JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE
| JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE |
| December 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 8 YEARS Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female had a tough month. She has gone from being one of the most frequently seen leopards at MalaMala to one of the rarest ones. This might have something to do with all the different young females that have been viewed on Charleston this month and of course her two daughters have taken over a slice of her territory. She never the less looks to be in good shape and one hopes she will be having cubs in the near future. November 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 11 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER
The Jakkalsdraai female was first sighted midway through the report period. The female was very well fed and in good condition. The following day, she was found some ways to the north of her previous position, with the carcass of an adult female impala. She was seen to feed off the carcass for the next two days. Interestingly, leopard viewing has been largely affected by the dropping of the impala lambs early in the month of November, with the majority of kills being that of baby impala’s or the adult females that were evidently still pregnant, and thus hindered in their escape. Towards the latter part of the report period, the female was observed feeding off an adult female duiker for consecutive days off River Rocks Road. The female continues to spend most of her time on Charleston, and the recorded sightings indicated that she has been fairly mobile throughout her territory during the report period, perhaps, coupled with the fact that she has not been recorded to be lactating, is an indication that the speculation of her having cubs holds no water. October 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 10 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female again had a disappointing month - she is often the most commonly seen leopard but with the birth of her cubs late last month she has become reclusive and prefers sticking to the river where the bush is thicker. The cubs haven’t been located yet and she will be moving them constantly for the first few weeks but as they grow. Hopefully the female will allow rangers and guests alike to witness this miracle of the natural world. September 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 9 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female is showing signs of the latter stages of pregnancy. This may be the reason for her infrequent viewing, with the female more than likely looking for prospective den sites. She was seen briefly close to Tjellahanga pans, where she was then lost after a large male baboon chased her. She was then not viewed for over a fortnight, before she was seen again in the region of Tjellahanga pans. Interestingly, she is usually one of the most frequently viewed leopards on MalaMala, and yet this month she was only reported on three occasions. One hopes to be privileged enough to see her lactating soon and ultimately get to see her cubs. Looking back, it is now going on eight months since her ordeal with the Hlarulini male, in which at least one of her cubs was seen to be eaten by the male leopard. One hopes that she will be more successful with raising her next litter, especially now as the only dominant male in the southern reaches of MalaMala is in fact her choice of mate. August 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 8 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female had a good start to the report period, with her being seen on the first day of the report period, feeding from the remains of an adult bushbuck. Most of the sightings of this beautiful female leopard concentrated around the northern bank of the Sand River in northern Toulon, and as far north as the Jakkalsdraai open area, and as far west as Calabash crossing. The female was seen to feed from the carcass of an adult duiker for a number of days, close to Calabash crossing. Interestingly, she was given a fair amount of attention by the Selati pride lionesses, but fortunately for her, she had chosen the tree well and no attempts to ascend were made by the lionesses. Unfortunately she was not seen all that frequently towards the end of the report period. July 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 7 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER June 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 6 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female has had a splendid month. She continues to be the most dominant female leopard on Charleston and ranges widely within her territory. She was once again witnessed mating with the Tjellahanga male, a process that again lasted about 3 days. Most of the sightings were in the Sand River close to the Island Crossing, and this is not very far from the last position where she was seen mating with the Tjellahanga male only a couple of months ago.
This is now the third or fourth time these 2 leopards have been seen mating. With the last cubs being killed by the Hlarulini male, it will be interesting to see if this latest mating results in a pregnancy, and if so then the absence of the Hlarulini male will make raising a new litter in this area much easier. Otherwise she has provided excellent viewing with intermittent hunting combined with territorial patrols and scent marking. May 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE * 7 YEARS 5 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female had a relatively quiet month, with only four confirmed sightings of the female. Be that as it may, the female was seen to frequent most parts of central and western Charleston, right across to the northern reaches of the Tjellahanga. One memorable sighting involved the Jakkalsdraai female being chased up a knob thorn tree by a pack of eleven wild dogs. The dogs soon lost interest in the female, leaving her to descend and continue with her evening’s activities, visibly unperturbed by the interaction with the dogs. She was also seen to feed from an adult male vervet monkey just to the south of the Charleston Toulon boundary on river road. The female remains arguably the dominant female in Charleston. April 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE *7 YEARS 5 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female had a very active month. She was seen many times by herself and courting the Tjellahanga male, in which time they mated frequently. Her daughters seem to have pushed her territory southward and she now inhabits the southern parts of Charleston. Hopefully in the coming three months she will have some cubs.
March 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE *7 YEARS 4 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER This beautiful female was viewed a number of times in the mid to southern parts of Charleston and northern parts of Toulon. She was first viewed on the first day of the report period, the 26 th of February. Rangers found her close to the Charleston Toulon Boundary and followed her as she hunted west. She was not seen to be successful. On the 9 th of March, Rangers & Trackers followed drag marks in the Ingwe Donga and found the Jakkalsdraai Female up a large Jackalberry Tree with the remains of an adult Duiker. The carcass was still very much in tact and it seemed that the kill had been made very recently. One of the more memorable sightings of this female was on the 21 st of March when she was witnessed to mate with the Chellahanga Male. She has also been witnessed recently mating with the Hlarulini Male. Female leopards have been known to adopt this type of behaviour in order to confuse both males as to who is the father, therefore lessening the chance of infanticide. February 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE *7 YEARS 3 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER The Jakkalsdraai female had an excellent report period, with numerous sightings around central Charleston. The female was seen to mate with both the Hlarulini male and the Chellahanga male, a ploy that the female has employed, to reduce the chances of her losing her cubs for a second time to an infanticide attack by a male. The female was viewed to have hunting success, with several exceptional sightings of the female feeding from carcasses stashed in the boughs of trees. January 2007 JAKKALSDRAAI FEMALE *7 YEARS 2 MONTH Location: CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER This beautiful female leopard has always provided us with some exceptional game viewing and continues to do so. She was first seen around the mid eastern parts of Charleston, west of the Tjellahanga River. Rangers followed her as she hunted and performed. She ran after some impala, yet was left unsuccessful, but still hunting. It was noticed that she was lactating which led rangers to believe that she has cubs in one of the many secluded hiding places on western Charleston. The cubs were never seen alive, as the first and only time a cub was seen, the Hlarulini male was eating it. The female was in attendance, but soon moved off and watched from a distance. The female was seen in the area later in the report period on several occasions, perhaps to look for a surviving cub. Hopefully a second cub survived the ordeal, and the following report period should hold the answers to this issue.
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