NEWINGTON
MALE * 5 YEARS 2 MONTHS Location:
SOUTHERN & W EYREFIELD/ NW MALA MALA
(2
sightings)    
The
two sightings of the Newington Male this month were nearly four weeks
apart, so goodness knows what he was up to in that time. The last of
the two sightings was of this male leopard to the northwest of his territory,
in land which up to now has belonged to the Short Tail Male. Evidence
suggested that the Newington Male had killed an impala, but had then had
most of his prize taken from him by hyaenas. The Newington Male appears
to be one of those male leopards seeking to gain at least some of the
land once controlled by the now apparently rapidly declining Short Tail
Male.
November 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 5 YEARS 1 MONTH Location:
SOUTHERN & W EYREFIELD/ NW MALA MALA
(6
sightings) Sightings
of the Newington Male were all in the first two weeks of the November
game-report-period. Sightings were mostly of him patrolling territory
in what is considered to be the central and southwestern parts of his
domain. He was, however, encountered several times deep inside the territory
of the Short Tail Male. This old male is now apparently declining rapidly
and is being challenged by perhaps three other male leopards, the Newington
Male and Rock Drift Males included. It will be interesting to see just
how his territory eventually gets shared when the inevitable happens.   
The
last sighting of the Newington Male this month saw him coming into brief
contact with his two-year-old daughter which he fathered with the Ngoboswan
Female. And contact was brief; the young female leopard took one look
at the approaching male and fled, taking no chances of perhaps encountering
a hostile unknown. From his side, the Newington Male spent some time
sniffing around the area where his daughter had just been, but made no
effort to follow her and concentrated instead on some warthogs which happened
to chance by.
October 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 5 YEARS Location:
SOUTHERN & W EYREFIELD/ CENTRAL & NW MALA MALA (5
sightings)
Sightings
of the Newington Male were concentrated in the southwestern parts of his
territory and one wonders whether this may have something to do with the
Short Tail Male showing signs of weakening. Although this sort of thing
has been suspected several times and nothing has come of it, this month
there were indications that it may be more serious. Aside from the Newington
Male, at least two other adult male leopards were seen deep within Short
Tail Male territory this month and the Short Tail Male himself was sporting
some vicious looking wounds on his lower back, these consistent with injuries
inflicted in a fight with another male leopard.  
September 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 4 YEARS 11 MONTHS Location:
EASTERN EYREFIELD/ MALA MALA BORDER (3
sightings)   
The
Newington Male was seen on three successive days, all along the mid-upper
reaches of the Matshapiri River, when he, a few hyaenas and a lioness
tussled for control of an adult female kudu carcass. When initially located,
the lioness was on the carcass and the leopard in a tree nearby. It is
not known which of the animals killed the kudu, but each saw an opportunity
to at least get something from it. The lioness was lactating and the
leopard probably knew that she would have to leave the scene at some stage,
either to suckle her cubs, or perhaps to get some water. Hyaenas appeared
and at one time approached the lioness, but she chased them off, actually
giving one of them something of a beating, and this may have kept them
a touch more wary than normal. By the evening of the second day, the
lioness seemed quite desperate to leave. Her belly was filled to bursting
point and she had probably not been back to her cubs since gaining access
to the carcass. As soon as she left, the Newington Male descended and
began tearing into what was left. But the lioness was not quite ready
to give up and came running back, fortunately not too quietly, giving
the leopard time to escape, although it was still a close thing. This
happened once more and then the lioness gave up and jogged back to her
cubs which had been left hiding in a hill a few kilometres away. The
following day the Newington Male was still around and had managed to haul
the remains into a tree where it would have been safe from hyaenas.
August 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 4 YEARS 10 MONTHS Location:
NE EYREFIELD/ CENTRAL MALA MALA (3
sightings)
Although the Newington Male was seen only three times this month, he appeared
to be covering the limits of his territory. Such regular patrols are
of course important in that they keep the peripheral opposition aware
that the territory holder is alive and healthy.
