlikely he will be able to stop the Emsagwen males advancement north.
April 2010
GOWRIE MALE 11 YEARS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(3 sightings)
This male from the north does not seem to have changed much in his movements for the last few years. The areas that he does cover on the property have not changed. All sightings of him been centred around the Mlowathi Dam. Like most of the dominant male leopard sightings this month they were all sightings of him on the move and none were stable, except for when he was slept for a short while. The last sighting of him was about the most exciting when he was moving northwards around Mlowathi Dam at the same time that two of the Styx lionesses were there hunting. It seemed as though the leopard had taken notice of the two lions but he was not concerned about them and so just kept walking northwards away from without even looking back.
March 2010
GOWRIE MALE 10 YEARS 11 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(3 sightings)
This mature male was seen only a few times this month; however he looks in good condition and was still actively scenting his territory around the upper parts of the Mlowathi River and Mlowathi dam. Although the Emsagwen male seems to be putting more and more pressure on him and his territory he seems to be holding his own and is still the dominant male in the area.
Febuary 2010
GOWRIE MALE 10 YEARS 10 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(3sightings)
He continues to dominate the northern Mlowathi area despite his getting on in years. During the month he had a shown down with the Emsagwen male over this area and in the coming months we will have to see if he still holds sway of the territory. The other two sightings were of him moving through the area, resting at Mlowathi dam and going back north by nightfall.
January 2010
GOWRIE MALE 10 YEARS 9 MONTHS
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
(2 sightings)
Both sightings occurred around Mlowathi dam, and both had him looking in great shape. The second sighting was of particular interest because he had managed to catch a white stork and was feeding on it when he was found. White storks gather in large flocks around the Mlowathi but they feed out in the plains and so it mush have been some feat for this aging male to sneak up and catch one without being noticed.
