KAPEN FEMALE
| KAPEN FEMALE |
December 2003KAPEN FEMALE * 10 YEARS
3 MONTHS Location:
CENTRAL & SW MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD There were more sightings over this game-report-period of the daughter of the Kapen Female together with her mother than of her away from her mother, quite the opposite from what is expected during this stage when mother and daughter are actually in the process of parting ways. All sightings involved food and although both leopards shared from the same carcasses, there was no affection shown towards one another, particularly from the side of the Kapen Female. One wonders just how the two locate one another, assuming that the Kapen Female isn't actively calling her daughter to the kills and assuming that it is indeed her which is making them.
At one of these sightings, when the two leopards were found near the carcass of an adult male impala, it seemed as if the youngster had been chased to the very top of a tall Jackalberry Tree by her mother, which, when located, was resting near the kill, snarling at all that came by. But, as hostile as the mother was, the youngster was permitted to feed. Later that night, however, both leopards were forced to scatter when a group of lions came bounding in and stole the kill which hadn't been secured in a tree.
Towards the end of the report-period, the daughter of the Kapen Female had a run-in with one of her long-term adversaries, the Dudley Female. Both leopards were found watching three hyaenas devouring an impala carcass, this probably having been killed by the Dudley Female. The incident occurred to the east of the Dudley Females' territory, an area which she has been frequenting more and more - if the Kapen Female doesn't watch out, she'll lose to this leopard and this will deprive even her daughter of access to it. The two leopards were on opposite sides of the hyaenas and oblivious of one another, until they inched closer, each no doubt hoping to steal a morsel before it was completely finished. When they eventually noticed one another, the meat was basically finished and, even if it wasn't, its doubtful that the leopards would have been interested; the Dudley Female took off after the younger leopard, chasing it for perhaps 100 metres before giving up. The daughter of the Kapen Female didn't fight back and was content in putting distance between herself and the Dudley Female. Just how the various territories are going to work in the next half-year or so remains to be seen. Will the Dudley Female continue to press eastwards or will this area stay with the Kapen Female or will the Kapen Female head northwards, leaving the territory to her daughter? November 2003KAPEN FEMALE * 10 YEARS
2 MONTHS Location:
CENTRAL & SW MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD The Kapen Female surprised all by joining up with her two-year-old daughter on at least two occasions, both of these in the vicinity of an impala carcass. The first of these meetings was at the very beginning of the November report-period and included two other leopards as well, the Rock Drift Male (father of the Kapen Females' cub) and the Dudley Female. Hostilities were evident, but no physical interactions were seen. The Dudley Female was in the area more for mating than for feeding.
Three days later and just beyond the limits of the Kapen Females' territory (as far as this is understood), the mother and daughter were again together and spent two days feeding from the same impala carcass. Again, although the two weren't seen to engage in physical fighting, they certainly showed no signs of affection and made sure that they stayed a comfortable distance apart, each one feeding only when the other had moved away.
Just what is happening between mother and daughter isn't fully understood. What is thought, however, is that the Kapen Female, having forced her northerly neighbour and sister, the White Cloth Female, to move further northwards, is trying to either get her daughter to claim this vacant area for her own or will attempt to take it herself, and, in so doing, will vacate much of her own existing territory, leaving this for her two-year-old daughter. The daughter is of course continuing to do well for herself and has proved quite capable of hunting and surviving in this area. If her mother is able to assist her in setting up a territory, either nearby or within the area she was 'schooled', this will then ease her introduction into a life as an independent leopard and surely enhance her chances of success. October 2003KAPEN
FEMALE * 10 YEARS 1 MONTH Location: SW MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (6
confirmed sighting of the female, 6 of the cub on its own)   
The alternative is that the Kapen Female will find some way of moving out, perhaps heading north along the Matshapiri, and, in so doing, vacating much of the area currently under her control, allowing her two-year-old daughter an easy start to life. This is what she did with her first daughter, the Jakkalsdraai Female. And now that the White Cloth Female, her sister, seems to have moved even further north, upstream along the Matshapiri River (perhaps as a result of the pressure from the Kapen Female herself), maybe this is how things could work out. Probably the two best sightings of these two leopards over this report-period were the final ones. The Kapen Female was seen killing an adult male impala and, a few days before this, her daughter caught an adult female impala. Unfortunately for the young leopard, the Dudley Female arrived on the scene and took the kill from her. September 2003 KAPEN FEMALE * 10 YEARS Location: SW & CENTRAL MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (8
confirmed sighting of the female, 5 of the cub on its own) Early on in the month, the Kapen Female was found squaring up to her sister, the White Cloth Female, way to the north of her territory and one cannot but help thinking that she was testing what was beyond her borders, to see whether there was an opening either for herself or for her daughter. The Kapen Female relinquished most of her old territory so that her previous daughter, the Jakkalsdraai Female, could have an easy start to territorial life. But, on this occasion, things did not appear to be so easy and it may be that its either her daughter which goes or its her daughter which drives her mother out of her own home; one does not really anticipate the latter scenario.