July 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 4 YEARS 9 MONTHS Location:
EYREFIELD (except NW) / CENTRAL MALA MALA (7
sightings)
Unlike
previous months, the Newington Male was not seen to spend time to the
southwest of his territory, on western Mala Mala, the area thought to
be controlled by the old male leopard with the short tail. Instead, the
Newington Male patrolled the part of the reserve now regarded as 'his',
this on Eyrefield and northern Mala Mala.   
Sightings
of the Newington Male were good; on one occasion, he was seen with the
carcass of a baby zebra, ironically, not far from where the Tlebe Rocks
Male, the leopard which the Newington Male took over this territory from,
was seen killing a young zebra some time ago. The Tlebe Rocks Male was
rumoured to have been killed by a warthog and this then gave the Newington
Male (which was already showing signs of wanting to challenge the Tlebe
Rocks Male) the opportunity of gaining control. But
the Newington Male also seems to have little fear of warthogs and last
month he was sporting a vicious-looking cut on one cheek, this probably
the result of a warthogs tusk. This month the wound was nearly fully
healed. However, a warthog may very nearly have caused the Newington
Male to lose his life this month, but in a very oblique way; he was found
one day, perched in a tree, watching five lionesses tear apart an adult
male warthog. All indications are that he had caught the warthog and
that the lionesses, having heard the squeals, had run in and taken the
kill from him. Perhaps the leopard was more than lucky to have heard
them coming and escaped before they could kill him. But,
other than this, the Newington Male seemed in charge and showing only
signs of prospering.
June 2003 NEWINGTON MALE * 4 YEARS 8 MONTHS Location: WESTERN EYREFIELD/ WESTERN MALA MALA (5 sightings)
The Newington Male was only seen during the second half of the month and the
first sighting was near the upper parts of the Mlowathi River, this perhaps
close to the borderline between his territory and that controlled by his
older brother. These two leopards fought it out last year for the territory
once controlled by the Tlebe Rocks Male and the Newington Male emerged
the victor. When seen for the first time this month, the Newington Male
was sporting a vicious looking wound on his right cheek, this perhaps
the result of some mishap with a warthog, a prey species he has shown
a past willingness to tangle with. Later on in the month, the Newington Male spent a week on western Mala Mala,
close to the Sand River and between the Main Camp and the Mala Mala Bridge.
He was seen with the remains of an adult male impala the one day, almost
certainly an item scavenged, and then the next, with the carcass of an
adult male baboon. The evening before the leopard was found with the
dead baboon, he had been left sleeping close to the same tree in which
many baboons were roosting. Initially the dead baboon was wedged really high up in a Jackalberry Tree, perhaps
20 metres or more from the ground and the Newington Male, looking lean,
was in no apparent hurry to feed from it. The killing of baboons is not
an easy task and many leopards leave them well alone. One could imagine
that the Newington Male, for some or other reason, took the baboon troop
on, killed one and then had the rest of the troop chase him, forcing him
to clamber to the very top of the tree with the carcass. Later on the kill was removed and placed in a leafy Sausage Tree and the leopard
spent the next few days feeding from it.
May 2003 Location:
NE EYREFIELD/ WESTERN MALA MALA (4
sightings)
Although
the first sighting of the Newington Male this month found him still within
what is considered the territory of his old adversary, the short-tailed
male leopard, subsequent encounters had him further afield, north of this,
roaming parts of the reserve perhaps more solidly 'his'. It is still
not certain just why the Newington Male spent so much time within the
territory of the Ngoboswan Female last month. Although the Newington
Male is the father of the two one-and-a-half-year-old cubs of the Ngoboswan
Female, he was chased from this area by the male leopard with the short
tail and has subsequently had very little to do with the Ngoboswan Female
or the cubs. However, towards the middle and end of May, once the Newington
Male had departed from the area, there were some signs that the Ngoboswan
Female was preparing to abandon her daughters, to force them to stop depending
upon her. So, was last months visit by the Newington Male in response
to the Ngoboswan Female coming into season again and if so have the two
mated and now that the deed is done, he has departed, leaving things once
more to the old male with the short tail which seems to be more than willing
to accept the paternal duties, even though he is excluded from the mating
process?   
Later
sightings of the Newington Male had him patrolling areas along the Matshapiri
River where the White Cloth Female is thought to be hiding her probably
two-month-old cubs. Although these two leopards were not seen mating,
it is known that they have made contact before and that this was not entirely
hostile.
