KAPEN FEMALE
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| December 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 3 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The first sighting of the Kapen female during this report period was very exciting. One afternoon, rangers were watching a pack of Wild dogs that had surrounded an adult male Nyala, not far from Mamba Waterhole. Quite unexpectedly, the Kapen Female arrived on the scene. While the Nyala was facing southwards towards the dogs, the Kapen Female leopard was stalking the Nyala from the north. The Nyala then saw the leopard and chased it away. As the leopard fled the Nyala, the dogs saw the leopard and proceeded to chase her up a tree. The dogs lost all interest in the Nyala and surrounded the base of the tree where the leopard had sought refuge. The situation seemed to be calming down, but then the male cub of the Kapen Female arrived on the scene, and was similarly chased up a tree by the dogs. After much entertainment and excitement the dogs left the two leopards and ran north. Later in the report period, frantic monkey alarm calls helped rangers to locate the Kapen Female leopard, moving northwards on the eastern bank of the Sand River, not too far form Charleston North Crossing. The female leopard moved northwards, and soon met up with her male cub. Other sightings of the Kapen Female occurred on northern Charleston close to the Sand River, and along the southern reaches of the Kapen River, close to the confluence with the Sand River. This female appears to be in complete control of her territory, despite the fact that she is almost fourteen years old, and still spends much of her time in the lower reaches of the Kapen River. November 2006 KAPEN FEMALE *13 YEARS 2 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen Female and her cub provided fine viewing when they were seen. The large male cub was seen twice without his mother and displayed the typical confidence (bordering on arrogance) of a young male leopard. He appears completely relaxed in the presence of vehicles, and tried his hand at hunting impala without any success. The Kapen Female was only seen twice without her cub, and on the one occasion she was feeding on the remains of a baby impala kill in the middle parts of the Kapen River. This old female is a crafty hunter and has no doubt made the most of the plethora of baby impala that are now dispersed across Mala Mala. However the best sightings of the month were when the mother and cub were seen together. When seen near the Mamba waterhole both leopards appeared well fed, and spent the morning grooming each other, playing and drinking. They were also seen twice in the Sand River south of Charleston North Crossing, once feeding on the remains of a warthog, and thereafter feeding on a freshly killed impala carcass. The previous cub of the Kapen Female, now known as The New Hogvaal Female, spent about 28 months with her mother before she became independent. However, at that time, the Hlarulini Male was only in the process of establishing himself in that area, and was involved in conflict with The Rock Drift Male. It is thought that the Kapen Female kept her cub with her until that conflict was resolved. There is no such conflict at present, and the cub is a large young male, and so it seems probable that he should become independent within the next three to five months. October 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 1 MONTH Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen Female and her cub had another good month and provided some fine viewing. Most of the sightings were concentrated around the Charleston North Crossing and this seems to be the areas that the Kapen Female is content to leave her cub. The cub was only seen on two occasions without its mother, and is growing very fast. Male cubs’ develop faster than females and the Kapen Cub is now as large as his mother. The highlight of the month for the Kapen Family was mid month when they were found in the lower reaches of the Kapen River on a sub adult Nyala Kill. The Hlarulini Male was present and had appropriated the kill from the two leopards, leaving the entrails for the Kapen leopards to feed off. September 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen Female and her cub were seen consistently throughout the month. They have been in the general area of Charleston North for most of the month. A highlight with regards to viewing was on the 9 th of the month when the Kapen Female and Cub, the Hlarulini Male and 3 Hyaenas were found near Charleston North.
The cub was seen feeding on the remains of an adult female Bushbuck while the mother and Hlarulini Male slept at the Sand River. Suddenly the Hyaenas bolted southwards and 2 adult lionesses of the Eyrefield Pride arrived on the scene. The Cub of the Kapen Female was still in the tree, and watched on nervously as the lionesses ascended the tree and stole the kill. Other than that the Kapen family had a good month. Both leopards are in superb condition and were viewed regularly, something that is not always easy and consistent with this temperamental leopard. August 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12 YEARS 11 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (15 sightings of the female, 11 of them with her cub; 3 of cub without mother) The Kapen Female was seen on 15 different occasions and provided some excellent viewing during the report period. Most sightings of her were concentrated along the Kapen River and around the Charleston North Crossing. This seems to be where she prefers to leave her cub as it was seen in this area without its mother on three different occasions. In any case the Kapen Female seemed to be in a better mood this month, as she often seems to intentionally move into thick bush and test the driving capabilities of landrovers when found! The month started off well for this family when the two leopards were found north of Styx Crossing with a juvenile kudu carcass. This is some kill for a small leopard like the Kapen Female to make. The two leopards fed over the following three days before the Eyrefield Pride found the kill that had been pulled under a tree and stole it from the leopards. The carcass was simply too large for the Kapen Female to hoist and hence she had to relinquish it to the large lions. Then later on in the month the Kapen Female was discovered after a distressed herd of impala could be heard snorting. This time she was in the process of strangling an adult female impala. The leopard pulled the carcass towards a large Schotia tree but did not hoist the kill immediately. She went off and called her cub, and again fed from the kill over a three-day period. On the last day of the sighting a hyena arrived unexpectedly and the female hoisted what was left of the impala into the nearby tree, out of reach of the hyena. The young cub is starting to really relax down now, especially after dark, and should provide some fine viewing in the future. July 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12
