NEWINGTON MALE
| NEWINGTON MALE
|
| December 2005 NEWINGTON MALE * 7 YEARS 2 MONTH Location: MALA MALA, SOUTH-EASTERN MARTHLY, SOUTHERN EYREFIELD
All sightings of the Newington male this past month found him vigorously marking his territory and announcing his presence, mainly in the Picadilly Triangle area. This may well be in defiance of the Manyeleti male who seems to be his main rival in this area and who was also seen often in close proximity to this ideal stretch of leopard habitat. The Newington male was also seen stealing a kill from his daughter, the Kikilezi female, who showed a bit of defiance but was not able to salvage any of her hard won kill from her much larger father. November 2005 NEWINGTON MALE * 7 YEARS 1 MONTH Location: MALA MALA, SOUTH-EASTERN MARTHLY, SOUTHERN EYREFIELD
Perhaps the most interesting sighting involving the Newington Male was one near the beginning of the game report period, where he was seen to “steal” the Kikilezi Female from the Manyeleti Male, a day after the Kikilezi Female and the Manyeleti Male had been mating. The Newington Male then escorted his daughter away from the Manyeleti Male in an easterly direction, and proceeded to mate with her. The pair moved steadily eastwards, which was a good tactic on the part of the Newington Male, as he was leading her well out of Manyeleti Male territory. A week later, the first proper rains of the season fell on Mala Mala, and the Newington Male provided some stable leopard viewing at a time when these cats would potentially be difficult to find. He had killed an impala, and stashed it in a good tree, close to the confluence of the Hogvaal Donga and the Matshapiri River . Other sightings of the Newington Male were also of good quality, whether they involved simply carrying out a territorial patrol, or hunting. He was seen to kill a baby impala after breakfast one morning, and by that afternoon had finished feeding on it. October 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
7 YEARS The Newington Male had a good month in October, but was not seen to have any dramatic clashes with other male leopards. He spent a good deal of time along the Matshapiri River , particularly at Emsagwen Water Hole, where he made a few kills. Emsagwen Water Hole is a hole that has been dug by animals in the Matshapiri River off Emsagwen Open Area and at the bottom of this hole is a little moisture. Not much, but enough to draw animals in for a drink, rather than having to go all the way to one of the pools in the mainly dry Sand River. The Newington Male undoubtedly found that he could obtain energy-providing meals with relatively little expenditure of energy, by waiting in an ambush position at Emsagwen Water Hole. He also turned up, uninvited, to feed on a kill made by the Matshapiri Female leopard, not far from Emsagwen Water Hole.
At seven years, the Newington Male can probably be considered to be in his prime. He has developed into a mean-looking, no-nonsense male leopard, and that is the way he will have to be if he is to succeed in the tough existence of a territorial male. September 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 11 MONTHS September was a challenging month for the Newington Male, and he emerged with some scars. The reason for the scars was a clash with the Manyeleti Male, lasting a couple of days. Both leopards were seen just across the Sand River from Mala Mala Main Camp, with an impala kill in a tree. It is not known which leopard had made the kill, but neither of them was willing to give an inch. For two days they growled at each other, fed on the kill and scent-marked heavily.
For the first day or more, it seemed that the Newington Male had the situation under his control, and seemed to retain psychological “possession” of the tree with the kill in it. But then the Manyeleti Male approached the tree, and the two male leopards engaged in typical conflict, walking stiffly side by side, breaking into a run, and physically contacting one another for very brief, violent moments. Neither leopard suffered serious injury, but both received wounds enough to remind them of the calibre of the opposition! The Newington Male’s injuries were to his face. After the Manyeleti Male had fed on the carcass for the last time and descended the tree, the Newington Male climbed the tree immediately and finished off the scraps. The next morning, the two leopards were no longer together, and neither of them could claim any major victory. A little earlier in the month, the Newington Male had watched four male lions feeding on a buffalo carcass, but had wisely kept out of their way! August 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 10 MONTHS In August, the Newington Male spent a great deal of time rather close to the camp, and on more than one occasion, he had to be chased out of the area. He killed a very young impala (undoubtedly a lamb born out of season, probably in about April), just to the south of the camp, and fed on this kill for a couple of days. Significantly, he and the Manyeleti Male were often seen not too far apart, and it seems that the two of them are currently contesting a piece of territory in the Bicycle Crossing area. The Newington Male is not having things all his own way, and his physical strength as well as his strength of character will be put to the test in the months ahead.