But tempers and territorial problems are boiling with several leopards. Halfway through September, the Kapen Female was seen conflicting with her northwesterly neighbour, the Ngoboswan Female and although the two were seen together for only a few minutes before they went their separate ways, indications were that they had been at it for some time. Upon leaving the area, the Ngoboswan Female stuck to the eastern bank of the Sand River on western Flockfield, a strip of land thought to belong to the Kapen Female, and scent-marked the area thoroughly, leaving the Kapen Female, in a foul mood, to move eastwards, away from the scene of conflict. This finale to the scrap suggested that the Ngoboswan Female had emerged the victor. But again, what were the consequences? Has their been a new border decided upon or has there been merely a reaffirmation of an existing border, the result of the Kapen Female getting a touch too adventurous and being warned back? The Ngoboswan Female also has a nearly two-year-old daughter to abandon and which she no doubt hopes will be established somewhere nearby, so she too needs to test land availability adjacent to her borders. Maybe this is what the confrontations objectives were all about. The last sighting of the Kapen Female was three days after she and the Ngoboswan Female fought; she was in the Kapen River, midway along its length and not looking in a good way. Her left shoulder had some major puncture wounds and she was limping heavily. It is not known whether these wounds were sustained in the scrap with the Ngoboswan Female or from a subsequent fight. For the daughter of the Kapen Female, the transition so far does not appear to have been too stressful and she has been in good health, at least as far as sightings suggest. One wonders, however, just what will happen to her when her mother finally turns aggressive and physically drives her from her domain. It is not known whether the Kapen Female has mated again or not. August 2003KAPEN FEMALE * 9 YEARS
11 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA/ W FLOCKFIELD (17
confirmed sighting of the female, 9 of these with her cub, 12 of the cub
on its own)
But there were still other conflicts. Near the beginning of the month, the Kapen Female came across her sister, the White Cloth Female, just as the latter killed a bushbuck at the confluence of the Matshapiri and Sand Rivers. This area used to be core White Cloth Female territory, until she gave it up, probably to accommodate her now nearly three-year-old daughter. But, looking for new areas for herself, the Kapen Female moved in and has since taken control of this particular part of the White Cloth Females' old territory. When the Kapen Female saw her sister dragging off the bushbuck, she followed, but made no aggressive rush to drive the intruder out of her territory, as one would have perhaps expected. Instead, she waited for perhaps an hour or more whilst the White Cloth Female fed from the carcass. Then, when she had had her fill, the White Cloth Female left, snarled briefly at the Kapen Female and moved steadily away from the area and back towards her new territory, this some kilometres away still. But the hostilities to be associated with this particular carcass were still not over. The following day, when both the Kapen Female and her nearly two-year-old daughter, which she had later gone to fetch so that she could share the kill with her, were feeding on the remains, the old male with the short tail came rushing in, scattering mother and daughter and making sure that they were thoroughly frightened by him. Since the Kapen Females' territory falls under that of the Rock Drift Male, the male with the short tail is enemy to her and there was to be no more sharing of the food. The area where the kill had occurred was only just outside the accepted boundary line separating the short-tailed male leopards' territory from that patrolled by the Rock Drift Male, so although he was theoretically trespassing when he arrived to chase off the Kapen Female and her cub, his home-ground was not far off and the carcass was probably sorely tempting.
