December 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(4 sightings)

Seemingly quite well established now, this leopard was found with an impala carcass, which he finished within two days. All other sightings of him were without incidence apart from a brief encounter with the Campbell Koppies female and her two cubs around Stwise. The confrontation was short lived with both parties moving off in different directions.

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November 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(7 sightings)

The Manyeleti Male was involved in some of the most memorable sightings of the month. Early in the game report period, he was seen with the Kikilezi Female, close to Bicycle Crossing. The two were mating, and, after a slow start, the mating became very frequent indeed. This took place in the evening, but by the following morning, the noisy mating activity had attracted the attention of the Newington Male, who promptly took the Kikilezi Female away from her suitor, and assumed the role of mate himself. The Manyeleti Male followed the pair for some distance, before returning westwards towards the causeway. In that area, he encountered the Bicycle Crossing Male, and the two of them had a brief stand-off. They went off in separate directions again, but in the early evening the Manyeleti Male and the Bicycle Crossing Male appeared to be challenging one another once more, and were heading for a confrontation on the western side of the causeway. This was rudely interrupted, however, when a lioness suddenly appeared and chased after the Manyeleti Male, very nearly catching him! The Manyeleti Male managed to scramble hastily up a thorn tree to safety, and remained there for a couple of hours, with the lioness lying several metres from the base of the tree. The Manyeleti Male would probably have looked at that day as one he would rather forget!

He was seen on a few other occasions later in the month, and on one of these occasions, he opportunistically came upon the Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs feeding on a kill. Without any violence or aggression on the part of the Manyeleti Male, he claimed the remains of the kill for himself. Several days later, he was again seen in the company of the Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs, and there was an apparently friendly relationship between the leopards. The cubs treated the Manyeleti Male as a familiar leopard, and even romped playfully with him. The Manyeleti Male is not the father of these cubs, yet he has never been seen to show aggression towards them – perhaps because they are both females.

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October 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(3 sightings)

Although only seen 3 times during the month the Manyeleti Male did enough to suggest that he is a respected territorial male leopard when he was seen mating with the Kikilezi Female. This took place on the southern bank of the Sand River , west of Bicycle Crossing, an area which is probably a grey zone of overlap between the territories of the Manyeleti Male and the Bicycle Crossing Male. The other two sightings of the Manyeleti Male were not far from the camp and on one evening he was seen very high up a tree, looking quite well fed, but there was no sign of a kill. A male and female lion were nearby and it is possible that this pair had happened upon the leopard and that he had rushed to the safety of the branches.

Regarding the origin of the Manyeleti Male there is a strong opinion that he could be one of the sons of the late Paradise Valley Female.

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September 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(8 sightings)

Early in the month, the Manyeleti Male leopard, looking very well fed, endured the indignity of being treed by lions. He need not have been ashamed by this, of course, as all leopards in this area view lions as their main enemy, and in order to survive, they sometimes have to take evasive action! Other sightings of the Manyeleti Male indicated that he is growing in stature as a territorial individual. He seems to be more than a handful for the Newington Male, as these two large leopards continue to vie for supremacy in the choice piece of territory that lies along the lower reaches of the Manyeleti and Mlowathi rivers. When the two were seen to “share” an impala kill near the camp, and clashed physically, the Manyeleti Male received some bite wounds to his front leg, but succeeded in inflicting some facial damage to the Newington Male. It is likely that these two male leopards will encounter one another on a fairly regular basis in the months to come.

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August 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(6 sightings)

The Manyeleti Male had a good month in August, and really seemed to assert himself. He is a heavy, powerful leopard, and could have a bright future. He was seen on a couple of kills that had almost certainly been made by other leopards. On one occasion, he came upon an impala carcass in a tree on the Manyeleti River , south of Stwise. This carcass had been put there by the Campbell Koppies Female, and while she had gone to fetch her cubs, the male leopard had arrived on the scene and appropriated the kill. He took it out of the tree on the southern bank of the Manyeleti, and dragged it across to another tree on the northern bank. The Campbell Koppies Female remained in the area, but kept her cubs well away from this male, who is not their father. The Newington Male arrived a day later, and there was aggressive interaction between the two males. Just over two weeks later, there was evidence of another clash between the Newington Male and the Manyeleti Male, this being near Bicycle Crossing. Although the outcome of such clashes is seldom a clear-cut victory for either of the contestants, it appeared that the Manyeleti Male emerged with more “points” than the Newington Male. On yet another occasion, the Manyeleti Male was seen in a tree with a young male leopard (probably the son of the Hlabatini Female), having discovered and stolen that leopard’s kill. Interesting developments can probably be expected in September!

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July 2005

MANYELETI MALE
Location: NORTH-WESTERN MALA MALA, SOUTHERN MARTHLY
(3 sightings)

A young but confident leopard, the stocky Manyeleti Male seems to control an area to the north of the Bicycle Crossing Male’s territory. There is inevitably some overlap between the territories of different male leopards, and the Manyeleti Male will certainly have the odd encounter with the Newington Male and the Bicycle Crossing Male, as well as other male leopards further to the north and west. He is certainly a relaxed leopard, and if he does manage to maintain his status, could become one of the stalwarts in the north of the reserve.