MalaMala - The Wildlife

KAPEN FEMALE * 8 YEARS 3 MONTHS
At least 1 cub * 2 MONTHS
1 independent daughter * 25MONTHS

(4 confirmed sighting of the female, 1 with the small cub, 2 of the daughter)
The Kapen Female was seen only a few times over this game-report period, partly due to somewhat restricted viewing in the territory where she normally resides and also almost certainly due to her behaving in a most secretive manner in the general area in which she has hidden her current litter of cubs. There was a brief sighting of a least one cub with the Kapen Female when she was seen with it, perhaps en route to a new place of safety. Given the sensitivity of the moment, the sighting was abandoned. The day after this brief sighting, the Kapen Female was found further north and on the hunt. She was trying to circle a herd of impala which appeared aware of the presence of the leopard, but were not quite sure of exactly where it was. After circling the antelope for some time and finally following them into thick bush, the Kapen Female charged in amongst them and caught a lamb. Leopards are usually a great deal less stealthy when they hunt baby impala, simply because it is possible due to the naivety of the youngsters and their still developing strength. Anyway, the Kapen Female then dragged the carcass out of the immediate area of the protesting herd of surviving impala, looking for a place of quiet where she could eat her meal. But this was not to be. Her mate, the Rock Drift Male, happened to be in the area as well and was soon on the scene, no doubt alerted by the snorting impala. After following her scent left by dragging the kill, the Rock Drift Male approached the Kapen Female and took the carcass. The Kapen Female did not even try to defend her meal.

November 2001

(3 confirmed sighting of the female, 10 of the daughter)
The Kapen Female was seen only three times during the November game report period and the first of these sightings was already halfway through the month. However, this first sighting was not only superb for the viewing which it produced - the leopard was seen catching a female duiker - but it also showed that the Kapen Female was lactating. The Kapen Female was seen with the Rock Drift Male towards the end of July and although no actual mating was witnessed, all the signs were there that the female was coming into season. If this was the mating which led to the pregnancy, then the babies would have been born in early November. There was a report in early August (12 days after she was seen with the Rock Drift Male) of the Kapen Female mating with another male leopard. But conditions for identification were not good and it could well have been the Shaws Female. Anyway, the Kapen Female now has a new litter of cubs and hopefully she will have the same success with this one as she has had with the others. The last two sightings of the Kapen Female were on successive days and the one had her heading towards an area in the Rock Drift Donga where she has in the past at least temporarily kept her cubs. The following day the leopard was found close to this area, but heading away from it. After nearly two hours of seemingly directionless wandering during which it appeared as if she was hunting, the Kapen Female arrived at a half-eaten carcass of a baby impala. This had probably been killed the previous evening, the leopard had fed upon it, hidden the remains and then returned to nurse her cubs.

October 2001

(2 confirmed sighting of the female, 4 of the daughter)
Will November be the month when the Kapen Female produces a new litter of cubs? It certainly could be if the mating dates and an "obviously pregnant" Kapen Female are anything to go by. The two sightings of this female leopard this month produced little in the way of action and served only to suggest that she appears to be in the last few weeks of pregnancy. The daughter of the Kapen Female has remained at large, mostly to the east of her mothers' core-territory, but present none-the-less and blatantly marking territory, surely enough to infuriate her mother.

One of the more remarkable scenes during October involved this young female meeting up with her father, the Rock Drift Male. The Rock Drift Male was being followed whilst hunting impala and marking territory one evening when his movements took him in the general direction of where the young female leopard was sleeping near a small waterhole. Neither leopard appeared aware of the other. As the male moved closer, he appeared to detect the presence of the other leopard, this through smelling the various plants as he moved. And then, when he was still nearly 100 metres away, he left the road and headed directly towards her. At the time the young female was fast asleep and unaware of the male. Given her position and the vegetation between the two, there is no ways that the Rock Drift Male could have seen her, but using other senses he seemed to know exactly where she was. Nonetheless, his approach was still cautious until he was 20 or so meters away which was when his daughter spotted him too. No hostilities were seen. The Rock Drift Male made small coughing noises which sounded more like tiny gasps of air, the sort of sound a female leopard is expected to make when she calls her cubs. In response, the young female ran towards her father; all of her behaviour interpretable in human terms as joy. The two leopards then sniffed at each other, no doubt deciphering various stories in the complex pattern of scents which they picked up. Although the daughter of the Kapen Female was not at all afraid of the male, she showed subservience and after a few minutes of greeting, the Rock Drift Male headed towards the waterhole for a drink, followed at a respectable distance by the young female.

