November 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 9 YEARS 11 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(6 sightings)
This big male still controls his vast territory in the southern parts of the reserve and shows no sign of slowing down. A few months ago he restricted his movements to mainly Toulon but in recent times, especially this month, he has moved back into his old ranges of southern Charleston. With increasing pressure from young males he has taken the offensive and now patrols regularly along the sand river from Beaumonts hippo pools to sands end east. His old enemy the Beaumonts male made a few appearances this month but disappeared quickly when the Tjellahanga male moved into the territory. He still has yet to meet the Bicycle Crossing male over land around Charleston north but it looks like he instead of expanding is consolidating his control over the river between KK crossing and lion crossing.
October 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 9 YEARS 10 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(8 sightings)
This male had a quiet month in comparison to his usual self. He still remains the Alfa male in the entire south and even with a few run-ins with younger males this winter the old man made it out alive still at the top. He has in the recent few weeks moved back into the northern parts of his territory, for a long time he wasn’t spotted in the Jakkalsdraai area but now possibly due to pressure he has started patrolling this area again. He was also seen with some of his offspring during the month, sightings had him in the vicinity of the cub of the Rollercoaster female, and the Jakkalsdraai cub. The latter was not sired by him but the Jakkalsdraai female cunningly mated with him shortly after she gave birth and so he now believes he is the father. It will be interesting to see what the future hold for this male, he has dominated for so long that new males must be on the verge of pushing him out or at least partly taking over.
September 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 9 YEARS 9 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(12 sightings)
Still commandeering a vast territory in the southern parts of the reserve this male shows no sign of slowing down. In the last few months he has restricted his movements to mainly Toulon but in recent times he has moved back into his old ranges of southern Charleston. With increasing pressure from young males he has taken the offensive and now patrols regularly along the sand river from Beaumonts hippo pools to sands end east. His old enemy the Beaumonts male made a few appearances this month but disappeared quickly when the Tjellahanga male moved into the territory. He still has yet to meet the bicycle crossing male over land around Charleston north but it looks like he instead of expanding is consolidating his control over the river between KK crossing and lion crossing.
August 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 9 YEARS 8 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(13 sightings)
Ever dependant this large male of the south was spotted all over his territory from Beaumont’s hippo pools in the north to lion crossing in the south to the Kingston break in the west. He continues to be challenged by a young male who is slightly nervous who we also see hanging around the windmill at times but so far he has managed to fend off his competitor and still holds court over channel two. Some interesting sightings had him in close proximity to the Jakkalsdraai female and her cub who he didn’t father and would pose a great threat it if he found it, thankfully all the sightings diffused peacefully and all leopards walked away unharmed.
July 2009
+/- 9 YEARS 7 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(9 sightings)
This male was not seen until the last two weeks of the month. When found he often to the south of the sand river an area he hasn’t spent much time of late. The reappearance of the Beaumont’s male could be the cause of this sudden move south or perhaps the sustained pressure from the bicycle-crossing male to the north. Either way this male didn’t look to be backing down, patrolling and vigorously scent marking all throughout the southern parts of his territory.
June 2009
+/- 9 YEARS 6 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(6 sightings)
This is one of the least amounts of time this male has been seen. With all the new males being seen in the south and the reappearance of the Beaumont’s male he has his hands full protecting his massive territory. Being found in many different parts of the property goes to show the pressure he is under and how much he is going to need to patrol in order to maintain his dominance.
May 2009
+/- 9 YEARS 8 MONTHS
TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(15 sightings)
The dominant male in the south did not disappoint this month, making an impressive 15 appearances. He still appears to hold a very large territory and was seen scent marking as far north as Jakkalsdraai open area. The majority of sightings for the month were however concentrated along the Sand River. With winter approaching and game starting to concentrate along the reserves major water course there is no doubt that he will come under increasing pressure from other males in the area to hold onto this prime piece of real estate. Only time will tell weather he will be able to fend off these heirs to be and remain the dominant force in the south.
March 2009
TOULON, CHARLESTON (10 Sightings)
The Tjellahanga male remained the most viewed male leopard on the
Southern part of Mala Mala, this male was seen a number of time mating
with the Jakkalsdraai female during the report period. This male leopard
was not seen having any contact with any other male leopards during
the report period but a number of times he was found in areas that
was in close proximity to other leopards within his territory. This
leopard has been very active over the report period and moving around
a lot within his territory and one wonders with all the young male
leopards been seen around the South if they are putting any pressure
on the old male.
Febuary 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 8 YEARS
TOULON, CHARLESTON
(21 Sightings)
Again the most viewed leopard in the Mala Mala area. This large male
continues his dominion over one of the largest territories in the
area. During the course of this month he has been seen mating with
the Rollercoaster female, successfully hunting from baboons to impala
and bushbuck. He continues to repel the intrusions by the Beaumont’s
male and he is in excellent condition for a half blind leopard his
age. His relaxed attitude toward the vehicles and people has given
guests and rangers alike some excellent insights into leopard behaviour.
Over this last report period he has been very mobile. Moving often
quite long distances in the space of one evening. This is enabling
him to maintain good coverage of his territory and be in a position
to defend it against intruders. There were no spectacular hunts by
this leopard witnessed this last month, but he has been found fairly
consistently with a range of prey.
January 2009
TJELLAHANGA MALE +/- 8 YEARS
Location: TOULON, CHARLESTON
(11 Sightings)
This large and dominant leopard was the most frequently seen male leopard on MalaMala this month. He is still in control of one of the largest territories on MalaMala despite the attempts of the Beaumont’s male to challenge him. He is seen on most parts of Toulon and is very active in patrolling as much of his territory as often as he can. He covers large distances every day and is seldom found in the same place twice. Early in the report period he was found with a sub-adult impala kill in a tree not far from the Skukuza road. He quickly finished the carcass as it was a young male and was not there the following day. Around the middle of the report period he was found on the Main Section Golf Course with an adult female impala kill. He remained in this area for two days as he fed off the kill he had stashed in a tree.
