KAPEN FEMALE
Photograph by ranger Devon Myers
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| December 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 14 YEARS 2 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD This old female was not seen many times during the month. On occasion when she was seen she provided some excellent quality photo opportunities as she lay in a tree then descended the tree and moved along the road. Exciting news is that she does look pregnant and it might not be long before MalaMala could have more leopard cubs to view. Son of the Kapen female: (2 years 6 months) The son of the Kapen female was seen six times during the month all around the Charleston north crossing area. He remains well within his mother’s territory and it can only be a matter of time before she has new cubs and loses her tolerance of him. He will need to move out of her territory soon, but hopefully he doesn’t cross west over the Sand River and off MalaMala. November 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 14 YEARS 1 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD This dominant female leopard was seen just once this report period and her son was not seen at all. She has been known to be a moderately secretive animal and occasionally shy of vehicles, a trait she has passed on to her son. When she was seen, the Eyrefield pride and the Rollercoaster male lion were chasing her. She had killed an adult male impala and the lions were attracted by the scent of it. She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening grooming herself about 100 meters from where the lions were finishing off her kill. She was left sleeping in the same area that night and was not seen again this report period. Where she goes is still a mystery although she may be crossing the Sand River and going west. Her cub has not been seen for a while and he has been known to kill for himself. There was previously some aggressive interaction between him and his mother over food. Given his age it can now be assumed that he has become independent and is growing more and more nomadic as his search for his own territory continues, and hence forth will be referred to as the Son of the Kapen female, until such time that he stakes out a territory for himself. October 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 14 YEARS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen female wasn’t seen that often and her cub not at all. She has always been wary of vehicles but at the start of the month she provided some excellent viewing as she was found mating with the Bicycle Crossing male. She was found at the airstrip a long way north of her territory and this goes to show what lengths a female will take to make sure she mates with the dominant males in the area securing the best possible future for her next litter. The third time she was seen was when she had a confrontation with the Ngoboswan female leopard. The smaller Kapen female was chased up a tree and left snarling and growling, as the pregnant Ngoboswan female was not having intruders in her territory. The Kapen female left the scene none the worse for it though. September 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 11 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD There was only one sighting of the Kapen Female during the report period, and only one sighting of her cub. Notably this sighting was of the cub on his own. Importantly, the female was in good health and the concerning wound on her fore leg had healed up nicely. With the cub now being over two years of age it will only be a matter of time before he moves off. Perhaps this has already happened and we will thus expect to see the Kapen Female seeking out a mate once more. August 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 10 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD It was a slow start to the report period for the Kapen female, with the first recorded sighting only taking place towards the end of the report period. She was seen a number of times towards the lower reaches of the Kapen river. The female was seen to catch a cane rat in the area of Charleston south. On one memorable and slightly concerning occasion, she was observed to have a wounded fore leg. One hopes that the wound will heal, and that the female will be seen more frequently in the coming months.
The cub of the Kapen female on the other hand was seen relatively frequently; with the most memorable sighting taking place close to an area rangers call Hyena Water hole. Here he was seen to interact with the Ngoboswan female. Initially, the young male ascended a tree to avoid the female’s aggressive approach, however, he soon became aware that it was a female leopard he was dealing with, and took an aggressive stance, performing much the way an adult leopard would. He was seen to parallel (run side by side) with the female, roaring and foaming at the mouth. This type of behaviour is noted in adult leopards, and perhaps this being the significant coming of age rangers have been waiting for. Importantly, the Kapen female has not been seen frequently with her cub in over two months, perhaps cementing this theory. July 2007 KAPEN FEMALE 13 YEARS 9 MONTHS NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen female has provided some good viewing the last month with most of her sightings being in or around the Kapen River. This female was seen during the beginning of the report period with her cub, they had a young nyala kill in the area and the leopards provided some great interaction as the female started to show some aggression towards her cub. During this report period the female was only seen on this occasion with her cub.