YEARS 10 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (9 sightings of the female, 1 of them with her cub; 5 of cub without mother) All seems well with the Kapen Female and her young son, with both leopards providing steady viewing on south-western Flockfield and north-western Charleston . The cub was seen frequently around the Mamba Waterhole and Charleston North regions, waiting for his mother to summon him to her next kill. He provided some very entertaining viewing as he honed his hunting skills on birds and insects, while he was seen to make his first “real” kill this month. He was seen catching and killing a large White Tailed Mongoose, which he treed, but did not eat, around the Mamba Waterhole region. Despite her age, the Kapen Female still controls the prime land around the Kapen River . She was often seen hunting along the Kapen River , and generally appears to be in good condition. She may however, start to experience some increased pressure on her territory from the younger Daughter of the Jakkalsdraai Female, who is incidentally, the granddaughter of the Kapen Female. This younger leopard has been seen frequently to the east of the Kapen Female’s territory, but may look to push west towards the game-rich areas that flank the Sand River . The Kapen Female and her cub were seen together on a baby bushbuck kill off Dudley Lookout in the middle of the report period. Although this was the only kill at which the leopards were seen together, there have no doubt been many more provided to the cub, and both leopards look in good condition. June 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12
YEARS 9 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (6 sightings of the female, 1 of them with her cub; 6 of cub without mother) The Kapen Female and her cub had a good month, and by her standards were seen fairly often. The cub is becoming more and more independent and at a year old is being left alone for longer times. The cub has been identified now as a young male, and is becoming more and more relaxed in the presence of landrovers. One fine sighting of the Kapen Female had her high up in a tree with the lactating Eyrefield Pride lioness at the base. The Kapen Female finally got out of the tree, but stayed in the area calling for her cub. She eventually found the cub, side stepped the lioness and took the cub through the Kapen River towards presumably some or other kill.
May 2006 KAPEN FEMALE *
12 YEARS 8 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (6 sightings, all with her cub) The Kapen Female was sighted 6 times this month, mostly on the northern parts of Charleston . During one week in the middle of this report period, this wise old leopard and her cub were seen almost every day in each other’s company in the same areas. The leopards were well fed and all indications are that they had some or other kill stashed in the deep donga nearby. The cub is becoming more relaxed with the presence of the landrovers, but is still a little shy. Perhaps having adopted her mother’s attitude towards vehicles at certain times, with careful viewing she should relax down well in the months ahead. April 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12
YEARS 7 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (8 sightings, all with her cub) All appears to be well with this old leopard and her cub. She still favours the large dongas of south-western Flockfield and north-western Charleston as the holding areas for her cub, while out patrolling and hunting. The Kapen Female and her cub were seen on two impala kills this month, and the cub appears to be growing steadily. After feeding on the second kill (an adult male impala) for over a day, a sole hyaena arrived on the scene and stole the kill. However, both leopards had sufficient time to get a good feed before the kill was stolen. The cub is still very wary of vehicles and all sightings have been restricted to one vehicle. Due to the nervous nature of the cub, it has been hard to determine the sex. However, at a glance, the stocky build of the cub, coupled with its large head, suggests that this may be a male.March 2006 KAPEN FEMALE *
12 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (2 sightings, both with her cub) After much speculation, the Kapen Female does indeed have a cub. The cub was seen for the first time with its mother near the confluence of the Sand River and the Kapen River . It is the first time the cub has been observed, and it is already fairly large, approximately nine months old. It is probable that more cubs were born, and this is the only survivor. The cub was fairly wary of vehicles, obviously not having had any prior exposure to vehicles for the first nine months of its life. Hopefully, sightings of this female and her cub will become more frequent, and through gradual exposure to game drive vehicles the cub will become a relaxed, viewable leopard. However, the heavy donga systems and thick bush around south-western Flockfield, where the cub appears to have been raised, is not the easiest bush to traverse.
February 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD (1 sighting) The one sighting of the Kapen Female suggests that she has, or more importantly, had, cubs. She was found one morning in a Schotia tree north of Mamba Waterhole. She appeared to be lactating. She descended the tree after a short while and began calling and searching frantically. Occasionally she would roar between her softer contact calls. There was no doubt that she was calling cubs. However, she had no response in over two hours of searching and calling and climbed a Brown Ivory tree where she lay looking rather dejected. The Styx Pride was in the area during the night and it may be possible that they discovered the cubs and killed them. If so, this may be the third litter of cubs that this old leopard may have lost in succession. Hopefully, the cubs may have evaded the lions and just been very nervous about venturing out of hiding towards their calling mother. Time will tell what the fate of these cubs was. January 2006 KAPEN FEMALE * 12 YEARS 4 MONTHS Location: ( NORTHERN CHARLESTON , SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
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