December 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 7 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 1 YEAR 4 MONTHS
EYREFIELD (2 sighting of female, 0 sightings of female and cub, 0 sightings of cub alone)
We had two brief sightings of this female, neither of which included her cub. This female is still regarded as one of our favourite and more relaxed female leopards, but unfortunately she continues to spend more and more time to the north of our boundary. Not having her cub with her on both occasions that she was seen is a clear indication that she’s planning on moving away from her daughter in order to force her into independence over the next few months.
November 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 7 YEARS 1 MONTH
1 FEMALE CUB 1 YEAR 3 MONTHS
EYREFIELD (2 sighting of female, 1 sightings of female and cub, 1 sightings of cub alone)
We had to wait untill halfway through the month to view this leopard and her awesome cub. Regarded by many as one of the most relaxed leopards on earth - the youngster has sniffed at a ranger’s shoes and sought cover beneath our Land Rovers. She didn’t even bat an eyelid when the ranger started the engine and slowly reversed. On this occasion we found them on eastern side Mlowathi with an impala kill.
October 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 7 YEARS
1 FEMALE CUB 1 YEAR 2 MONTHS
EYREFIELD (3 sighting of female, 0 sightings of female and cub, 1 sightings of cub alone)
The mother and daughter were not seen together once during the month. The last few sightings we’ve had of daughter, who is now more than a year old, have been of her alone waiting patiently for mom to come back and lead her to a kill. The Ostrich Koppies female was seen only three times during the month. As usual she was in her usual haunts around the northern parts of the Mlowathi River.
September 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 1 YEAR 1 MONTH
EYREFIELD (1 sighting of female, 5 sightings of female and cub, 3 sightings of cub alone)
A good month of sightings for this duo. It is really fantastic that the cub is now over a year old. With each passing day she is becoming more bush smart and aware of her surroundings, which can only improve her chances of survival. And then hopefully one day she’ll raise some cubs of her own. The two have spotted from the Mlowathi River, all the way east across to the Matshipiri River on the northern part of the reserve. For the past eighteen months this female’s territory has been fairly consistent, and has not shifted all that much. As the rainy season approaches, the cub will begin entering its last six months of dependency on its mom. It will be interesting to see how the Ostrich Koppies female’s behaviour changes when it does finally happens, and of equal interest will be which male she chooses to sire her next litter.
August 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 1 YEAR
EYREFIELD (5 sightings of female, 2 sighting of female and cub, 3 sightings of cub alone)
The female has been making more and more appearances with each passing month. Whether it's due to water shortage or because there are better hunting opportunities, she has been living along the northern stretches of the Mlowathi River. She made several kills this month, and each time she brought her cub to join her. The cub is incredibly relaxed, and even took shelter from the fierce sun under a Land Rover at one sighting. She is playful and competent, and is being well taken care of. The Ostrich Koppies female looked to have a nasty cut on her foot after an interaction with the son of the Matshipiri female, but by the end of the month she was fit and healthy again. Let's hope this pair remains safe, so the legacy of the Ngoboswan female can continue to flow into more adult female leopards at MalaMala.
July 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 11 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(3 sightings of female, 1 sighting of female and cub, 0 sightings of cub alone)
The sightings of these leopards all took place either on, or very close to, the northern boundary of MalaMala. All three times that we saw the female she was hunting, but unfortunately on all three occasions she was unsuccessful in catching anything. The still very dependent cub has to rely on her mother for kills, and with no known kills it's been a slow month's viewing for this leopard pair.
