NGOBOSWAN FEMALE
| NGOBOSWAN FEMALE
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DECEMBER 2002NGOBOSWAN
FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA (10 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 6 sightings of her and both cubs, 3 sightings of the Ngoboswan Female and only one of the cubs, 6 sighting of a single cub on its own and 4 of only the two cubs together)
The trio of Ngoboswan leopards continued to prosper during December with the Ngoboswan Female supplying her youngsters with the food needed to sustain them. Compared with their movements last month, the three leopards seemed to spend more of their time during December on the eastern bank of the stretch of Sand River which runs through their territory. There were several sightings of these leopards heading towards kills stashed by the female and of them feeding at such kills. Towards the beginning of December, all three leopards spent three days close to the entrance gates of the Mala Mala Main Camp, feeding from the carcass of an adult female bushbuck. As the cubs get older, so the Ngoboswan Female seems to spend less and less time with them and even the two of them, when in the same general area, frequently go their separate ways as they explore and generally satisfy simple curiousities. One of the sightings of the one youngster saw her playing with and plucking a dead hornbill. The hornbills' nest was in the tree above where the leopard found the dead bird and it is quite likely that she had killed it there earlier and then abandoned it before returning to play with it again; sadness for the hornbill and its babies, but for the young leopard just another lesson on the path to learning the skills of life.
The Newington Male leopard, the father of the cubs, has not been seen in the Ngoboswan Females' territory for several months now and has concentrated on his newly acquired lands to their north and east. But the male leopard with the short tail which has been patrolling around the Ngoboswan Females' territory for several years now and has accepted the cubs as his own - or so it seems - and in turn is well tolerated by the female and her cubs. NOVEMBER 2002 NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (10 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan
Female, 3 sightings of her and both cubs, 2 sightings of the Ngoboswan
Female and only one of the cubs, 1 sighting of a single cub on its own
and 4 of only the two cubs together)
Quite interestingly, the Newington Male, father of these two cubs, has not been seen with them or the Ngoboswan Female for some time now. Not only that, but he has really not even been maintaining a presence in their territory. The entire 'male-leopard-responsibility' part of their upbringing (which essentially involves maintaining a presence to discourage other male leopards from entering the area and possibly killing the cubs) appears to have been taken over by the male leopard with the shorter-than-average tail. This particular male leopard has been in this area for many years and seems to be on 'friendly' terms with the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs. One of the fine sightings involving these three leopards during November was of the Ngoboswan Female returning to fetch her cubs from the place of security where she had left them in order to take them to a kill. In this case the kill was a baby impala which the young leopards played with for some time before eating. OCTOBER 2002NGOBOSWAN
FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA
(9 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 3 sightings of her and both cubs, 2 sightings of the Ngoboswan Female and only one of the cubs, 3 sightings of a single cub on its own and 3 of both cubs together) The Ngoboswan Female seemed to have had a good month - she and her cubs survived and by months end appeared to be in good condition. But the Ngoboswan Female seems to have some trouble in keeping her daughters together; there were several occasions when, after some days of seeing only one cub or the mother with only a single youngster, that it appeared as if one of the cubs had died. But then all would change and both cubs would be accounted for. On the one occasion when she and both cubs were seen together resting on a pile of boulders, the mother soon headed off, taking one cub with her. The other cub stayed behind and the Ngoboswan Female seemed either not to notice or to care. The following day, the Ngoboswan Female was back at the same rocks, looking for the cub which had not followed and when she found it, she took it to along the same path as she had the other cub the previous day.
One would think that this sort of almost careless accounting for cubs would expose them to all sorts of danger and lessen their chances of survival. But perhaps one underestimates the survival ability of young leopards and this type of perhaps 'un-motherly' behaviour may well fast-track their education and hence their ability to survive as adults. As is often the case with twins, the two leopard cubs are different in some respects; the one is slightly bigger than the other and is almost certainly the more dominant of the two, always getting to the food first and not willing to share. This was noticed even when their brother was still alive (he of course killed by a crocodile in August) and, one almost hesitates to say, if he had survived, would the more subservient of the two sisters have been up to fighting for food with this greater competition? One of the more spectacular sightings involving these leopards this month occurred when the Ngoboswan Female was seen to ambush a young female Nyala, positioning herself perfectly and then catching the antelope in mid-air as it tried, too late, to bound away. After securing the carcass beneath a bush, the Ngoboswan Female returned to fetch her cubs. Later on, when some of the carcass had already been fed upon, the Ngoboswan Female hoisted it into the top branches of a large Schotia tree and the trio of leopards continued to feed.
