HLARULINI MALE
Archives: 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007
Hlarulini male - Photographed by ranger Ryan Beaton
| HLARULINI MALE Archives: 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007
|
| December 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON, CHARLESTON, SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD The Hlarulini Male leopard was first seen to the north of KK crossing, hunting impala. The male leopard ran in on a herd of impala, but did not manage to catch any of the antelope. Thereafter he was again found hunting impala, this time around the Ingwe donga Area, which is just to the north of the Sand River in the very southern parts of Mala Mala. While stalking impala he noticed the Jakkalsdraai Female to his north. He immediately lost interest in the impala and chased the female leopard northwards. She fled at high speed and he soon gave up the chase and continued eastwards.
In what could perhaps be considered the sighting of the month, rangers and guests were treated to an astounding display of savagery by the Hlarulini Male leopard. He was initially found moving southwards through the southern parts of the open area commonly referred to as The Golf Course. He soon arrived at an adult male impala carcass . The problem for the male leopard was that a hyena was feeding on the impala, and initially he sat some metres off, merely watching the hyena feeding. After a few minutes he sat up and edged forward. Then rather unexpectedly, he dashed towards the hyena and attacked it. He grabbed the hyena’s head between his paws and sank his teeth into its muzzle. He wrestled the hyena to the ground and began strangling it. He held the hyena in this position for almost ten minutes, and eventually the hyena stopped struggling. The leopard then released the motionless creature, collected his impala kill, and moved northwards. Everyone at the sighting thought that the hyena was dead, but upon closer inspection, it became evident that it was still breathing slightly. Over the course of half-an-hour, the hyena’s breathing increased slowly. It eventually managed to get to its feet, but appeared very wobbly. It gathered itself, and then walked off, appearing relatively unscathed.
The Hlarulini Male enjoyed a good month. There is every indication that he controls a large territory, as he was seen as far south as the Golf Course, and as far north as the Charleston Flockfield Boundary. November 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON, CHARLESTON, SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD The game report period started with much drama for the Hlarulini Male, as once again he ventured southwards and confronted the Chellahanga Male. It appears that the northern segments of the Chellahanga Male’s territory overlap with the southern extent of the rather large area controlled by the Hlarulini Male. Quite often, male leopards will confront each other without making physical contact, but this is seldom the case with these two adversaries. The Hlarulini Male is older and larger than the Chellahanga Male, and is usually the one to initiate the conflict, but the younger leopard seldom backs down. On this occasion, the leopards fought for several minutes and then retreated their separate ways. Towards the end of the month the Hlarulini Male provided some fine viewing as he fed off a duiker kill in a Jackalberry tree in the central parts of Charleston. All indications are that this male has a large territory firmly under his control, as he was seen throughout the south-central parts of the reserve, patrolling and marking territory with his usual confidence. He was seen on the central parts of Flockfield on two days, an area that would be considered far north of his established territory. This is typical of dominant male leopards, which constantly test the boundaries of the territories, and endeavour to extend their control as far as possible. October 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON, CHARLESTON, SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD
The Hlarulini Male was seen more frequently in October and was sighted throughout his large domain. The month started off with him and the Chellahanga Male again confronting one another on the northern bank of the Sand River near Ingwe Donga. The leopards growled at one another, but no physical contact was witnessed. The leopard stayed in this area over a three-day period, patrolling northwards before returning to investigate the reeds and rocky outcrops. Then a few weeks later he was found in the lower reaches of the Kapen with the Kapen Female and her Cub. The Hlarulini Male had appropriated a juvenile Nyala kill from the Kapen leopards, and ate what was left of the young antelope. He did not allow the other leopards to return to the carcass, and showed them a lot of aggression when they approached him. Other than this he was also found on an adult male impala kill on central Charleston and fed from the kill over a few days. On the last day the daughter of the Jakkalsdraai Female arrived on the scene and managed to get into the tree whilst the male was asleep in some long grass. The Hlarulini Male immediately chased his daughter off, and returned to the carcass to guard it. So a good month for this large leopard who certainly got around his large territory and did what is expected of a dominant male leopard.
