HLARULINI MALE

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HLARULINI MALE

Location: SOUTH-WESTERN CHARLESTON/ NORTH-CENTRAL TOULON (south of the river)
(6 confirmed sightings)

Sightings of the Hlarulini Male suggest that he his well in control of his territory and perhaps even expanding.  There was one sighting of him near the confluence of the Kapen and Sand Rivers on NW Charleston, an area he was last encountered in in early July this year when he clashed with the younger male leopard up until then thought to have been in control of this region.  There were also sightings of the Hlarulini Male near the southwestern corner of the reserve, around the Msuthu River, where, on one occasion, he was found eating an impala which he had probably appropriated from a female leopard which was seen exiting from the area.

But perhaps the most exciting news concerning the Hlarulini Male this month was his mating with the Jakkalsdraai Female.  These two were also seen mating in November, but obviously it wasn't successful.

With the Jakkalsdraai Female mostly occupying a territory patrolled by her father, the Rock Drift Male and, with the Rock Drift Male spending more and more time pushing northwards, away from this, and with the Hlarulini Male seemingly entering an expansionist phase of his life, one wonders whether a realignment of male leopards territories is not on the cards?

November 2003

HLARULINI MALE

Location: SOUTH-WESTERN CHARLESTON/ NORTH-CENTRAL TOULON (south of the river)
(6 confirmed sightings)

Aside from sightings apparently aimed at territorial patrols, the Hlarulini Male was seen mating with the Jakkalsdraai Female this month.  For the Jakkalsdraai Female this is certainly good news; up until now her prospects of mating with a male leopard other than her father, the Rock Drift Male, have apparently been slim.  This mating event occurred in an area to the southwest of that controlled by the Jakkalsdraai Female, suggesting that she deliberately went looking for a male beyond her borders.

October 2003

HLARULINI MALE

Location: CENTRAL & NE TOULON (south of the river)

 (2 confirmed sightings)
The two sightings of the Hlarulini Male this month were both on central southern Toulon, areas thought to have been abandoned by this leopard some months ago, this after indications that he had been chased from these areas by another male leopard.

September 2003

HLARULINI MALE

Location: SOUTHERN CHARLESTON (north of the Sand River)/ NORTHERN TOULON (north of the river)

(5 confirmed sightings)
Although, like previous months, most sightings of the Hlarulini Male were towards the NW corner of Toulon, close to the Sand River, he was seen to venture slightly further afield and reach what is probably a common border between his domain and that controlled by the Rock Drift Male to his northeast.

Perhaps the most exciting encounter with the Hlarulini Male occurred at the very beginning of this report period when he, a young male leopard and a hyaena clashed over the rotting remains of an adult kudu carcass.  The young male leopard was the first on the scene, but was also the first to be driven off, this when the Hlarulini Male arrived.  A hyaena gained temporary control at one stage before the Hlarulini Male managed to win the carcass back and take it up a tree.

August 2002

Location:  SW CHARLESTON (west of the Sand River)/ NW TOULON

 (4 confirmed sighting)
The Hlarulini Male continues to baffle us with his behaviour.  Sightings suggest that he may very well have been ousted from the areas he once controlled on NE and eastern Toulon and, even though he was seen escorting another male leopard away from the area of western Charleston last month, his almost sedentary behaviour witnessed this month is not that which one associates with an active male leopard which has a territory to patrol and nurture.

July 2003

Location: W CHARLESTON (west of the Sand River)

 (1 confirmed sighting)
The single confirmed sighting of the Hlarulini Male occurred at the very beginning of this game-report-period and was certainly memorable.  The leopard was found on western Charleston, west of the Sand River, 'escorting' another male leopard out of the area.  The other male leopard has been around for over a year and is thought to be the one which ousted the Beaumonts Male from this region.  He was the same leopard which was seen feeding from the carcass of an adult male bushbuck, spectacularly wedged in a Rain Tree, in early June.

The Hlarulini Male was by far the larger of the two leopards and seemed to dominate the encounter.  As with so many engagements between leopards, there was probably very little, if any, actual physical interaction.  The two animals simply postured and conveyed messages through growling and other ritual displays.

