CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE
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Photograph by ranger Bruce Hedges
| CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE Archives: 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008
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| December 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *8 YEARS 2 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY The Campbell Koppies female had an excellent month with us seeing her and the cub more times than we have the entire year. The rain, however, influenced many of the sightings again as she had made a kill north of Mlowathi dam but with the wet conditions rangers couldn’t approach the area and we were reduced to watching from a distance as the cub and female played, fed and sat out the rain. When the rain did let up the two were seen up close for the fist time but under serious circumstances. A male leopard was seen to try mate with the daughter of the Campbell Koppies female near the kill site. The male lost interest and walked into the area of the kill. The female luckily was alert to the situation and ran for cover calling the male trying to distract him. The cub made a sneaky exit out the back of the bush as the male entered from the front. He then tried to entice the cub out by calling like a female but the cub didn’t respond and the male got fed up and left both leopards in peace. They were both seen a few days later. November 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE *8 YEARS 1 MONTH Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY There was only one confirmed report of the Campbell Koppies female during the report period. The female was seen in the vicinity of Paraffin Drift towards the end of the report period. Encouragingly, the female was in good condition, and probably even more exciting was the fact that she was seen on Western Marthly (remembering that Marthly was her chosen territory during the successful rearing of her most recent, now independent female offspring). Perhaps in the coming months, she will be seen with a similar consistency to that period. October 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 11 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY It has been almost a year since we last sighted the Campbell Koppies female but she has returned to MalaMala. She was spotted early in the report period, alone, near the northern boundary where she was calling for her cub. Reports from northern nieghbours have confirmed she has one cub of two months and that it is very relaxed.
In the latter part of the month the female was found again in the northern parts of the property only this time the cub was present. The two leopards were relaxed around vehicles and moved through the open area before heading into the thicker bush where the female left the cub to go hunting. It is fantastic to finally see this beautiful female return to MalaMala ands lets hope she stays on the property to raise her next litter. July / August/ September 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 9 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY The Campbell Koppies Female was not seen during the report period. June 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 7 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY After 4 months of absence the Campbell Koppies female made a cameo appearance around the 27 of May in the vicinity of the Mlowathi Dam, along with one of her daughters. There was a fair amount of aggression between them as they are both independent leopards. May 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 7 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY April 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY The Campbell Koppies female was only seen once during the report period, close to the Senegal bush region. The female made her way steadily north and slightly east, through some thick combretum thickets in the region of Sibuye Road. She was seen to hunt a herd of impala unsuccessfully before moving further north. It appears ass if this female has moved north and west, making room for the Kikilezi female in the west and her daughters to their south. February / March 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY January 2007 CAMPBELL KOPPIES FEMALE * 7 YEARS 3 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD, MARTHLY The Campbell Koppies Female was first seen on Mapunyelele Drive on the Northwestern parts of Eyrefield. She was found sleeping in a large Marula tree and left the same way. Since the daughters of this leopard have become independent she has relinquished part of her territory to them and has not been seen as much as in the past. Not long after this encounter she was observed to chase both her daughters up a tree on the southern parts of the Mlowathi River that we know as the centre of her old territory. She now regards both her daughters as competition. This made for some great viewing value. Late in the report period, the female was viewed in the northern reaches of the Mlowathi River. Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
