December 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 10 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(9 sightings)
This male remains in control of a large chunk of Mala Mala, in 2009 he tried to make a play for the Manyelethi males old territory but seems to have ceded power in that area to the Emsagwen male. He still has a great presence around west street bridge and south down the river towards northern Charleston. His son, the son of the Dudley female has put him under pressure for land but the bicycle crossing male has held firm and is still in complete control of all he walks through. In December he spent a lot of time around west street bridge and with the Emsagwen male creeping south down the river he is right to worry a little. Both males are in their prime but who will get the popular west street residence? Only time can tell.
November 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 9 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(7 sightings)
Not seen as much as last month’s total of eleven sightings, but not a bad amount as it seems he is more present on Charleston now. He was seen once with a kudu cow kill on Charleston but it was not confirmed whether he had killed the animal himself or scavenged it. A few times he was spotted on western Flockfield and he seems to still be in good shape but the presence of the Emsagwen male on the western bank has definitely taken its toll and shifted the Bicycle Crossing males territory southwards.
October 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 8 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(11 sightings)
From almost vanishing last month he has made a strong come back in October, the male was seen mating with an unidentified female at the beginning of the month for four days before being reported as mating with her again to the west of our property. Most of his sightings were well south of West Street Bridge which is interesting to note and must be due to the pressure being applied by the Emsagwen male and the son of the Dudley female. Both younger leopards are eagerly eyeing out the river frontage and the bicycle crossing male has his work cut if he wants to continue holding the best leopard real estate in the Sabi Sands. Other interesting sightings included him with the Dudley female and her male cub, the Bicycle crossing male stole two kills off the pair and each time the cub was left in his care as the female went off to find another meal. He still has his manicured good looks and is still well within his prime so expect a lot more action from this male in the future.
September 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 7 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(5 sightings)
He had an average month in terms of sightings but he was seen mating on three of the five occasions. The female in question was a new on for us, she came in from the west and once the mating was finished she left. Other than that the bicycle crossing male simply wasn’t there. Whether this is due to pressure from the Emsagwen male and the son of the Dudley female one will have to wait to find out. He does seem to be spending less and less time in the north of his territory and more to the west of Mala Mala. With the void created in Charleston perhaps he might also bid to take it over.
August 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 6 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(8 sightings)
This large male was not seen much last month and was only seen more regularly towards the end of this month. He was seen mating with the Flockfield female around the Kapen area and has spent a lot of time near West Street, roaring and scenting. He has injured his right eye as well and thus it has taken a while to heal, but all seems well for this male leopard. He seems to have accepted his son, the Son of the Dudley female and towards the end of the month son and father were seen around West Street area watching each other almost accepting each other’s presence. This large male continues to hold a huge territory and with him in such good health he will be around for a long time.
July 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 5 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(4 sightings)
This male has not been seen much this month, he has a very large territory to cover and with the added pressure of mating and hunting as well as the fact that there will be more pressure from other leopards coming into his territory in search of water, especially as his territory is most of the Sand River south of West Street. All of this means that he will have to cover a lot of ground in order to ensure that he retains his core territory during the winter. However he is still in him prime and as a very large male he will not have too much trouble keeping his territory and chasing any intruders off of his land. He might steal from smaller males and females to relieve him from hunting duties but his focus will be territory, patrolling and mating, this will mean we might not see him as much as we would like during the dry winter months.
June 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 4 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(13 sightings)
It has been a good month of viewing for this dominant male leopard, he has stolen a kill from his daughter around West Street, he has killed a warthog and a Bushbuck before being chased off by lions and hyaenas and he has been seen mating with a new female from the west. A busy month for this large male who is moving closer to the Sand River and the north part of his property. He still holds a big territory but during winter most leopards concentrate on their core territory, by the end of winter we will see if his son will manage to claim a small piece of this big males land or if he will chase his son out for good.
May 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 3 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(7 sightings)
He was found for the most part on the western bank around west street bridge. On a few occasion he ventured to the east of the river and once was found as far south and east as paradise valley, he has been there before but that area is new territory for him and a long way from where he usually patrols. One sighting in the middle of the month was of concern, he was found at Flockfield tower in the early morning basking in the sun, when he got and moved the whole left side of his face was swollen and distorted. Some dried blood also indicated he had been in a fight but there were no visible puncture wounds so it must have been a few days before. As he walked down the road he made a comical sight with his one ear hanging down near his jaw line while the other perched atop his head in the usual place. His left eye was almost completely closed and he looked in severe pain but if he was still patrolling his territory as the winner of the fight imagine what happened to the loser. Let’s see what happens with the competition that the coming winter always brings.
April 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 2 MONTH
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(6 sightings)
Not too many sightings for the month of this male leopard. The six times that he was seen were all the latter part of the month, there were no sightings of him in the first two weeks of the report period. All the times that he was seen he was on the western bank. Although he was found close to West Street Bridge, suggesting that he had just used his favourite crossing place it seems that most of his movements were more westwards for the month. All sightings seemed also to be of him in transition as he would come through the area and then disappear again, he was never in the area for too long. The northern parts of his territory as always remain to be highly contested. The Son of the Dudley female (his son) is still trying to stake his claim in this area and what is more interesting though is the interest that is been shown by the large male leopard that comes from Sparta, who is also scent marking on the western bank. On all the occasions that he was seen he was always well fed, except once where he looked quite thin.
March 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS 1 MONTH
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(12 sightings)
Most of the twelve sightings were on the Western Bank, which is normal for his movements. He did however have some interesting moves down into the south on Charleston. After staying down there for about two days he made his way back up into the north. As usual this month was not without incidence involving his son, the Son of the Dudley female. They had a brief interaction around Wildebeest crossing, it ended in the usual manner with the Son of the Dudley female hightailing it out of the area away from his father. The movements of this leopard have not changed substantially for the last two years and with the condition that he is, it is likely that he will continue to be the dominant force on the Western Bank for a while to come.
February 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 8 YEARS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(12 sightings)
The bicycle-crossing male had a very busy month this February and was seen all over his territory. He had a one sided clash with the son of the Dudley female and on several other occasions was seen hot on the heels of his son. He has also seemingly settled his dispute with the Emsagwen male over the old Manyelethi male’s territory, both parties splitting the territory evenly, the Emsagwen male taking the land to the east of the sand river while the bicycle crossing male got everything west of the river. In the southern reaches of his territory he runs unopposed, and for the time being is spending little time down there largely due to the pressure being applied by the son of the Dudley female.
January 2010
BICYCLE CROSSING MALE 7 YEARS 11 MONTHS
WESTERN MALAMALA, WESTERN FLOCKFIELD, NORTHERN CHARLESTON
(11 sightings)
He was seen all over his territory this month, from the Charleston Flockfield boundary right up to main camp. He was also seen mating with the Flockfield female at the beginning of the month, these two have mated before but lets hope this time she will produce cubs. His battle with the son of the Dudley female seems to have subsided this month; they weren’t seen together once this month. But the younger male looks to still be applying the pressure and has started scent marking and roaring in earnest around the north western parts of the bicycle crossing males territory, a challenge this male will soon have to face if he wishes to stay in control. During the month he was also seen with the Dudley female and her new cub which proves rangers theory that he is more than likely the father, he now has an amazing amount of offspring running around especially considering that he isn’t even 8 yet. All in all a good month for the large male, lets hope he continues to be so visible.