July 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 9 MONTHS The Newington Male is developing a reputation for being somewhat of a “bully”, and this was again in evidence in early July, when he and the Kikilezi Female were seen together on a nyala kill. The Newington Male was extremely aggressive towards the female, and at one stage had her stranded in a tree for several hours, but refused to let her feed on the kill. It is quite likely that she was the leopard that made the kill, and that the Newington Male stole it from her. Bully or not, the Newington Male is a strong and confident territorial male leopard, and he did not reach that status by being a “Mr Nice Guy”. It will be remembered that late in June, he had killed an adult male warthog, and had managed to reclaim this kill from a couple of hyenas. He did, in the end, loose the remains of the kill to the same hyenas, and decided not to challenge them for it. Other sightings of the Newington Male were pretty much as expected, with the leopard dutifully going about patrolling his territory. He is in his absolute prime now, and should be around for a number of years, although a territorial male leopard never has everything his own way, and he will face many challenges from other leopards in the months and years ahead.
June 2005 NEWINGTON MALE * 6
YEARS 8 MONTHS The very first sighting of the Newington Male during this game report period was directly across the Sand River from the camp. He was moving northwards, looking well fed. If one followed his tracks backwards, one would come to the eastern bank of the Sand River at West Street Bridge. It was here that, the following morning, the remains of a small leopard cub were found. Most of the carcass had been eaten, but there was sufficient of the head left to recognise it as a leopard. This cub was one of the youngsters of the Ngoboswan Female, and the fact that there were male leopard tracks in the immediate vicinity of the cub’s remains, suggests very strongly that the Newington Male had killed and eaten this cub. This probably made him a rather unpopular leopard among the rangers and guests of Mala Mala, but what he did was what one would expect of a territorial male leopard that is not the father of the cubs. A few days later, the Newington Male was seen to kill a sub-adult warthog in the middle of the morning. This kill was dragged into a donga at first, but by evening, it had been hoisted up a tamboti tree, giving good views of the leopard whenever he chose to feed. Two weeks later, the Newington Male was seen mating with the Matshapiri Female, who has been his partner on a number of previous occasions. The mating went on for a few days and, as is often the case, the mating frequency was very high indeed in the early evenings, with as many as four acts of copulation being witnessed in less than five minutes. The Newington Male also killed a baby bushbuck one morning while being followed, and he ate this animal in the reeds of the dry Mlowathi River. Then at the end of the game report period, the Newington Male was found with a freshly killed male warthog, to the east of Campbell Koppies. The leopard was in a tree, watching two hyenas feeding on the carcass on the ground. He had already fed as well, and had evidently been battling to hoist the carcass up the tree, as his chest was still covered in warthog blood. Just after sunset, the hyenas thought they heard a lion approaching, and they fled, leaving the carcass unattended for a few seconds. This was just the break the Newington Male needed! He was down the tree in a flash, and quickly dragged the still substantial bulk of the warthog carcass to the base of the tree. He then struggled valiantly with the task of hoisting the carcass, and managed to take it about 2 metres up the tree, to the first fork, where it would at least be safe from hyenas. He was seen 12 times in the month, and apart from the dramatic sightings, the other sightings were also good ones, mainly of an active territorial male leopard, hunting during the day. May 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 7 MONTHS The Newington Male covered quite a large area in May, and was involved in a few sightings that confirm his status as a large, powerful and confident territorial animal. He was seen mating with a female leopard identified as the Kikilezi Female. This mating took place a long way out of the territory of the Kikilezi Female, but it is quite normal for a female leopard in oestrus to follow her mate well out of her own territory, where ever he chooses to go. Incidentally, the Newington Male is the father of the Kikilezi Female. Although not seen to make any kills, the Newington Male did, however, steal