April 2003 NEWINGTON
MALE * 4 YEARS 6 MONTHS Location: NE EYREFIELD/ WESTERN MALA MALA (7 sightings)
After several
months of next to no sightings, the Newington Male was seen several times
during April, the first encounter being towards the beginning of the viewing
period and in what is considered to be the northeastern parts of his territory.
The leopard, sporting fresh wounds on his face (these probably from some
or other interaction with another leopard) was heading towards an area
where many perched vultures gave hope for an easy meal. But the vultures
were waiting for lions to finish feeding from a rotting rhino carcass
and the leopard wisely decided not to hang around. A few
days later the Newington Male made another appearance, this time towards
the southwestern limits of his territory and then beyond this, into areas
controlled by the male leopard with the short tail. And it was here that
the Newington Male appeared to spend much of the month, roaming an area
which a year ago he still occupied, together with the male leopard with
the short tail.   
The
relationship between the Newington Male and the male leopard with the
short tail is rather enigmatic. He is probably the father of the Newington
Male and for quite a while tolerated the Newington Males' presence, even
to the extent of watching the Newington Male mate with one of his long-term
mates, the Ngoboswan Female. But then suddenly the relationship soured
and the male leopard with the short tail ran the Newington Male out of
the area, pushing him north and east where over the last year or so the
Newington Male appears to have prospered, taking over from the Tlebe Rocks
Male and at the same time defeating his own older brother which was also
challenging for this vacant territory. With
the territory, the Newington Male has claimed at least two female leopards
and perhaps even a third. While he has been seen mating with the Hlabatini
and Campbell Koppies Females, it is quite likely that he has mated with
the White Cloth Female as well. But
why should he now come south and west, back to the area from which he
was expelled? Is the old male leopard with the short tail showing obvious
signs of weakening and, if so, is the Newington Male taking advantage
of this to increase his territory size to include this area too? Although
the male leopard with the short tail was also seen this month and this
whilst the Newington Male was known to be in the area, the two were never
seen actually confronting one another. But where did the fresh wounds
on the older leopard come from, these seen towards the end of the April
viewing period? Perhaps the two leopards have already come face to face.
Now is also the time when the Ngoboswan Female can be expected to come
into season once more. Her cubs are approaching the time when they should
be able to fend for themselves and so she would perhaps be preparing for
her next litter. And perhaps the Newington Male is aware of this too
and so has moved in to see whether he can father the next brood too. The
other reason for the sudden arrival of the Newington Male is of course
that he has been kicked out of his territory by a stronger male leopard;
but this is probably not the case and hopefully viewing over the next
few months will bring some clarity with regard to the leopard dynamics
of the area.
March 2003 NEWINGTON MALE *
4 YEARS 5 MONTHS Location: CENTRAL
EYREFIELD (1
sighting)
The single
sighting of the Newington Male this month was the first in several weeks.
He was found resting in a Marula Tree, close to what is probably the border
between his territory and that controlled by the leopard with the shortish
tail, which is probably his father. At the time it was hoped that the
Newington Male was in the area to check up on the Campbell Koppies Female
with which he had mated in early December last year. Indications at the
time were that she was about to give birth and the thought was that the
Newington Male would come to inspect the new arrivals. As it turned out,
however, this proved not to be the case and the Newington Male was left
moving off north and east. He chased after some kudus with youngsters,
but failed to catch anything and was finally left moving from the Campbell
Koppies Females' territory into that controlled by another of 'his' females,
the Hlabatini Female.   
February 2003 Location:
WESTERN EYREFIELD
(1 sighting)
There was only
one sighting of the Newington Male over this game-report-period and this
at the very beginning. He was combining a territorial patrol with a hunting
exercise and was moving downstream in the Mlowathi River, an area considered
to be the western parts of his territory.
January 2003 Location: NORTH-CENTRAL MALA MALA (1 sighting)   
There was but a single sighting of the
Newington Male this month and it was of a well fed leopard fast asleep
near the central parts of the Matshapiri River.
MalaMala
Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa.
Telephone:
+ 27 11 442 2267 or 0861 SAFARI.
Facsimile: + 27 11 442 2318
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