June 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 10 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(5 sightings of female, 1 sighting of female and cub, 3 sightings of cub alone)
The Ostrich Koppies female continues to control the north western parts of MalaMala, east of the Mlowathi River. Her cub has successfully avoided any near fatal incidents with predators, and is fast growing into a very well liked young leopard. Her confidence around the vehicle is providing guests with some amazing viewing. We have seen the cub by herself on a few occasions, and even when her mother is not around she continues to be very relaxed. There seems to be a special bond between this mother and daughter pair. The playful energy the cub has when with her mother is unbelievable. The Ostrich Koppies female has had her fair share of encounters with lions, and this month proved no different. On two unfortunate occasions she was found high up in a tree with the Manyelethi male lions around the base. On one occasion it appeared as if the male lions had stolen a large impala kill from her, and being a small leopard she was probably unable to heave it up into a tree. On the second occasion she was seen stretched out in a dead tree in the middle of an open area with one of the Manyelethi males lying fast asleep at the base. Fortunately on both occasions she was able to escape unscathed. We hope that she is able to teach her daughter how to evade lions as well as she does, especially as she shares her territory with both the Styx prideand the Manyelethi males.
May 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 7 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 9 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(3 sightings of female, 6 sightings of female and cub, 1 sightings of cub alone)
At the beginning of the year it looked as if we might lose this magnificent female, as she was seemingly shifting her territory more northwards. But this month confirmed to us that her core territory is still firmly on MalaMala. She was found around her traditional haunts like the Thlebe Rocks donga and Mwana Nonachemeni donga, and she had her cub with her a lot of the time. The young female cub has remained amazingly relaxed with the vehicles. She is starting to become very curious, often sniffing a tire of licking a bumper. The pair was found on several kills during the month, the most interesting of which they shared with the Emsagwen male. The three of them very peacefully tucked into a young kudu carcass, and the cub would at times even approach the male to entice him to play. Even though he would just hiss in annoyance, the cub never gave up.
April 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 FEMALE CUB 8 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(6 sightings of female, 2 sightings of female and cubs, 0 sightings of cub alone)
This female continues to hide her cub very well in some very thick bush. Most of the sightings are of the female alone, the fact that there were no sightings of the cub by itself is testament to how well she hides her cub. She remains a very successful leopard, dominating the north western parts of MalaMala. She remains confident around the vehicles and this relaxed nature has rubbed off on her cub. On the occasions when the pair has been seen together, the cub has paid little attention to the vehicles, choosing instead to spend its time attacking and playing with its mum. No one ever wants to see young leopards not make it through to adulthood, but support for this young cub to survive is particularly high as the Ostrich Koppies female has already lost 3 out of 4 cubs. If she keeps on mothering the way she is now though, we have high hopes for the little one.
March 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 5 MONTHS
1 CUB 7 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(1 sightings of female, 3 sightings of female and cubs, 0 sightings of cub alone)
This young pair have been elusive over the last few month but March was a good month for sightings of the two. The cub is growing at a rapid rate and the death of its sibling hasn't had to much impact on its relaxed nature. The Ostrich Koppies female also looks to be shifting her territory back a little onto Mala Mala which is great news for us and the upcoming winter. Lets hope we get to see her raise this cub up to maturity.
February 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 4 MONTHS
1 CUB 6 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
( 1 sightings of female, 0 sightings of female and cubs, 0 sightings of cub alone)
The Ostrich Koppies female was only seen on one occasion during this report period, she was found moving north through central Eyrefield. It was reported that she came face to face with a larger male warthog and after a lengthy face off she decided discretion was the better part of valour and headed off without any further interaction. There was no sign of her cub and one can only hope that it is still in good health.
January 2011
OSTRICH KOPPIES FEMALE 6 YEARS 2 MONTHS
1 CUB 4 MONTHS
EYREFIELD
(1 sighting)
The two sightings of the mother and cub were two days in a row. The pair had been found on Matshipiri Dam road with a freshly killed impala. It was a rainy day but it did not stop anyone from watching the two feed and play. Although the cub has not been viewed that much it is very relaxed and curious about the Land Rovers and will venture away from its mother to have a closer look. At this stage it is thought that the little one is a female. Perhaps the mother will have a better chance of raising a female cub to independency. The second day the leopards were found in the same area but this time they were up in the trees because of a pair of mating lions in the area. They had to spend the entire day up in the tree and were eventually left to themselves at night time. The following day the lions were still in the area but the leopards had disappeared and were not seen again for the rest of the report period. Hopefully the mother will continue to bring her cub further south and give us more sightings of them.
