July 2008

CENTRAL & WESTERN CHARLESTON, EAST OF THE SAND RIVER - (1 sighting)

The Ngoboswan female leopard continues to give excellent performances for the guests. From hunting to showing off her cub, she has been a wonderful leopard to have around. She has been very successful in this last report period with hunting in the Sand River and bushbuck drive areas, close to the west street bridge. She continues to be an excellent mother to her cub and always returns to collect it once she has made a kill. She has not ventured far from the west street area, as the cub is still too small to travel great distances and remains vulnerable to other predators in areas not so well defended by its mother. We have great hopes for this mum and youngster. They will be a force to be reckoned with even after they separate and go their own ways.

• Son of the Ngoboswan female: (2 years 9 months)

The son of the Ngoboswan female leopard is making his mark on western flockfield and has been seen actively scent marking around the area. He is very relaxed in comparison to his rivals of the same age and promises to be a dominant force in Mala Mala in the years to come.

May 2008

SOUTHWESTERN MALAMALA, NORTHWESTERN FLOCKFIELD
(4 sightings of female, 0 sightings of female with her cubs, 0 sightings of cubs without mother)

This female leopard d was only seen 4 times over the report period, and is perhaps a sign that her territory has shifted slightly westwards. Unfortunately there was no sign of any of her cubs on the times that she was seen. She is still lactating a small amount, but if the cubs are still alive they will be requiring a diet consisting more of meat as they grow older. Hopefully there will be sighting of this old female with her cubs in the near future.

Son of the Ngoboswan female: (2 years 6 months)

The son of the Ngoboswan female was only seen twice during the report period, this young male was in good condition when seen. We should start to see less and less of this leopard as he moves around looking to take a territory.

April 2008

NGOBOSWAN FEMALE 15 YEARS 8 MONTHS

2 CUBS 6 MONTHS 2 WEEKS

SOUTHWESTERN MALAMALA, NORTHWESTERN FLOCKFIELD
(7 sightings of female, 4 sightings of female with her cubs, 0 sightings of cubs without mother)

The cubs of this lady are growing large and strong. In time past she has acquitted herself as an excellent mother and this litter is proving to be no different. Both cubs are doing very well and are following and learning from her as she goes. The Ngoboswan female is still strong and dominant in a large territory but is spending a lot of time around the Sand River in the vicinity of West Street Bridge. This is a large wooded area and the perfect hiding place for cubs. With this new litter to care for she is understandably not interested in having anything further to do with her independent son.

There was one occasion during this last report period where all four leopards came together. The Ngoboswan female was very protective over her cubs and would not allow her older son anywhere near them. There was much aggression from her towards him. For his part it did appear that he wanted to be affectionate, something unusual for an independent, even though he is her son. Finally she led the cubs away from the area and he remained behind, having taken the warnings she was so obviously giving him. For the rest of the time the Ngoboswan female has enjoyed a relatively stress free ride with few dangers presenting themselves to he youngsters.

Son of the Ngoboswan female: (2 years 6 months)

This leopard was seen only twice this report period. He still seems to be concentrating his movements to around the West Street area and the airstrip. Both these sightings were on the Campbell road, separating Mala Mala from Sparta. Interestingly he still seems to hold affection for his mother, even though he has been independent for some time now and is becoming a very successful leopard in his own right. His attempts to approach her on their last encounter resulted in a very aggressive response from her. This is sure to be due to her new cubs that were present at the time. With pressure from the Bicycle Crossing male in the south and the Manyelethi male and Emsagwen male in the north and east, the future for this young leopard an Mala Mala does not look bright.

January 2008

NGOBOSWAN FEMALE                      * 15 YEARS 5 MONTHS
2 CUBS                                                  * 3 MONTHS 2 WEEKS

Location: SOUTHWESTERN MALAMALA, NORTHWESTERN FLOCKFIELD
(9 sightings of female, 2 sightings of mother with her cubs, 0 of cubs without mother)

This old yet powerful leopard continues to dominate the central parts of MalaMala and western Flockfield. Her cubs are growing in strength day by day and are relaxing nicely with one vehicle present. As yet the cubs have not been seen on their own and only two sightings of them this past month with their mother. She is keeping them well hidden and no longer uses permanent den sites. The female has been seen to hunt on a number of occasions and has been well successful, unfortunately never in the company of guests. She has been found with a number of kills that she has led the cubs to. Her meal of choice appears to be impala. During the course of this past report period, she had to fight off intrusions from the daughter of the Campbell Koppies female (stripe) as well as contend with stand offs with the Bicycle Crossing male leopard, which stole an impala kill that she had worked hard to catch. Over all she is doing very well and appears to be on the way to raising another set of cubs successfully to adulthood.

Son of the Ngoboswan female: (2 years 3 months)

This young leopard is maturing nicely into a large and well-rounded male leopard. He is still frequenting seen in the western side of MalaMala, to the west of his mothers territory, and occasionally still comes into contact with her with the resultant aggressive interaction. The main section of his territory lies within Sparta, however, he is not averse to coming onto MalaMala to hunt. He is not often seen with only four sightings this last month.