The last leopard-leopard conflict which involved the Kapen Female and her daughter this month occurred right at the end of the report-period when the young leopard was found with a bushbuck carcass on the western bank of the Sand River, just to the north of Harry's Camp. Now, with the fine limits dividing individual leopards' territories in this area of plentiful game and good 'leopard' terrain, this spot was technically just inside the territory of the Ngoboswan Female, northwestern neighbour to the Kapen Female. And, as luck would have it, the Ngoboswan Female pitched up. After spending a day at the carcass, the daughter of the Kapen Female must have thought that she had everything to herself (the Kapen Female never showed up at the kill itself, so maybe her daughter had been entirely responsible for things). There was probably no physical conflict at all when the Ngoboswan Female made an appearance; the Kapen Females' daughter, looking well frightened, was found on the eastern bank of the river (after having been seen just half-an-hour before at the kill on the opposite bank) and was moving fast away from the scene and, at the kill, the Ngoboswan Female had taken over. And that is how things stayed; the Ngoboswan Female was apparently not challenged and spent the next 36 hours in the area, feeding from the kill - which of course had been stolen from 'her' stock of bushbuck.The next month or so will surely be dramatic for the Kapen Female and her now nearly adult daughter. The time to go before the mother finally chases her daughter away to start a life of her own must be only weeks away. Much of the conflict which the Kapen Female has been engaged in lately must surely be the result of her relentless patrolling and hunting to keep her daughter supplied with food and soon enough will be enough; the territory will be too small for both and the Kapen Female has more than done her bit to prepare her cub for adulthood. July 2003 KAPEN FEMALE * 9 YEARS
10 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA/ W FLOCKFIELD
But why this interaction, which took place quite well within an area regarded as being the southern portion of the Kapen Females' territory? The following day, the Jakkalsdraai Female was back in this area and in fact moved even deeper in before exiting. Sightings over the last few months have indicated that the Kapen Female is being pressurised by her daughter. Not only have the two been seen confronting one another on their southern boundary, but also the Jakkalsdraai Female has been seen 'raiding' her mothers' domain and leaving signs to advertise that she was there. So, is this merely a continuation of an insurgency, or is there some deeper meaning to it? Is the Jakkalsdraai Female looking for more land and intends driving her mother out, or is she simply trying to assert herself; an attempt to tell a neighbour (and in this case it just happens to be her mother) that she is powerful and quite capable of holding onto her own land?
Subsequent sightings of the Kapen Female and her daughter during the course of the month were certainly towards the northern parts of the Kapen Females' current territory, so perhaps there is some sort of territory-realignment threat on the go. But aside from the above, the Kapen Female and her daughter seemed to do well. The cub is certainly being well looked after and is seldom not looking well fed. Having a mother devote so much time and energy to raising a cub really gives it perhaps the best chance of doing well when it is eventually chased off to start a life on its own. And just when that will be cannot be said. A month or two ago, there were many signs which indicated that the Kapen Female was getting ready to kick her daughter out, but now she appears as devoted to caring for her as if the cub were but a year old. Perhaps her daughter is being well cared for because the Kapen Female realises that when she eventually has to go, it will be far away. At present there seem to be no vacant territories close at hand and the likelihood of the Kapen Female giving up even more or her territory to allow her cub an easy start to life (as she did with the Jakkalsdraai Female which was abandoned at less than 20 months of age) are slight. So the cub of the Kapen Female will almost certainly have to wander far from home if it is to find a place of its own and this will require strong character and great skill; so the longer it can stay under the care of its mother, the better it could prepare itself. So far there have been no signs that the Kapen Female has mated again. June 2003 KAPEN
FEMALE *
9 YEARS 9 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA/ W FLOCKFIELD (11 confirmed sighting of the female, 5 of these with her cub, 8 of the cub
on its own)
The 20-month-old daughter of the Kapen Female is still being cared for by her mother, even though she is probably quite capable of looking after herself. One wonders just how long this will continue for and, when the youngster eventually does get cold-shouldered, where it will end up.