September 2001

Location: CENTRAL & S WESTERN FLOCKFIELD/ NW CHARLESTON (East of the Sand River)

(5 confirmed sighting of the female, 8 of the daughter on her own, 1 of the two together)

The single sighting of the Kapen Female and her daughter together was, as expected, not a friendly one. The time for this youngster to leave and live a life of her own arrived some time ago and she and her mother are officially enemies. When the two were seen together, the remains of a kill were also in the area, but being eaten by hyaenas, so tempers between the two leopards would have gone beyond simply territorial rivalry! But generally the young female leopard has been looking after herself within the bounds of her mothers' territory. It has been hoped that the disappearance of the Chellahanga Female to the south of the area occupied by the Kapen Female would present the young female with an opportunity of establishing herself without much hassle, but this does not seem to have been happening. If anything, the area has been looked at by other leopards which occupy the areas surrounding this vacant land. One of the best sightings involving the Kapen Female came when she was found making her way from a waterhole in the Kapen River, this at the most northerly limit of her territory. At first it was simply assumed that she was out patrolling territory, but then when she veered very deliberately from the road, it was clear that something more definite was on her mind. The object of her travels was soon discovered - a duiker which she must have killed earlier in the day, fed upon for a while and then left so that she could go and slake her thirst. Upon returning to the kill there was no urgency to feed and after considering certain trees in the area, the Kapen Female carried the carcass up into the branches of one which she thought would suit her purposes. Hopefully the Kapen Female will give birth within the next month or two. She was seen with a male leopard on 10th August and it was assumed that the pair was mating. Prior to that she and the Rock Drift Male - her 'usual' partner - were seen together (no mating but much soliciting and preparing for mating) on 22nd July. With a pregnancy of approximately 3-and-a-half months, birth could be sometime in November.

August 2001

(5 confirmed sighting of the female, 6 of the daughter on her own)
The Kapen Female and her daughter remain independent leopards, both operating in the region considered to be home to the adult female. It cannot be long now before the Kapen Female runs her daughter out of the area. Surprisingly, there has been little aggression witnessed between these two, even when they have been known to be in close proximity to one another. One fine sighting involving the two leopards this month started when the Kapen Female was found stalking two bushbuck. This occurred on the very northern extreme of her territory, in fact, on the border between her territory and that of her sister, the White Cloth Female which at the time happened to be only a few hundred meters away with her cubs. Anyway, as the Kapen Female moved closer and closer to the bushbuck and looked poised to strike, furious monkey chattering broke out behind her and this immediately distracted her and alerted the bushbuck. As it turned out, it was not the Kapen Female which the monkeys were chattering at, but her daughter which was also in the area. The young leopard leapt up the tree in which these little apes were jumping around in and in a marvellous display of agility, caught one. But the Kapen Female lost out. All of her careful stalking came to nought. Surprisingly, however, she did not go across to chase her daughter which she was now quite aware of and must have been aware of even before the incident. A surprising happening this month was a sighting of the Kapen Female mating with a male leopard which was not the Rock Drift Male. The latter, her long time mate and father to her 21-month-old daughter, was else-where at the time and the Kapen Female had obviously decided to mate with the first male leopard available. This is not unusual for female leopards. However, what it does perhaps show is that the Rock Drift Male may be losing some of his hold on his once huge domain.

