MalaMala - The Wildlife

December 2004

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 5 YEARS 1 MONTH
2 CUBS * 8 MONTHS

Location: W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the Sand River)
(6 sightings of the female, two of them being with both cubs; one sighting of the female and one cub)

The Jakkalsdraai Female seems to be doing a good job of raising her two cubs, and the three leopards provided some fine viewing again in December. She was seen to share at least two young impala kills with her cubs. There was some concern later in the month, when the female was seen with only one of her cubs, but a subsequent sighting showed that all is still well with both cubs.

November 2004

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 5 YEARS 0 MONTHS
2 CUBS * 7 MONTHS

(8 sightings of the female, three of them being with the cubs; one sighting of the cubs on their own)
It was another good month for the Jakkalsdraai Female leopard and her two cubs. The mother is providing well for her offspring, and as a result, the youngsters are thriving. There were good sightings of these leopards, and the cubs are becoming steadily bolder. The Jakkalsdraai Female was seen to stalk and kill a young impala after a long, absorbing hunt, and on another occasion she and the cubs were found on a similar kill.

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 4 YEARS 11 MONTHS
2 CUBS * 6 MONTHS

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river)

(5 sightings of the female, four of them being with the cubs; one sighting of the cubs on their own)
The Jakkalsdraai Female and her two cubs are doing well and providing some good viewing, to the south and west of the centre of the reserve. Of course the cubs have been eating meat for a few months already, and so their mother is leading them to some of the kills which she makes. With good exposure to vehicles at such kill sites, the cubs are becoming more and more relaxed, and, terrain permitting, can normally accommodate two vehicles. As the two youngsters grow, we shall learn more about their different characters. So often, if a female leopard has two cubs, one is quite daring and adventurous, while the other tends to be more shy and reserved.

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river) (6 sightings of the female, four of them being with the cubs; no sightings of the cubs on their own)

The Jakkalsdraai Female leopard seems to be doing a good job of raising her litter of two cubs. These leopards were seen on two different kills on Charleston, one of them being a steenbok and the other a bushbuck. The cubs still need to be viewed cautiously, quietly and with patience, as they slowly get used to vehicles. Some of the terrain favoured by the Jakkalsdraai Female and her cubs is not very vehicle-friendly, and it is always best for the vehicles to move slowly when around young or nervous animals.

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river) (1 sighting of the female with the cubs; one sighting of the cubs on their own)

Surprisingly, there was just a single sighting of the Jakkalsdraai Female and her cubs in August, and this was at the site of a kill. The cubs on their own were seen the following day. All three leopards were in good order, but the cubs are still somewhat apprehensive of vehicles.

JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE (Daughter of the Kapen Female) * 4 YEARS 8 MONTHS
2 CUBS * 3 MONTHS

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river) (3 sightings of the female, one of these with the cubs; one sighting of the cubs on their own).

The Jakkalsdraai Female has two cubs, which must be about three months old now. Still a little apprehensive of vehicles, these cubs have not been seen frequently, and the "lair" sites used by the Jakkalsdraai Female have been visited strictly by only a single vehicle at a time. As the cubs get older and bolder, they will surely become quite relaxed in the presence of vehicles, and we look forward to some excellent cub viewing. Their mother should very soon start leading them to kills.

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river) (5 sightings)

Sightings of the Jakkalsdraai Female this month were concentrated to the eastern bank of the Sand River on western Charleston. Indications are that she's most definitely given birth and, at months end, the litter was hidden in the Charleston River Rocks which are on southwestern Charleston. There were at least two sightings of her returning to this area and calling to cubs. Answering calls were heard, but no cubs were seen. Vehicle access to this area has been limited.

Probably quite coincidentally, the Jakkalsdraai Females' grandmother, the Trollips Crossing Female, used to control this same territory and certainly for a time concealed her last litter, which included the Jakkalsdraai Females' mother, the Kapen Female, in these same rocks!

Location: SW FLOCKFIELD/ W CHARLESTON/ NW TOULON (east & north of the river) (8 sightings)

The Jakkalsdraai Female appears intent on annexing the area of land to the immediate south of her existing territory, that part of land on SW Charleston and NW Toulon, north and east of the Sand River, which for the last year at least is thought to have 'belonged' to the female leopard, shy of landrovers, and which has an approximately 18-month-old daughter. A flooding Sand River may have trapped this other leopard on the western bank and given the Jakkalsdraai Female the opportunity to move in. Whether she succeeds or not awaits to be seen.

Also, towards the end of the month, indications were that the Jakkalsdraai Female was lactating. She was seen mating with the Hlarulini Male in early February and, before that, in early December. If the February mating was the defining one and assuming the normal gestation of a leopard to be 100 or so days, then she would still be pregnant. But, if this February mating was the result of a 'false oestrus' then she'd have been pregnant from the early December mating and would've given birth in early April. So, she's either just given birth or is about to. This would be her first litter or cubs.

Sightings of the Jakkalsdraai Female this month had her patrolling along close to what must be some of the very peripheries of her territory. She was even seen close to the lower parts of the Kapen River on SW Flockfield after which she moved eastwards along what must be a border common to her and her mother, the Kapen Female, which occupies the land to the north of this.

There have been no further matings seen between her and the Hlarulini Male, the leopard which controls the territory which surrounds hers, so hopefully this young leopard is pregnant.

February 2004

The first sighting of the Jakkalsdraai Female this month was of her mating with the Hlarulini Male, the leopard which took control from the Rock Drift Male, her father, of the area in which her territory lies. This is the third time that these two have been seen mating.

Five days later, the Jakkalsdraai Female had something of a narrow escape when she was scavenging from the carcass of a dead buffalo bull (apparently sharing it with some hyaenas), when a large pride of lions rushed in and took over. Needless to say, that was the end of any sharing of the kill and the leopard had to flee for her life.

January 2004

Location: SOUTH-CENTRAL FLOCKFIELD/ NORTH-CENTRAL & W CHARLESTON (east of the river)
(5 sightings)

There wasn't anything terribly exciting to report regarding the Jakkalsdraai Female this month and, following her mating with the Hlarulini Male in early December last year, she seems to be continuing with the regular leopard activities of territory patrolling and finding food.