CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE
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| December 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 6 YEARS 2 MONTH Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD , MARTHLY Still probably the most regularly seen and popular leopards viewed on Mala Mala at the moment, the Campbell Koppies female and her cubs continued to delight guests and rangers with exceptional viewing and photographic opportunities, mainly around the picturesque areas of Stwise. The cubs are still very much dependent on their mother who appeared to provide her cubs with a wide variety of prey including steenbuck, impala and baboon. Competition between the cubs is, however, becoming more evident, especially at kills and they do seem to prefer to spend more time apart when their mother is not around, indicating that these cubs are growing up quickly. November 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES
FEMALE * 6 YEARS 1 MONTH Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD
, MARTHLY Excellent viewing was again provided by the Campbell Koppies Female and her attractive daughters. These leopards again spent a good deal of their time in most attractive surroundings, making them a photographer’s dream! Leopards are leopards, however, and are not always easily found. It was interesting to see that the cubs of the Campbell Koppies Female were not intimidated by the Manyeleti Male.
The Campbell Koppies Female’s movements in November did overlap, to some extent, with those of her younger sister, the Kikilezi Female. Leopards’ territories are rather fluid, of course, and can change considerably over the course of a couple of years. A prime example of such a leopard is the White Cloth Female. October 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *
6 YEARS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD , MARTHLY
Having spent most of September on Marthly the Campbell Koppies Female was seen to spend a little more time on Eyrefield in October. She and her cubs were still encountered near Stwise and the other koppies on Marthly on occasions and they went down to drink from the Sand River near Matumi Rocks. The Campbell Koppies Female killed an adult male impala to the west of the Mlowathi River early in the game report period, but did not hoist it into a tree. Later in the month she and both cubs were found with a duiker kill in a huge Schotia tree on top of a large termite mound near Small Paraffin Drift. One of the cubs met a male lion early in the game report period and hastily scrambled up a tree. On the last day of the game report period the Campbell Koppies Female, one of her daughters and the son of the White Cloth Female were all seen in trees within a few hundred metres of each other warily watching a few lions that were resting at Mlowathi Dam. September 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 5 YEARS 11 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD , MARTHLY
With all surface water on Eyrefield having dried up, the Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs spent most of September on Marthly. The very scenic surroundings of Stwise and other rocky outcrops provided some wonderful settings for sightings of these leopards. Although they were only seen on one kill, and that was near the end of the month, the three leopards are all doing very well, and the cubs have provided a number of excellent photographic opportunities. They are becoming quite bold and inquisitive, and one of them entertained her viewers when she walked among the large herd of buffalo, stalking individuals from behind boulders.
August 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 5 YEARS 10 MONTHS (9 sightings of the female, 7 of them with one or both her cubs; 8 sightings of one or both cubs without their mother) The Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs (both of which, it seems, are female) provided excellent viewing in August, and much of this viewing was in very attractive surroundings, among the rocky outcrops between Stwise and the Manyeleti River . The cubs are both very relaxed, and on occasion need to be discouraged from venturing too close to the vehicles. The Campbell Koppies Female was seen on at least three kills (an impala, which she ended up losing to the Manyeleti Male), and two duiker, which she shared with her cubs.
With Mlowathi Dam having dried up, these three leopards are having to drink elsewhere, and this is probably one of the major reasons for them spending so much time on Marthly. It is not far to walk from the Manyeleti River bed (which is dry) to the Sand River in the vicinity of Elephant Rock. The frequent presence of the Campbell Koppies Female in this area might put some pressure on her younger sister, the Kikilezi Female. Even if the Campbell Koppies Female is unable to secure any Sand River frontage as a part of her territory, she and her cubs will still make regular trips to the diminishing water of the Sand River , until it rains and there are other places to drink. July 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *
5 YEARS 9 MONTHS
The Campbell Koppies Female and her two cubs again provided some excellent leopard viewing in the north of the reserve in July. They seem to be spending a great deal of time near the prominent outcrop of granite boulders known as Stwise (or Sithlawayise!), which is ideal leopard habitat. On one occasion, the Campbell Koppies Female killed a sub-adult warthog, but this kill was not witnessed. Just after the middle of the month, one of the cubs caught a very young klipspringer. Still very young and inexperienced, this leopard cub took a good three hours to kill the unfortunate little antelope, while the adult female klipspringer looked on helplessly. The baby klipspringer bleated in distress, and the leopard cub was fortunate that these distress calls did not attract hyena, lion or another leopard. A young leopard learns a lot of its hunting skills on its own, rather than being taught by its mother, and it can be quite disturbing to see a young antelope struggle and tremble for hours, while its captor clumsily learns how to kill it. Incidentally, this is only the second klipspringer reported to have been killed by a leopard on Mala Mala for at least a decade.