July 2001

(1 confirmed sighting of the female, 7 of the daughter on her own)
Sightings this month confirmed that the 20-month-old daughter of the Kapen Female is now well and truly on her own and that her mother is set on producing another litter. Although there was only one confirmed sighting of the Kapen Female during July - this towards the end of the month when she and the Rock Drift Male were preparing for mating - there were at least two other encounters with female leopards which, although not formally identified, were probably also of her. Both of these latter sightings were of a female leopard with the Rock Drift Male, one of the pair mating, the other of the two leopards sharing a bushbuck kill. The 20-month-old daughter has yet to prove very adventurous and has so far stayed within the area she grew up in - which is her mothers' territory. Now that the Kapen Female has started to mate and prepare for the next litter, it could be expected that she will act in a most hostile manner towards her daughter, forcing her to move on and start a life of her own.

June 2001

(5 sightings of the female, 4 of these with her daughter, 5 of the daughter on her own)
Sightings of the Kapen Female and her daughter were in the early and mid-parts of this month, thereafter nothing. It was as if they had disappeared, not even tracks to see. Perhaps they were both working the crown areas deep inside the bush, places where the prey animals have moved to with the onset of the cold winter nights. Perhaps too the Kapen Female has decided to put a bit of distance between her and her daughter in order to persuade her to leave. Certainly towards the beginning of the month both mother and daughter were together and both were seen emerging from a thicket, looking well fed, probably having spent some days on some or other kill.

MAY 2001

KAPEN FEMALE * 7 years 8 months
1 FEMALE CUB * 18months

(6 confirmed sighting of the female, 3 of these together with her cub, 3 of the cub without the mother present)
There were some fine sightings of these two leopards this month and although the young female is becoming more and more independent and capable of holding her own, her mother still appears to be looking after her. This month the youngster was seen killing an impala all on her own and then later taking the kill into a tree safe from any scavenging hyaenas. On the day that she finished eating this kill, her father, the Rock Drift Male, killed an adult female impala only a few hundred meters from her - this he ate all by himself - and, the following day, she and her mother were on an adult male impala kill less that 100 meters from this! The leopards failed to secure this kill in a tree and after two days a hyena stole the scraps.
Another of the sightings this month found the Kapen Female with an impala kill and confronting one of the two 2-and-a-half-year-old sons of the Paradise Valley Female. This sighting took place in the very southern regions of her territory and in fact in an area perhaps considered more Chellahanga Female domain. The Kapen Female has had several interactions with the these two young males and as they get bigger and more confidant, so they have become more difficult to intimidate. In this instance, it is not certain which of the leopards actually killed the adult male impala - probably the Kapen Female - but after at least an hour of snarling, the Kapen Female backed off, fed from the kill and then let the young male eat. This went on for a couple of days and the Kapen Female made no effort to return to fetch her daughter, perhaps realising the futility of this. Another reason why she may have backed down from the young male was that this interaction occurred in an area she did not know that well and this would have had some impact upon her confidence. For the Kapen Female, it could be expected that she should shortly come into oestrus and mate with the Rock Drift Male.

April 2001

(7 confirmed sighting of the female, 6 of these together with her cub, 5 of the cub without the mother present)
Both of these leopards contributed towards some fine viewing during April. As can be expected, the daughter of the Kapen Female is showing increasing signs of competence when it comes to the every-day survival of a leopard and when the inevitable day of independence arrives, she should be well set. Her mother, however, is still looking out for her and leading her to kills. There were perhaps a surprising number of occasions this month when both mother and daughter were seen together. The longer she can of course stay with her mother, the more time she will have to hone her skills. The Rock Drift Male, the mate of the Kapen Female, is also still showing paternalistic care and, as has been witnessed in the past, this month was seen with the 17-month youngster. Unusual for leopards but expected with the Rock Drift Male, there was no aggression during this get-together, although the Kapen Female remained hidden until the male had left. The interaction between the cub and her father could only be described as affectionate and when a hyaena approached the scene, both leopards joined forces in intimidating it.