The female continues to frequent the Mamba Water hole region and quite encouragingly, has been seen as far north as the Styx crossing area, scent marking. Her cub was found feeding on an adult male impala kill up a tree near the Charleston South area. We are not sure if the Kapen female made this kill but only the cub was seen feeding and in the area of the kill. She was seen a day later north of where her cub had been feeding on the impala and was very well fed so one assumes she made the kill. Interestingly, her cub is now over two years of age and clearly larger than his mother. Although the Kapen female is notorious for allowing her cubs uncharacteristic lengthy periods of dependence, one wonders how much longer she will tolerate this. June 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 8 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen female has had a strong month this month. Each time she has been found she has been looking fat and healthy. She continues to allow her now 2 year old plus cub to feed along side her but this about normal for this leopard, although out of the ordinary leopard standards. However having said this, on the last occasion when these 2 leopards had a bushbuck kill in the Kapen River, the cub was observed running off with the last scraps of the kill and finishing them off himself. Each time his mother approached he ran off again until the remnants were finished. These two also provided some excellent viewing when the female killed an impala in the Rock Drift Donga. The son of the Kapen female appears to be settling down nicely in relation to the land rovers and is giving some good viewing on his own. One has to wonder, however, when he will finally take his leave from his mother and set out into the world. There may be sufficient space for him to set up his territory close to his mothers, but this is unlikely to occur. May 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 7 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD Although the Kapen female had a relatively quite report period, it was interesting to note that the female was only seen once on her own and twice with her cub. Importantly the cub is now two years of age and thus it should not be long now before this female ensures that he moves off to become a nomad. Historically, the Kapen female has been known to allow her cubs to enjoy a state of relative dependency far longer than most other female leopards. April 2007 KAPEN FEMALE *13 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen female has been quite quiet this last month. We fortuitously found her in the middle of April when wild dogs stole her kill south of the Charleston Flockfield boundary. Other than that she has remained quiet but her cub is looking healthy and she will probably be looking to abandon him in the next couple of months, so she can mate again.
March 2007 KAPEN FEMALE *13 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen Female was viewed many times this month, the first sighting of her been on the 9 th of March in the mid eastern parts of Charleston. She was accompanied by her cub, which is already at an age of 1 year and 9 months and looking very healthy. The leopards were followed as they moved west towards the Sand River.
On the 11 th of March the Kapen female was found close to Styx crossing. The female was followed as she made her way south along the western bank of the Kapen River. Whilst travelling through some thick bush, rangers noticed that she had spotted something in a thicket ahead of her. They watched in awe as the female stalked foreword. Whilst waiting in total silence, audio of crashing bushes and a struggle indicated that the female had caught something. Following up, rangers were able to establish that the female had killed a young Nyala. The female wasted no time in killing the animal, and fed from the carcass. Unfortunately for her, a nearby hyena had got wind of a potentially free meal, and ran in on the scene. A brief interaction between the two creatures was witnessed, before the female surrendered her hard fought meal to the hyena.
The Kapen Female was once again seen with a kill, this time in the Vulture Water Hole area. It was an adult male Impala and was thought to have had been there for quite a while. The cub was also present. It is almost time for the male cub to leave its mother and become independent, yet the Kapen female has been known to hold on to her offspring for longer than usual. February 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 4 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD The Kapen female continues to dominate the southern reaches of the Kapen River. The female appears to be spending increasingly more time away from her cub. This is important, as it is a gradual weaning process that the young male will be exposed to, giving him the best chance at survival in a solitary type of lifestyle.
January 2007 KAPEN FEMALE * 13 YEARS 3 MONTHS Location: NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD These two leopards were first found after a quiet start to the month of Jan moving north and west over the Charleston Flockfield Boundary towards the Mamba water hole. Both the leopards were looking very healthy and rangers were very happy to see the cub, which is the same size as its mother, doing so well. The Kapen female was then seen again a few days later in and amongst a large herd of buffalo some way to the north of the Rock Drift Donga on central Flockfield, she was sitting on top of a termite mound hoping to stay out of their way. A brief interaction occurred, with the female leopard moving out of the area. The female was seen to have her young male cub feed at kills, but it is only a matter of time before the female chooses to force the cub to lead a solitary lifestyle.
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