At the beginning of the month, the Ngoboswan Female and at least one of her cubs probably had a narrow escape when, after the female had killed a bushbuck and taken it into a Jackalberry tree, an old lioness arrived and stole the kill. Although hyenas are probably the greatest thieves which the leopards have to contend with, a lion is perhaps the most malicious and will not only steal, but also kill the leopard if it has the chance. The father of the cubs of the Ngoboswan Female, the Newington Male, seems to be spending less and less time within their territory and this month there were no records of him having made it into the area. Whilst this might be considered a bad thing, since it is often believed that the father of the cubs needs to be around to keep competing males at bay to prevent them from killing the youngsters in order to mate with their mother, the Ngoboswan Female exists in a quite special male-leopard environment. The male leopard with the short tail seems to be more dominant than the Newington Male and this month was seen chasing him from a kill which he might well have made. But the Newington Male is without a doubt the father of the cubs and when mating with the Ngoboswan Female, was at one time actually being watched by the short-tailed male. In spite of this strange relationship, the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs seem to co-exist quite happily with the short-tailed male; although he may not be their father, he seems to have taken on the role of surrogate father and provides them with the protection needed on this front. SEPTEMBER 2002NGOBOSWAN
FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (6 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 5 sightings of her and both cubs, 1sighting a single cub) Relative to previous months, the Ngoboswan Female was not seen particularly frequently and most encounters with her had her cubs in attendance. Judging from the condition of all leopards, they are certainly getting enough food to eat.
Later that day the three leopards were found a few hundred meters further south of where they had been that morning, eating a young female bushbuck. Whether the Ngoboswan Female had killed it earlier in the day and was actually leading her cubs to this kill when they encountered the monkeys, or whether it was killed subsequent to this is not known. Towards the end of the month the Ngoboswan Female clashed with a new neighbour, the female leopard which has set up territory to the south of her domain. This young leopard was found one morning just to the north of Harry's Camp with a female impala kill in a tree. Later that day the Ngoboswan Female was in the area, a place perhaps rightfully considered 'hers' and the other leopard had gone. The Ngoboswan Female fed from the kill after this before descending and searching the area once more, no doubt most concerned that the integrity of her territory had been violated. AUGUST 2002
Location: WESTERN MALA MALA (13 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 7 of these with the three cubs, 5 sighting of her and only 2 cubs, 1 of the 3 cubs on their own, 3 of only two cubs and 2 sightings a single cub)
But life simply has to go on and that is what the Ngoboswan trio seemed to do over the remainder of August - carry on as any leopard must in order to survive.
