TJELLAHANGA MALE
Tjellahanga male - Photographed by ranger Andrew Batchelor
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| December 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 8 YEARS Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON This male once again provided the stable leopard sightings in the southern parts of the reserve. Interesting to note though was his reaction to the return of the older Beaumont’s male who seems to have moved into the Hlarulini male’s old territory. These two leopards were seen on two occasions to come together over the remains of a warthog kill the Tjellahanga male had made. On both occasions the older Beaumont’s male walked away the victor while the Tjellahanga male was left to wonder what had happened to his once unquestioned reign in the south. Another spectacular sighting involved this leopard, he was seen to investigate the area of a kudu carcass made by the Selati pride. The leopard, showing his true opportunistic nature, ran in on the carcass as the lioness slept nearby. Unfortunately the lionesses noticed him and gave chase catching him, but the wily leopard slid onto his back so the females couldn’t attack his spine and head area. The male leopard then made a clean break when he went up a nearby tree but didn’t manage to secure any of the kill. November 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 8 YEARS Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The Tjellahanga male was once again the most frequently seen male leopard on MalaMala. The male started the report period slowly, however was seen with regular consistency after the first week of the report period. Although the Tjellahanga male has a large piece of unclaimed territory to his north, the furthest north he was observed was just to the north of Calabash Crossing. In fact, most of his sightings were on Toulon, to the south of the Sand River. Interestingly, the male ended the report on a high as far as game viewing is concerned, with him having at least two territory disputes with the Beaumont’s male leopard and another dispute with a young unidentified male. The initial encounter with the Beaumont’s male occurred in the area of a number of warthog carcasses off Elephant Alley, to the east of KK crossing. The Tjellahanga male had killed an adult female warthog and three piglets two days prior to the encounter. Rangers discovered both males a couple of meters apart, scent marking, salivating and roaring. No physical interaction was witnessed; however evidence suggests that the two had in fact come to blows. The Beaumont’s male was the eventual victor, with him appropriating the kill. Just two days later, the two were again at loggerheads, this time on central Toulon. Only time will tell the eventual outcome of this unsuspected challenge by the Beaumont’s male. October 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The Tjellahanga male was one of the most commonly seen leopards on the property this month. He was mainly seen around the southern parts of Charleston and all over Toulon, his original territory.
Being the only dominant male in the south, he had a lot of female company this month, and was seen mating with three different females throughout the month. Interestingly one of these females was the daughter of the Jakkalsdraai female, who is presumed to be mating for the first time. The Rollercoaster female was another, showing that she has indeed chased away her cub. This male is also feeling pressure from new young males and three different males were seen in the south during the month. But as for now he is the largest leopard around in the south and dominates it completely. September 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The Tjellahanga male continued to show dominance over the southern reaches of MalaMala, where he was seen as far north as the Charleston north region, and as far south as central Toulon. His now very large territory is largely undisputed. The male was our most frequently seen leopard on MalaMala for the report period. Incidentally, this has been the case since June.
He was seen to mate with a young female leopard in a mammoth mating period of at least five days towards the end of the report period. He also provided some fine viewing as he actively hunted on numerous occasions in the presence of vehicles. He was also seen to feed off an impala carcass which he had hoisted into a tree.
August 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location:TOULON, CHARLESTON The Tjellahanga male again had a solid month, with him being seen frequently throughout the report period, and being the most frequently seen male leopard for the report period. He started off the month with a bang, being seen all but one day in the first week, with several of the sightings involving the male mating with a nervous unidentified female leopard. The mating seemed to last four days. As with many of the leopard sightings, the Tjellahanga male concentrated his efforts along the banks of the Sand River. In one memorable sighting, the Tjellahanga male was seen to show relatively little aggression to the approaches of the cub of the Rollercoaster female, suggesting that he is her father. Towards the end of the report period, the male provided some fine viewing, with him actively stalking and chasing a small group of giraffe close to Tjellahanga pans. July 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON , CHARLESTON June 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The Tjellahanga male enjoyed a solid game report period, being the most frequently seen leopard on MalaMala. Most sightings involved the male patrolling, scent marking and roaring, clearly proclaiming the territory he had wasted no time in claiming from the absent Hlarulini male.
In the middle part of the report period, The Tjellahanga male was seen to chase the son of the Beaumont’s female up a large Knob Thorn tree growling at his adversary when the young male shifted his weight in the tree.