June 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 5 YEARS 8
MONTHS After not being seen for several weeks, the cubs of the Campbell Koppies Female were found to the north of Mlowathi Koppies, in the first week of June. Their mother was also present, and one of the cubs was finishing off the remains of a duiker kill. Two days later, the three of them were found again, feeding on another duiker kill, this time to the north and west of Stwise, on Marthly.
The best sightings of the Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs took place on Eyrefield, after the Campbell Koppies Female had killed an adult male impala, and led her cubs to this kill. For two days, the leopards fed on this kill, on the ground, but by the following morning, hyenas had arrived on the scene, and all three leopards were in a large knob thorn tree with the remains of the kill. Typically, only one leopard feeds on a kill at a time, and is aggressive to any other leopard that dares approach while it is feeding. In this instance, however, the Campbell Koppies Female and one of her cubs fed at the same time on what was left of the carcass. There was good feeding activity, almost reminiscent of young lions feeding on a kill, and the cub (a male) was very tenacious, unwilling to give in to its mother’s superior size. Interesting interactions between the Campbell Koppies Female and the son of the White Cloth Female were described earlier. May 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 5 YEARS 7 MONTHS It was rather surprising to see the Campbell Koppies Female only twice during the whole month, and to not see her cubs at all. It is believed that her territory, up until now has not extended far beyond Mala Mala’s northern boundary, so this is a good example of just how secretive leopards can be, or how difficult they can be to find. On the other hand, there is the possibility that the death of the Hlabatini Female has created a void to the north of our boundary, and that the Campbell Koppies Female is, in response, extending her territory northwards. A leopard’s territory never remains vacant for long! April 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 5 YEARS 6 MONTHS The Campbell Koppies Female and her two cubs provided some excellent leopard viewing in April, mainly along the Mlowathi River. While being followed on the hunt one evening, the Campbell Koppies Female killed a duiker, and for the next two days, she and her cubs fed on this kill in a tree. Two weeks later, she killed a klipspringer, and this was also shared with her cubs. One would think that leopards would be major predators of klipspringers, but there are no other records of klipspringers being killed by leopards on Mala Mala over the last 15 years! The Campbell Koppies Female was also believed to have been responsible for an impala kill, which she ended up losing to the Newington Male. The cubs of the Campbell Koppies Female are now both highly relaxed in the presence of vehicles, and they entertained viewers with their playful antics. The mother often joined them in their games, all geared towards developing hunting skills.
March 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *
5 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, EASTERN MARTHLY, NORTHERN
MALA MALA The Campbell Koppies Female had a good month in March, and provided some fine viewing. Her cubs were only seen on one day, and they were with their mother on that occasion. They were very inquisitive when the first Land Rover approached, and kept coming closer to the vehicle to investigate, while their mother looked on. She herself is a highly relaxed leopard, and did not seem bothered when her youngsters approached the vehicle. The three leopards were viewed at length on that day, both in the morning and evening, and they certainly were entertaining to watch. On the other five occasions when the Campbell Koppies Female was seen, she was active, but was not seen to make any kills. She hunted mainly in the area to the east of Mlowathi Dam, but one evening nearly walked straight into the Styx Pride, while these lions were resting near Mlowathi Koppies. The lions gave chase, but the leopard emerged unscathed, and continued her wanderings in a more westerly direction, between the lower reaches of the Mlowathi, and Stwise (the most prominent koppie on Marthly). February 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *
5 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD
The Campbell Koppies Female leopard was seen mostly along the Mlowathi River, close to Mlowathi Dam, and all four sightings of the cubs were also in this small area. Although they have not yet been seen feeding on kills, there is no doubt that the cubs have been eating meat for a couple of months already. As is so often the case, one of the cubs is a good deal bolder and more adventurous than its sibling. January 2005 CAMPBELL KOPPIES
FEMALE * 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD/
NORTHERN MALA MALA / MARTHLY The Campbell Koppies Female leopard has moved her cubs a long way west of where they were first seen. They were seen with their mother on the reserve’s north-western boundary, along the banks of a tributary of the Manyeleti, west of Stwise. The mother is a highly relaxed leopard, and one of the cubs is already quite relaxed, while the other is still quite shy. At the end of the game report period, the Campbell Koppies Female killed an adult female impala close to Mlowathi Dam on northern Eyrefield. It is very likely that she would lead her youngsters back to this kill, as they are quite old enough to be eating meat now.
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