May 2008

CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER (6 Sightings)

This Female leopard was seen on a number of occasions on Charleston, which still forms the majority of her territory. Although, as with the last report period, she tended to spend more time in the southern reaches of Charleston, possibly leaving the northern sections to her daughter, and still not venturing too far south to avoid contact with the Rollercoaster female leopard. The female leopard was seen to be mating during the report period with the Tjellahanga male, during which the two leopards managed to kill a juvenile bushbuck, where there was some excellent feeding as well as mating interaction between to the leopards.

April 2008

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE 8 YEARS 5 MONTHS

CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER
(7 Sightings)

The Jakkalsdraai female has been secretive over the last month. Many of her sightings this month have been together with the Beaumont’s male leopard. However they were only observed to mate on two occasions. The Jakkalsdraai female has mated with the Tjellahanga male in times passed, however no fruit was born of that pairing. Time will tell if the Beaumont’s male has better luck. At other times she has been seen over a widely spaced area throughout her territory. She is still actively scent marking and has been very successful at hunting. However she is not as often seen around the Charleston/Flockfield boundary, but more often towards southern Charleston. It may be that she is shifting her territory south and eastwards as her daughter becomes more entrenched in the northern areas.

January 2007

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE              * 8 YEARS 2 MONTHS

Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER
(7 Sightings)

his leopard, usually so often seen, was not seen very much over this month, only seven sightings of her over the course of the month. Around the middle of the month she was found close to the Charleston Koppies with an impala kill in a tree. She remained in this area for three days and afterwards was seen to head south again. Most of the sightings of this leopard this month were centered on the Tjellahanga River and the Sand River at the confluence with the Tjellahanga. The bush is very thick at the moment due to the early rains and the grass very long. This means that she could be in and around this area much more frequently than is indicated by the number of sightings. However, it might be that she is just exploring new areas and moving into areas not often driven or off Toulon.