September 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON, CHARLESTON, SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD The Hlarulini Male once again provided some fine viewing in the south of the reserve. What has become evident by the sightings of him is that he seems to have been pushed slightly north of the Sand River by the Chellahanga Male, with whom he has had many fights in the past few months. The first dramatic sighting involving the Hlarulini Male was when he was found with the Kapen family sharing a bushbuck kill. The Hlarulini Male must certainly be the father of the cub as he showed no aggression towards the leopards what so ever. The Eyrefield Pride arrived on the scene and stole the kill. The Hlarulini Male, evidently having dealt with hungry lions before, showed no fear and simply walked off into the reeds leaving the lions to squabble over the remains of the bushbuck. Other than that sightings of this large male leopard indicated that he still maintains a strong hold over the whole of Charleston. However it seems that the Newington Male is testing his northern boundaries along the Kapen River, and he may well have to divide his time between holding the Chellahanga Male out in the south and this other experienced leopard in the north. August 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON, CHARLESTON, SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (8 sightings) The Hlarulini Male was only seen on eight occasions during the report period, but when seen he provided some fine viewing. Perhaps the most significant event was that of his long running feud with the Chellahanga Male. The leopards were seen to reaffirm their common boundaries on at least two occasions, and in contrast to last month, it seems as if the Chellahanga Male might have had the upper hand on this occasion. The Hlarulini Male was certainly sporting some new scars and really has the appearance now of a battle hardened leopard. The one side of his face seems lame, and he had a nasty gash on his cheek and on top of his head to add to the many other scars he has accumulated over the years. The Hlarulini Male was seen to make two kills during the report period, and certainly gets enough food to provide him with the energy required to patrol his vast territory. He made an appearance on the Kapen again this month, an area he has perhaps neglected over the past month given his problems in the south with the Chellahanga Male. He might well find some pressure from both the Newington Male who seems to be venturing onto eastern Flockfield, as well as the Bicycle Crossing Male who has gone as far south as Dudley Crossing, were the Hlarulini Male has been seen scent marking before. September might well prove to be a challenging month for this large male leopard at Mala Mala. July 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (12 sightings) The massive Hlarulini Male had a good month, and provided some fine viewing in the southern-central parts of the reserve. He seems to have a firm grip on his large territory, which spans both banks of the Sand River from KK Crossing on Toulon , to the Kapen River on Flockfield. He was not seen disputing territory with his adversary, the Chellahanga Male, and it seems these two leopards have defined the limits of their territories in the south of the reserve. However, their borders are by no means fixed, and the Hlarulini Male may well be tested again by the younger Chellahanga Male in the months ahead. On a hunting front, the Hlarulini Male had a good month, and looks to be in superb condition. He was seen to kill three times in this report period, including two impala and one duiker. He was not seen mating with any females, but with the large territory that he has, many mating opportunities should be available to the Hlarulini Male in coming months. June 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (13 sightings) The Hlarulini Male had a challenging month and of all the male leopards was probably the busiest. He spent most of his month in the southern parts of the reserve where the Chellahanga Male constantly tested his border. He had at least three observed encounters with the Chellahanga Male, coming to blows with each other on a number of occasions.
The Hlarulini Male certainly had the upper hand in most of these exchanges, being larger and fighting in an area that he would consider more his own. But once the two males got back to the northern parts of Toulon the advantage seemed to swing back towards the Chellahanga Male. This is where the leopards went separate ways, the Hlarulini Male happy that he had escorted his challenger out of his territory. Another quality sighting of this leopard was midway through June when he arrived on the scene were the Toulon Female and Jakkalsdraai Female were fighting over a steenbok kill. The male leopard sent both females scattering as he ran in and dominated over proceedings, finishing the kill off at his own leisure.