May 2003 KAPEN FEMALE * 9 YEARS
8 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA/ W FLOCKFIELD (11
confirmed sighting of the female, 2 of these with her cub, 7 of the cub
on its own)
Towards the middle of the May, the Jakkalsdraai Female, three-and-a-half-year-old daughter of the Kapen Female which occupies the territory to the south of that controlled by her mother, was found within some of the southern parts of the Kapen Females' territory and scent-marking with great vigour. But the young leopard seemed to realise that what she was doing was wrong and was moving rapidly from the area, back to her territory and the safety it represented. The day after this intrusion, the Kapen Female was found in this southerly area, patrolling and scent-marking. Later on that day the Kapen Female was found further north, still patrolling, although, after dark, she concentrated on hunting rather than scent-marking. Another probably more serious territorial infringement occurred when the female leopard that controls the area to the west of that held by the Kapen Female killed a bushbuck just inside the Kapen Females' territory. This other female leopard probably ate some of the carcass before being confronted by the Kapen Female. The remains of the carcass were ultimately lost to hyenas and the Kapen Female spent some time "working" the area where the violation of borders had occurred.
The Rock Drift Male leopard is almost certainly the father of both of the Kapen Females' last two cubs and is still in control of the area in which the Kapen Female roams. This month, when each was on the hunt in the same area, heading in opposite directions, the two leopards met up, sniffed one another, the male roared twice and then both continued on their way, seemingly content that all was well. The Kapen Female continues to hunt along the lower parts of the Matshapiri River and even further north, extending into areas regularly patrolled by her niece, the two-and-a-half-year-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. The White Cloth Female herself is also still using some of these areas. April 2003KAPEN
FEMALE * 9 YEARS 7 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA/ W FLOCKFIELD (5 confirmed sighting of the female, 3 of these with her cub, 8 of the cub on its own) The daughter of the Kapen Female seems to get more independent by the day and it cannot be long now before she is abandoned by her mother and forced off into a life of her own. But, for the meantime, the Kapen Female is still caring for her daughter and feeding her. Ultimately, the longer a youngster can have its mother look after it, the more it can learn and so the better it can prepare itself for the days when it has to depend on itself.
There were some fine sightings involving these two leopards this month. In mid-April, the Kapen Female, her 18-month-old daughter and the Jakkalsdraai Female, which is her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, were seen having a rather angry confrontation on what is a common border separating their respective territories. The 18-month-old leopard was not really involved and the diplomacies were mostly between the Kapen Female and her older daughter. Although aggression was without doubt the dominant emotion, the leopards were not seen to come to blows and after a while went their separate ways, both deeper into their respective areas, no doubt satisfied that the boundaries were once more reaffirmed. But for the Kapen Female and her cub, the interactions with leopards was not yet over for the day. They both went north towards the Kapen River where they encountered a large male leopard, this the one which killed the almost adult male kudu in late November this year. But in spite of this male leopard not being the father of the Kapen Females' cub and not holding a territory in this area (or anywhere for that matter, it seems), the leopards ignored one another and went their separate ways. At least some aggression would perhaps have been expected, but perhaps they are all familiar with one another and individual spaces within this area are agreed upon in whatever manner leopards agree on such things. The next good bit of viewing involving the Kapen Female and her daughter was when the mother was seen leading her daughter towards a kill - or at least that is what it looked like and ultimately turned out to be. But the Kapen Female was not going to let her daughter 'have the food on a plate', but rather she had to work for it. And this she did. The Kapen Female had killed a monkey and had hidden it beneath a bush. But she did not take the cub directly to the spot. Instead, the cub was taken to the general area and then had to use detective work to find the kill. The young leopard knew that food was in the area; she had probably smelled the monkey on her mother and certainly smelled it when she arrived in the spot in the bush where her mother had taken her. Then, with her mother lying down, the young leopard searched, even climbing the tree in which the monkey had probably been chased before it had been caught. After perhaps 20 minutes of this, the keen nose of the young leopard guided her to the spot and she started feeding.
