MATSHAPIRI FEMALE
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Daughter of the White Cloth Female Leopard
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December 2003No Sightings November 2003There were two sighting of the 3-years-one-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. Both sightings were around the central and upper parts of the Kapen River, deep within the area which this young leopard appears to be claiming for herself.
October 2003Three sighting of the 3-year-old daughter of the White Cloth Female: - this young leopard seems to be getting herself together and maturing rapidly. At this stage she is physically one of the smallest leopards around, but all sightings suggest that she is in fine health. Her continued presence in the area suggests that she is coping well with any opposition that may have come her way.
One of the best sightings of the daughter of the White Cloth Female was when she was found with a freshly killed adult female impala. All the other impala were still in the area, snorting in alarm at the leopard eating one of their companions. Fortunately this noise didn't immediately attract the attentions of scavengers such as hyaenas and lions. Although the young leopard had dragged the kill to the base of a large Marula Tree, she apparently did not have the strength to hoist it to safety. Claw-marks on the trunk indicated that she had certainly tried to do so, but had failed. The next morning, there was no sign of leopard or kill and hyaena tracks in the area told the story. But at least she'd had something to eat before the rest had been taken. September 2003
She was found some kilometres away the following day, along the middle-reaches of the Kapen River, and heading southwards. Although this particular spot should be most familiar to the young leopard, it being central in the areas where she grew up in, it has been some time since she has been seen here and maybe it's a sign that she is getting more confident and willing to explore and defend the area left to her by her mother. August 2003There were six sightings of the 34-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female during August . This young leopard spent three successive days feeding from a duiker carcass which she had hoisted into a large Marula Tree; two hyaenas at the base of the tree probably waited in vain for substantial scraps to fall. Other sightings were of the leopard wandering around within the area considered 'hers', but doing nothing substantial (at least not obviously) to deter invaders. And there certainly were outsiders making blatant use of her area. Amongst these was her mother which made a surprise entry, moving deeply inside the area of land which she is thought to have left to her daughter. And not only was she hunting in this area, but was scent-marking as well. Also, her aunt, the Kapen Female, continues to invade. One wonders when the daughter of the White Cloth Female will find the necessary power - physical and mental - to react to these intrusions.
July 2003 There was one sighting of the 33-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. Although sightings of this young female leopard have been scarce, it is hoped that she is doing enough to keep other leopards away from the area between the upper reaches of the Kapen and middle-lower parts of the Matshapiri, the part of the reserve which she has been trying to claim as her own ever since abandoned by her mother nearly a year ago.
June 2003 There was but a single sighting of the 32-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female, this at the very beginning of the game-report-period when she was seen walking past her father, the Rock Drift Male, which was sleeping in a thicket near the central parts of the Mala Mala/ Flockfield boundary. Neither leopard paid attention to the other. May 2003 There was but a single sighting of the 31-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female this month.
The young leopard appeared at a cheetah sighting on central Flockfield, north of the Kapen River, chased the cheetah off and then proceeded to walk north and west towards the lower parts of the Matshapiri River, marking territory as she went. The 'line' she walked is thought to be the intended divide between the area she controls and that occupied by her aunt, the Kapen Female. However, if the Kapen Female is impressed, her movements have certainly not shown it and, as in previous months, there were several sightings in May of the Kapen Female to the north of this demarcation line. As fiery as the diminutive daughter of the White Cloth Female is, she will have to get even more aggressive if other leopards are to show greater respect for her land. But it's early days still, one hopes, and the young leopard probably still has a good chance of succeeding. April 2003 5 sightings of the 30-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. This young female leopard continued to consolidate her hold on the territory given to her by her mother when the White Cloth Female moved north and east. The month appeared to have been mostly dedicated to making her presence felt as regularly as possible, a sign of energy which other land-hungry leopards would heed.