at least two kills. One of them was an adult female impala, killed by the Kikilezi Female, while the other was a young kudu, killed by a cheetah. April 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 6 MONTHS The Newington Male dominated the male leopard viewing in the northern half of the reserve in April, and he was involved in some memorable sightings, a few of which are described briefly below. One afternoon, the Newington Male and the Bicycle Crossing Male were seen together, engaged in a territorial challenge. The two male leopards crossed west over the causeway near Mala Mala Camp, and continued slowly west and then north over the next couple of hours. They walked stiffly parallel to one another, perhaps 10 metres apart, displaying laterally. There was much salivation and scent marking from both leopards, and on a couple of occasions they ran on converging paths, coming into brief contact. The larger Newington Male had the better of these physical encounters, although no wounds were inflicted. From time to time, the two leopards would lie down a short distance apart. One would growl menacingly, and this would be answered by the other. Both leopards were very well fed, and it is quite possible that one had scavenged from a kill made by the other. On another occasion, the Newington Male was followed on the move in the early evening, and he came upon an impala kill stashed under a bush. He began to feed on this kill, which, it transpired, belonged to the Campbell Koppies Female and her cubs. The cubs were present, and edged cautiously towards the male leopard (probably their father). The Campbell Koppies Female had been for a drink at nearby Mlowathi Dam, and returned to find one of her cubs at arm’s length from the Newington Male. When the cub and the male leopard pawed each other, the anxious female leopard let fly at the male. A hyena appeared on the scene, and the male leopard quickly took the kill up a tree. For the next couple of days, the Newington Male kept the stolen kill to himself, not allowing the female leopard to feed. She and her cubs lost interest in the carcass, once it became clear that the male was not sharing, and they moved off. Later in the month, the Newington Male was seen to kill a young female bushbuck, and hoist it up a tree just before a hyena could reach him. At six-and-a-half years, the Newington Male is in his prime, and should continue to provide superb viewing for another few years. March 2005 NEWINGTON MALE *
6 YEARS 5 MONTHS The Newington Male has grown into a large leopard, and seems to be in control of a sizeable chunk of land. Although not involved in any dramatic sightings in March, he still provided good viewing, and was seen more frequently than he had been in February. February 2005 NEWINGTON MALE * 6 YEARS 4 MONTHS Location: MALA MALA, EYREFIELD Although only seen on three occasions, the Newington Male delivered the goods when he was seen. He and the Matshapiri Female were seen mating on Eyrefield at the beginning of the game report period, while the White Cloth Female (mother of the Matshapiri Female) looked on. A few days later, while walking along a road, the Newington Male detected movement in the long grass. He investigated, and pounced on a bustard-like bird, the black-bellied korhaan, which he ate. The third sighting of the Newington Male was a quiet one, as he rested near a water hole in the Picadilly area.
January 2005 NEWINGTON MALE * 6 YEARS 3 MONTHS Location: MALA MALA, EYREFIELD The Newington Male leopard, fairly typically, was only seen on a few occasions in January. All sightings were, however, good, stable sightings of a relaxed territorial male leopard. On one occasion he was seen to hunt and kill a baby impala at night, and he quickly hoisted the kill into a tree. Although no clashes have been witnessed between the Newington Male and the Bicycle Crossing Male leopard, or between the Newington Male and the Rock Drift Male, it is likely that there have been such encounters. The Newington Male exudes an air of calm self-confidence, and he gives the impression that he is likely to be around for a good number of years. On one occasion, he walked along a route that had earlier been taken by the lions of the Styx Pride. He soon picked up the scent of these lions, and became cautious and watchful. The lions saw him before he saw them, and one of the lionesses began to advance on the leopard. When the Newington Male saw the lioness stalking him, he did not panic, but quietly melted off, only to arc around the lions and continue with his business, quite unflustered. MalaMala
Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa. Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