March 2001

KAPEN FEMALE * 7 years 5 months
1 FEMALE CUB * 15 months

Location: SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD/ NW CHARLESTON

(4 confirmed sighting of the female, 2 of these together with her cub, 4 of the cub without the mother present)
Although it could be expected that the Kapen Female will be coming into oestrus, mating and then chasing away her daughter within the next 6 months, there have been no behavioural signs that this is so; the Kapen Female continues to hunt for both herself and her youngster in a most dedicated way. One of the sightings of the Kapen Female and her daughter found then somewhat further south than has been the situation in the past. Last month of course these leopards had at least two kills west and south of where they typically reside, in territory which up until recently was claimed by the Chellahanga Female. The latter has certainly been rather absent from these areas of late, making it easier for the Kapen Female to move in. Whether this is a permanent thing or not remains to be seen, but it can be expected that as food demand increases as a youngster grows, so the mother may be forced to search further afield to satisfy the requirements. But these are areas known to the Kapen Female since she grew up in them when her mother, the Trollips Crossing Female, was still alive and perhaps the return to them due to prevailing circumstances may well encourage her to remain. Time will tell. One good sighting of the Kapen Female this month was of her chancing upon one of the sons of the Paradise Valley Female. Several months ago the Kapen Female was seen to furiously chase one of these youngsters, perhaps the same one. Now, however, the young leopards have grown and are noticeably bigger than most females. When she initially saw the other leopard, the Kapen Female was certainly uncertain as to what to do and initially ran, behaviour which caused the young male to chase her. This was brief, however; and the Kapen Female soon regained her composure and anger took the place of any doubts and within minutes the young male was showing signs of submission. No physical contact occurred between the two, but all body language indicated that the Kapen Female was angry and that the young male knew it and was not prepared to chance his luck, even if he was physically bigger.

February 2001

KAPEN FEMALE * 7 years 5 months
1 FEMALE CUB * 15 months

Location: SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD/ NW CHARLESTON

(12 confirmed sighting of the female, 11 of these together with her cub, 2 of the cub without the mother present)

There were some fine encounters with the Kapen Female and her daughter this month. Contrary to behaviour described last month, most of the dozen or so sightings of the Kapen Female were of her together with her daughter and there were only two of the latter on her own. The Kapen Female was seen several times quite far south and west of where she is typically expected to be found, this area being inside territory thought to be controlled by the Chellahanga Female. However, with the Kapen Females' daughter growing rapidly and requiring more and more food, she may be forced to explore different areas in order to satisfy this requirement. In addition to this, the Chellahanga Female has been remarkably absent from these areas and this too would encourage others to explore. On the same note, there was one occasion this month when the Kapen Female was found in what could be regarded as the extreme north western parts of her range. On this occasion, as with her southern explorations, she had a kill. On one occasion when the Kapen Female and her daughter were moving steadily away from an area in which they had consumed an adult female bushbuck (the scraps of the kill had actually been eaten by a hippo), the Kapen Female came across a duiker in thick bush, caught the small antelope and let her daughter kill it. Such behaviour is seldom seen since most of the hunting happens whilst cubs wait for the mother to return to fetch them to a kill already made.

January 2001

KAPEN FEMALE * 7 years 4 months
1 FEMALE CUB * 14 months

Location: SOUTH-WESTERN FLOCKFIELD
(2 confirmed sighting of the female, both of these together with her cub, 2 of the cub without the mother present)

There was nothing dramatic to report concerning the Kapen Female and her daughter. By all accounts both leopards are in good health. As the young female matures, her confidence and curiosity can be seen to increase. In the hours when the Kapen Female leaves her daughter as she sets out hunting, the youngster spends endless time amusing herself by chasing squirrels, impala and whatever else happens past - these all the essential activities needed to turn basic instincts into skills.

December 2001