May 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (13 sightings) The most frequently seen male leopard this month, the Hlaralini Male had a very good month and all indications are that he has a large portion of MalaMala firmly under his control. During the latter parts of April and the first quarter of May sightings of the Hlarulini Male were of a dominant male leopard on territorial patrols, with much scent marking and roaring to advertise his presence. However unknown to him the Jakkalsdraai Female, a leopard that resides in the heart of Hlarulini Male territory, had gone way out of her domain to seek out the Chellahanga Male as a mate. These two leopards were seen mating in the very later parts of April in the Sand River near Toulon Camp. This is the second female in this game report period that would seen to have chosen another mate over the Hlarulini Male, as it will be remembered that the Dudley Female, who must have come across the Hlarulini Male within her territory, did the same with the Bicycle Crossing Male. Is there something wrong with the Hlarulini Male that would suggest that he is perhaps not as fertile as other male leopards? Whatever the reason the Hlarulini Male was none the wiser when he met up with the Jakkalsdraai Female after she had finished her mating and was returning to her own territory. It would be remembered that last month these two leopards mated as well, so any cubs born to the Jakkalsdraai Female would probably be considered his as he would have no way of knowing about her affair with the Chellahanga Male. In any case the two leopards showed no animosity towards one another, and went their separate ways after a brief friendly interaction. He was not seen to make any kills or feed from anything whilst viewed in May, but this does not mean that he did not eat well. The Hlarulini Male is in superb condition, and looks set to dominate the central parts of MalaMala for some time still.
April 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (12 sightings) As predicted last game report, the Hlarulini Male was indeed resurgent on the southern-central parts of the reserve this month. He had a good month and was the most frequently seen male leopard in April. The Hlarulini Male was seen mating with the Jakkalsdraai Female, as well as triumphing in a scrap with the Chellahanga Male. As can be seen by the sightings map, the Hlarulini Male covered a great deal of ground in April. His dominance on Charleston is unquestionable and his movements in April suggest that this massive male leopard has reasserted himself in areas that were under pressure from the Chellahanga Male. In the fight mentioned above, both male leopards were found on the lower reaches of the Chellahanga River . There was an impala kill in the area, but it was not known which leopard had made the kill. After much parallel displaying and growling, the leopards engaged in a fierce tussle. The smaller Chellahanga Male got bitten quite severely around the head and neck region and retreated once the scrap was over. A definite victory for the Hlarulini Male! March 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , WESTERN CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (4 sightings) There were only four sightings of the Hlarulini Male during this game report period. Two sightings involved him renewing hostilities with the Chellahanga Male on the Charleston/Toulon boundary. It appeared that the older Hlarulini Male gave a good account of himself, and despite no physical fighting, the Hlarulini Male did seem to have the better of the young up and coming Chellahanga Male. Similar to the Newington Male and the Manyeleti Male in the north of the reserve, these two male leopards are archrivals in the contest for dominance of the south. February 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , WESTERN CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (6 sightings) Despite losing most of his traditional territory on Toulon and southern Charleston to the Chellahanga Male, the Hlarulini male still provided good viewing on Charleston and southern Flockfield during the February game report period. With the presence of the Chellahanga Male to his south, and the absence of any really dominant male leopard on Flockfield since the Rock Drift Male’s fall from power, the Hlarulini Male may look to establish himself further to the north on Flockfield. The Hlarulini Male was involved in a memorable sighting when he crossed the flooded Sand River at KK Crossing on Toulon . Despite being swept downstream a considerable distance by the raging torrent, this large male leopard emerged none the worse for wear on the southern bank and continued his territorial patrol southwards. Later in February the Hlarulini Male was found on an adult female nyala kill in the lower reaches of the Kapen River . After finishing this, he continued southwards and was seen again two days later on the western bank of the Sand River , having again crossed the raging river during his wanderings. Despite the emergence of the Chellahanga Male, this large male leopard is still a force to be reckoned with on southern-central Mala Mala. January 2006 HLARULINI MALE Location: NORTH-WESTERN TOULON , WESTERN CHARLESTON , SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD (10 sightings) This large male leopard is still showing a strong presence on western Toulon and Charleston , dominating the area around Kirkmans Kamp.
Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
.jpg)
.jpg)