March 2003 1 sighting of the 29-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. This single sighting of the daughter of the White Cloth Female had her walking south along the lower parts of the Matshapiri River, an area which used to be a favourite for her mother when the White Cloth Female still controlled this territory. Sightings over the last few months lend more and more credence to the belief that the White Cloth Female has left most of the area that she used to control and moved northwards and eastwards, letting her daughter take over her old territory. Not that having been handed a chunk of land on a plate means absolute control immediately; for the young daughter of the White Cloth Female, but it certainly gives her a running start over the other land-hungry young female leopards that are always out there, also prepared to compete. February 2003 3 sightings of the 28-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female. These encounters were in the land between the Kapen and Matshapiri Rivers - southern Mala Mala/ northern Flockfield. Indications are that the White Cloth Female has moved well away from her old territory, almost certainly in order to give her daughter access to it and so a firm start to life as an independent leopard. Hopefully she will have the skill to hang onto this gift, if of course this is what has happened. Having a territory handed out on a plate, so to speak, does not of course guarantee 'ownership'; other land-hungry leopards will always be waiting to gain entrance too. One such leopard would be sister of the White Cloth Female, the Kapen Female, a leopard which has already relinquished the southern half of her old territory to her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter and in so doing has moved north, taking in at least part of what used to be considered as part of the White Cloth Females' southern range. The next six or so months will probably prove crucial in finally deciding what happens with the daughter of the White Cloth Female. The first sighting of this young leopard during this game-report-period was of her approaching some lions busy eating a giraffe; the lions never saw the young leopard and she wisely moved off. At a later sighting, she was found after she had caught a young monkey and the angry chattering of the rest of the troop drew attention to her. JANUARY 2003
DECEMBER 2002
There were two sightings of the 26-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female, one of these on the central parts of the Mala Mala/ Flockfield Boundary, the other near the central parts of the Kapen River on Flockfield. At the one sighting she was seen to arrive at an impala kill attended by the Rock Drift Male. The Rock Drift Male is almost certainly her father and has always had what might be interpreted as a kindly attitude towards his offspring. The daughter of the White Cloth Female was allowed to feed from the carcass. The other sighting of this young leopard was of her hunting; she was not seen to catch anything and certainly displayed many characteristics of a young and still quite immature leopard. Nevertheless, her body condition certainly suggests that she is succeeding with enough of her efforts and is getting plenty to eat. But the fact that she has stayed in or close to the area where she spent her years as a dependent cub raise the question of whether she will ultimately settle here, even if it means taking at least some of her mothers' existing territory. The White Cloth Female herself was not seen in these areas over this game-report period and it could well be that she has the will and ability to allow her daughter to stay. With there perhaps being opportunity for the White Cloth Female to move somewhat north and east too, this would certainly help this cause. MalaMala
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Two
sighting of the 35-month-old daughter of the White Cloth Female: - these
two encounters were right at the end of the report-period and on successive
days. She was first seen close to where the Hogvaal Donga intercepts
the Kruger National Park boundary and was feeding from the scraps of a
baby giraffe carcass that the Rock Drift Male (which is probably her father)
had abandoned after chasing another male leopard from the scene. 
There were two confirmed sightings of the 27-month-old daughter of
the White Cloth Female this month, both on central Flockfield. One
of the sightings was quite humorous in that the young leopard came across
a vulture perched in a large Greenthorn Tree. The vulture was very well
fed, probably having just fed upon a nearby zebra carcass. When the leopard
was nearing the tree, the vulture regurgitated much of its meal, perhaps
in fright and in preparation for a speedy flight. The leopard then sat
beneath the tree, gazing wistfully at the vulture, perhaps hoping that
more meat would be forthcoming. After a few minutes of this, the leopard
emitted a lone whining noise, akin to one made when begging from its mother
as a cub, and then wandered off. But, judging from her body condition,
the White Cloth Female's daughter seems to be doing well. Just where she
will eventually end up, however, waits to be seen. Some evidence suggests
that her mother is deliberately moving out of the areas of central and
eastern Flockfield, perhaps giving her a good chance of setting herself
up in this area. Time, of course, will tell whether this ultimately occurs.
A vacant territory such as this perhaps being created by the White Cloth
Female will not automatically go to a daughter; other land-hungry young
leopards will also be eyeing it out and no doubt want to fight for a chance
to take over. 