He was also seen to mate with the Jakkalsdraai female, now the third or fourth time these two leopards have been witnessed mating in recent times, and with the disappearance of the Hlarulini male, the Jakkalsdraai female will have a better chance of raising her next litter if she conceives. It was after all, the Hlarulini male who killed the cubs, presumably sired by the Tjellahanga male at Misters Koppies some months back. May 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON This report period saw the Tjellahanga male continuing to extend his territory, with memorable sightings involving the male at Charleston north, moving south and eventually resting in Beaumont’s camp itself. The male was seen to mate with the Jakkalsdraai female early in the report period, and then with a female identified as the old Harry’s female in the latter part of the report period, a clear indication that the male is considered the most dominant male in the southern parts of Mala Mala at the moment. Importantly this will be especially so, with the apparent absence of the Hlarulini male. April 2007 TJELLAHANGA MALE (previously spelt Chellahanga Male but in keeping with the correct spelling of the area Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The good times keep rolling for the Tjellahanga male. This dominant male leopard was seen on a number of occasions. During one particular instance the Tjellahanga male and the Hlarulini male came face to face in the far south-western parts of the reserve. They growled at one another for a while and then it seemed that the Tjellahanga Male may have had the upper hand as the Hlarulini Male moved off and the Tjellahanga Male kept walking down the road and scent marking. Most male leopard territorial disputes are vocal, because any physical contact could cause extreme injury to both leopards.
On the 22nd of April the Tjellahanga Male was found by rangers on the evening drive responding to the audio of baboons barking, often the sign that there is a predator in the area. He was located on Elephant Ally to the east of Croc Loop. The male seemed to be looking very healthy and was followed as he walked westwards scent marking and roaring. After a while he came across a herd of impala, yet showed no interest as he walked straight past them roaring.
On the afternoon drive of the 23rd of April standby rangers bumped into a female leopard on the Charleston Toulon Boundary close to Rocky Crossing. She was initially sitting on the road, and then moved off into some thick bush. “As we repositioned the vehicle to get a better visual, we herd the unmistakable sound of leopards mating. Once we had rounded the corner and now had a good visual, we could identify the male as the Tjellahanga Male and the female, the Jakkalsdraai Female”. Rangers and guests were all able to witness the leopard’s mate numerous times. Amazing! All in all it looks like the Tjellahanga Male is on solid ground and a positive future lies ahead. March 2007 CHELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON Good times for the Chellahanga Male. Once again this leopard was viewed quite frequently during this month. The first sighting of this leopard was on the 28 th of February in the northern parts of Toulon. Following up on the audio of a male leopard roaring, rangers located the Chellahanga male. The male was in the Ingwe donga, moving west. He was eventually lost heading south across the island crossing. Unfortunately he could not be followed, as the river was too full to cross.
One sighting of this male leopard on the 15 th of March was an encounter with a large female Warthog. The leopard was found on the track to KK Crossing close to the Sand River, grooming himself as he lay in the middle of the road. It was noticed that he had sustained an injury to his right shoulder as we could see a small amount of blood on his coat. Something in the bush nearby caught his attention and he started to stalk in that direction. We noticed a large female Warthog in his line of sight, which had a very badly injured back leg. The Warthog was limping seriously, yet was fully aware of the presence of the leopard. The Chellahanga Male started to jog towards the warthog, which clearly could not run away due to the injury. Suddenly the warthog turned and made ground towards the leopard. The male leopard lay flat on the ground in a pounce position and waited for the warthog. In a last chance act, the warthog bravely charged the Chellahanga male and sent him in the opposite direction. Due to the injuries on both these animals, we believe they may have had a tussle the previous night, leading at the time to the lack of confidence by the Chellahanga Male. On the 21 st of March this leopard was witnessed to be mating with the Jakkalsdraai Female in the Sand River close to the prominent Sycamore Fig Tree down on Toulon. Still one of the dominant Males in the south, The Chellahanga Male promises to deliver more good viewing in the future. February 207 CHELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON The Chellahanga male provided some fine viewing this report period, and was frequently seen in the Ingwe donga and Rocky crossing region. Interestingly the Chellahanga male was also seen to mate with the Jakkalsdraai female, just days after she had been seen mating with the Halrulini male. This type of behaviour has been observed by rangers in the passed, and is potentially a ploy to confuse males that share a female’s territory.
January 2007 CHELLAHANGA MALE Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON It had been a quiet start to the report period for this big male leopard, which usually frequents the south-western parts of Toulon. The Chellahanga male was first seen to the south and west of the Sand River were he was followed eastwards as he scent marked and roared proclaiming what he knows to be his territory. The male was seen on a number of occasions in the Ingwe donga and close to flat rocks, a region in which he had come into contact with the ever-present threat of the Hlarulini male. Perhaps this is a bold move on the part of the Chellahanga male, and the following report period will hopefully be able to clarify this aspect.
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