So far there has been little indication that the Hlarulini Male has been looking to expand into this particular area; his territory, as far as is known and up until this incident, was believed to lie mostly to the south of the north-south bend in the Sand River on Toulon.  Now, will the Hlarulini Male continue with this expansion of land, or was this just a lesson to an intruder, a reminder to keep out?

June 2003

Location: W  CHARLESTON/ TOULON

 (1 confirmed sighting)
The single sighting of the Hlarulini Male was in the Sand River close to the western parts of the Charleston/ Toulon Boundary.  It is highly likely that the Hlarulini Male fathered the cubs of the nervous female leopard which lives in this area and since these two cubs are often in this location, chances are that the Hlarulini Male was simply paying a courtesy call.

May 2003

Location: NW TOULON

 (5 confirmed sightings)
Sightings of the Hlarulini Male this month were all of him patrolling the southern parts of the reserve.  There was one sighting, towards the end of the month, of a male leopard thought to have been the Hlarulini Male, but in an area where he has so far not been encountered.  This sighting occurred on western-central Charleston, to the west of the Sand River.  Although the leopard behaved somewhat like the Hlarulini Male, by calmly yet seemingly deliberately moving away from the vehicles and vanishing into thick vegetation, this is certainly not a part of the reserve where one expects to encounter this particular leopard.

April 2003

Location: NW TOULON

(2 confirmed sightings)
The two sightings of the Hlarulini Male were both to the northwest of the area considered his territory.

March 2003

Location: NW TOULON

(2 confirmed sightings)
The enigmatic Hlarulini Male leopard was seen twice this month, both times at a river crossing below Kirkman's Kamp and over a period of three days.  If he had a kill in the area, as this behaviour suggested, it was not found.  It could also have been that he was visiting the cubs of the Toulon Female, thought to have been hidden in this area and thought to have been fathered by the Hlarulini Male.  He is also probably the mate of the nervous female leopard which holds the territory to the west of that occupied by the Toulon Female.  This particular female leopard also has a young cub.

February 2003

Location: NE TOULON

(1 confirmed sighting)
The single sighting of the Hlarulini Male, a relaxed yet reclusive leopard it seems, was in the thick reedbeds of the Sand River on NE Toulon. The leopard had killed a bushbuck, an antelope common to such riverine conditions, and was eating it in the reeds. At one stage the small herd of buffaloes approached to within only a few metres of where the Hlarulini Male was feeding; the buffaloes did not appear to notice the leopard.

January 2003

Location: NW TOULON

(no confirmed sighting)

December 2002

Location: NW TOULON

(1 confirmed sighting)
The only sighting of the Hlarulini Male during December was near Kirkman's Kamp.

November 2002

Location: NW TOULON

(1 confirmed sightings)
The single confirmed sighting of the Hlarulini Male this month was of this large male leopard dragging a freshly killed young bushbuck into the reeds of the Sand River. In spite of the paucity of sightings of the Hlarulini Male, it is still believed that he is firmly in control of the southern parts of the reserve.

October 2002

Location: TOULON

(no confirmed sightings)

September 2002

Location: TOULON

(5 sightings)
The Hlarulini Male leopard was not seen to do anything terrifically exciting this month; sightings were really only of a male leopard patrolling the peripheries of his territory.

August 2002

Location: CENTRAL CHARLESTON- TOULON BOUNDARY

(1 sighting)

The single sighting of the Hlarulini Male was in an area considered the boundary between his territory and that occupied by the Rock Drift Male. With the Toulon Female, one of his mates, moving into this area too, it is not surprising that he would perhaps follow.

July 2002

Loation: CENTRAL-WESTERN TOULON

(2 sightings)
One of the two sightings of the Hlarulini Male leopard was of him in the general area where the Toulon Female may have given birth and hidden her cubs. The two were seen mating in early April and much of the Toulon Females' behaviour over the last few weeks of July has suggested that she could well have had babies. It would not be unusual for the father of the babies to visit the area to inspect the new arrivals.

June 2002

Location: CENTRAL CHARLESTON/ TOULON BOUNDARY

(2 sightings)
The two sightings of the Hlarulini Male leopard produced nothing extraordinary.

May 2002

Location: CENTRAL-EASTERN CHARLESTON/ TOULON BOUNDARY

(2 sightings)
Both confirmed sightings of the Hlarulini Male leopard had him on the northern bank of the Sand River and on one occasion he was not far south of the Rock Drift Male, at the time feeding off an impala kill. But these neighbours were not seen to make contact, this probably unnecessary since each were within their established areas.