Towards the end of the month, the Kapen Female was seen moving onto the western bank of the Sand River, crossing at the Mala Mala Bridge and entering a space really considered the preserve of one of her neighbours, the Ngoboswan Female. And it was not simply a hunting exercise; although the Kapen Female certainly put some effort into stalking several different bushbucks, she also marked territory with quite some enthusiasm. This blatant invasion could only have caused the Ngoboswan Female to react with anger and later on that evening, in a confusion of leopards near the junction of the Matshapiri and Sand Rivers, the Ngoboswan Female is thought to have put in a brief appearance, perhaps hoping that this would be all it would take to stop further invasions. At this particular area where the Ngoboswan Female made her appearance, not only were the Kapen Female and her daughter also around, but so too was the Son of the Paradise Valley Female and then later on the Rock Drift Male as well. The Son of the Paradise Valley Female, with which the Kapen Female has had a long and angry relationship, was on a bushbuck kill in a large tree, perhaps even having stolen it from the Kapen Female. Ultimately, although all leopards were probably aware of each other's presence, there were no obvious hostilities and all went their separate ways. March 2003KAPEN FEMALE * 9 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA (east of the Sand River)/ NW FLOCKFIELD (9 confirmed sighting of the female, 2 of these with her cub, 2 of the cub on its own)
One item, however, is just where the daughter of the Kapen Female will go to once she has been chased away by her mother. At the moment space for female leopards in the immediate area of Mala Mala seems to be at a premium and it could well be that once kicked out, the young leopard will have to go quite some distance to muscle her way into an area of her own. Her older sister, the Jakkalsdraai Female, had an easier time when her turn to become independent arrived; not only was the territory last occupied by the old Chellahanga Female 'available', but her own mother had the ability to make space for her as well. Such opportunities do not always exist for a young leopard and if not, then territory-making would perhaps be a more stressful business. February 2003KAPEN
FEMALE * 9 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA (east of the Sand River)/ W FLOCKFIELD
(8 confirmed sighting of the female, 4 of these with her cub, 6 of the
cub on its own) The movements of the Kapen Female still tend northwards and eastwards, into areas which used to be regularly patrolled by her sister, the White Cloth Female. But the White Cloth Female has, if anything, been conspicuous by her absence and the Kapen Female has certainly taken advantage of this. She and the nearly 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter of the White Cloth Female may soon come to blows over this piece of land. January 2003KAPEN FEMALE * 9 YEARS
4 MONTHS Location: SW MALA MALA (east of the Sand River)/ W FLOCKFIELD
(11 confirmed sighting of the female, 5 of these with her cub, 5 of the cub on its own) There were good sightings of the Kapen Female and her daughter this month. As the young leopard grows and needs more and more food, so the Kapen Female will have to work harder to meet the demands and this of course increases the chances of encountering her as she hunts. And of course the more hunting which she does, the less time she will spend with her youngster and the more chance the daughter will have to explore and learn the necessary skills of survival. Towards the beginning of the month, the Kapen Female and her daughter spent quite a few days to the north of the lower parts of the Matshapiri River, an area really considered to be deep within the domain of the White Cloth Female, twin sister to the Kapen Female. But with the White Cloth Female perhaps avoiding these areas to some degree, this may be to give her own daughter - now approaching two-and-a-half-years of age - a chance to establish her own territory further to the south and east, it would come as no surprise if other leopards 'invade'. And with a heightened demand for food, the Kapen Female would be more inclined to explore beyond her boundaries. And since the two sisters appear to have a type of relationship slightly unlike that between unrelated territorial leopards, the flexibility of boundaries may not be a particularly big issue. Over the last year in particular, the White Cloth Female and Kapen Female have each shown movements beyond the recognised limits of their ranges. The Kapen Female has relinquished a large part of the southern parts of her old territory to her three-year-old daughter, the Jakkalsdraai Female, and has definitely moved somewhat north into areas which her sister used to patrol with greater vigour. This change appears to have been accepted by the White Cloth Female and there still exists a large overlap of areas which both leopards patrol. The two sisters have not been seen to confront one another, although there have been several sightings of both within only a few hundred metres of one another.
The 15-month-old daughter of the Kapen Female probably only has a few more months with her mother before she gets kicked out. But she seems to be progressing well and certainly does not lack in enthusiasm for adventure and exploration, this so necessary to learn the art of survival. Needless to say, the day-to-day behaviour of an inquisitive young leopard provides for most entertaining viewing.
Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
(4
confirmed sighting of the female, all of these with her cub, 10 of the
cub on its own, 1 sighting of the cub with the Jakkalsdraai
Female)
The
Kapen Female and her teenage daughter appear to be doing well, but the
time for the pair of them to separate is growing ever nearer. As the
two seem to spend less and less time together, so the young female will
be forced to experiment and so further her 'education'. So far things
seem to have worked well and the young leopard is in good condition and
already probably supplying some of her own food. There has been no indication
that the Kapen Female has mated again.