April 2002

Location: SW CHARLESTON (north & east of the Sand River)/ NORTHERN TOULON

(3 sightings)
There were at least three sightings of the Hlarulini Male, one of these of him mating with the Toulon Female. This mating of course means that the Toulon Female has lost her cubs which were born earlier in the year, these probably fathered by the Hlarulini Male - goodness knows what happened to them. A few days after the mating pair was seen, the Toulon Female was seen again, still mating, but with a male leopard which could not be identified due to the thick bush. It was probably the Hlarulini Male again. One of the sightings of the Hlarulini Male had him in an area where he has so far not been seen, this on SW Charleston, east of the Sand River. The Rock Drift Male has been seen in this area before, as has the Beaumonts Male. It will be interesting to see what the Rock Drift Male, which has been around for several years now, does about this. The Hlarulini Male is probably younger and may well have greater staying power. In some ways it would not be such a bad thing for the Rock Drift Male to relinquish his hold on this particular piece of land as it could give one of his daughters, that of the Kapen Female, a chance to mate with another male leopard.

March 2002

SOUTHERN TOULON

(2 sightings)
The Hlarulini Male leopard is thought to be the mate of the Toulon Female, and the controller of the territory south of the Rock Drift Male and south of the Beaumonts Male. Most of his territory would then be south of the Sand River. One of the most distinguishing features of this large and relaxed male leopard is a large notch out of the top of his left ear. There were two sightings of the Hlarulini Male leopard this month, the one of him on patrol, the other of him mating with a female leopard, this a nervous animal which may occupy the area of SW Toulon.

February 2002

There were two sightings of an adult male leopard on Toulon, south of the Sand River. They may have been of the same animal, the mate of the Toulon Female. The one sighting was close to Toulon Camp (the old Harrys Camp), the other close to Kirkmans Camp. The origin of this male leopard is not certain, but it is not particularly perturbed by the presence of landrovers. A male leopard seen on the northern bank of the Sand River on NW Toulon may also have been this male leopard. This particular 'corner' of land where the Sand River changes from north-south to east-west may be controlled by the Rock Drift Male, but it is not certain. Since the Toulon Female used to (may still do) venture here and the Rock Drift Male has probably never dominated over her, then perhaps he does not and this 'other' male leopard is then indeed the current 'owner'.

January 2002

The Beaumonts male leopard was seen chasing another male leopard, this a younger animal which had perhaps been attracted to the area by a female. The older male chased off the younger male. A week or so later there was a sighting of a young male leopard some kilometres further south of where this interaction had occurred. The leopard was lying in a tree watching some impala. He was perfectly relaxed in the company of gamedrive landrovers and could well have been the same animal which had some days before been chased by the older male leopard.

December 2001

Two sightings of a male leopard, relatively relaxed, on Toulon, both encounters to the south and west of the Sand River. These sightings were quite likely of the same animal, this probably the male leopard which is the immediate southern neighbour to the Rock Drift Male.

November 2001

Three sightings of perhaps two different male leopards; they may have been of the same individual. Two of these encounters were on NE Toulon, close to the boundary with Charleston and north of the Sand River. The leopard in question is the one which is thought to be the southern neighbour to the Rock Drift Male and mate to the Toulon Female at least. At the one sighting he walked within only a hundred meters of where a female cheetah and her three cubs were eating an adult female impala kill. The leopard did not detect the kill. The third sighting was on SW Toulon. As far as distance is concerned, this would be nothing for a large male leopard to cover.

October 2001

There were at least four sightings of male leopards on NW Toulon over a period of only two days - there were perhaps three different animals involved, one described as an approximately 2-year-old male. The exact status of male leopard in the Toulon area of Mala Mala - the very south - is not quite known and there may be two animals, one holding the central areas, the other the south-western parts towards the Msuthu River; the latter is quite nervous and was seen with a female leopard in this area towards the middle of the month.

September 2001

It is thought that a fairly relaxed adult male leopard has moved onto the western parts of Charleston, west of the Sand River, whilst another, more nervous male leopard, controls the area south of him and also south of the southern range of the Rock Drift Male.

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