A few days later, one of the cubs caught and killed an adult Martial Eagle, probably the largest eagle in Africa and one more than capable of killing a young leopard. The bird may well have been sick. Nevertheless, the cubs, whilst being led downstream in the Sand River by their mother, saw the bird at the waters edge, stalked it, caught it and killed it. After playing with it for a while, they abandoned the dead bird and moved on. JULY 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA Perhaps one of the finest sightings of these leopards
took place towards the middle of July when the female was found with a
freshly killed young duiker which she hid underneath a thicket and then
went off to fetch her cubs, two of which she encountered only a few hundred
meters from where the kill had occurred. Then, with these two gambolling
around her, the trio set off towards the carcass. There were other good sightings of the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs, one of which involved a visit by her old mate, the male leopard with the shorter than average tail. At the time, many elephants were in the reeds around the five leopards and their minds may well have been on the dangers from these large beasts, but no aggression was noted between the Ngoboswan Female and the male. On another day towards the end of July, the Ngoboswan Female was seen killing a duiker, hiding the antelope and then going to fetch her cubs, en route catching an adult monkey. So all in all things look good for there four leopards. But as the need for food increases and the cubs become more curious and daring, they will face new challenges and this could determine whether they make it to eventual independence or not. JUNE 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: N WESTERN MALA MALA (12 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 5 of
these with the three young cubs, 2 sighting of her and only 1 cub, 1 sighting
of a single cub alone and 1 sighting of all three cubs on their own) MAY 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA (10 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 6 of
these with the three young cubs, 1 sighting of her and only 2 cubs and
one sighting of only 2 of the cubs) APRIL 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (3 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 2 of these
with the three young cubs) MARCH 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (5 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 1 of these with the three young cubs, 6 confirmed sightings of one or other of the daughters alone)
FEBRUARY 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA/ NW FLOCKFIELD (8 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 2 of
these with the three young cubs, 15 sightings of one or other of the daughters
alone)
JANUARY 2002NGOBOSWAN FEMALE Location: WESTERN MALA MALA (5 confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female) MalaMala
Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa. Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
One
of the finest sightings of this trio of leopards during August happened
when they were discovered on the banks of the Mlowathi River, close to
where it joins with the Sand. When found, monkeys were in the trees above
them, taunting the leopards.
would
always stay out of reach, either by climbing higher than the leopards,
or by jumping to adjacent trees, covering a chasm that the leopards simply
could not. One large male monkey in particular seemed to take up the task
of challenging the leopards and on one or two occasions came within mere
meters of the young leopards, screaming at them and even getting closer,
inviting them to jump after him, a move which would surely have seen them,
at the very least, humiliate themselves and at worst, get injured in the
subsequent fall.
NGOBOSWAN
FEMALE
The
month started well for the Ngoboswan Female and her three cubs, but then
took a tragic turn when a crocodile killed the male cub. This happened
just before mid-July, when the Ngoboswan Female was leading her cubs away
from where they had all just finished eating an impala. Goodness knows
just how it happened, but the large crocodile was found halfway out of
a pool of water with the body of the young leopard in its jaws. The Ngoboswan
Female and her two daughters were in the immediate area, but seemed unsure
of what had happened and were soon moving along, no doubt expecting the
young male to follow them. After waiting for a while longer on a comfortable
rock, the trio once more set off before the Ngoboswan Female spotted some
impala on the opposite bank of the Sand River and immediately set out
to try and catch one. Although she came close, the impala escaped and
the leopard continued on her way, the two daughters obediently waiting
behind. Later that evening and the following day, a leopard was heard
calling in the area of the pool where the crocodile had caught her son.
Footprints suggested that the Ngoboswan Female had returned and was searching
for her cub. Some days later, when she and her two remaining cubs were
found with a young impala kill not far off from this area, the Ngoboswan
Female was seen to leave her daughters and return to the pool of water,
calling softly.
Prior
to the killing of the young male leopard by the crocodile, there were
several fine sightings of the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs. One of these
was of them and her old mate, the male leopard with the short tail. Although
the Newington Male is without doubt the father of the cubs and also probably
interacts with the Ngoboswan Female on a regular basis, the Ngoboswan
Female accepts the male leopard with the short tail and the two seem,
if possible with leopards, to almost enjoy one another's company. When
the five leopards were seen together around the remains of a bushbuck
kill, the three cubs were examining the adult male leopard. Two of the
cubs followed him when he moved off from an approaching vehicle (this
old male has always been somewhat apprehensive of landrovers). They even
played with his tail, something which provoked a slight display of irritation
from him. Later all three cubs were seen lying close to him.
(14
confirmed sightings of the Ngoboswan Female, 7 of these with the three
young cubs, 2 sighting of her and only 2 cubs, 2 sightings of her and
only one cub, 2 sightings of 2 cubs on their own.)
meal
he had last had and so he was not particularly hungry. Besides, whenever
he approached the kill, his smaller sister hissed threateningly at him
and he stayed away.
kill
and went to retrieve the baby duiker which had been hidden beneath the
Spike-thorn thicket nearly 12 hours before. This kill was dragged closer
and hung in an Acacia tree close to the other kill. The four leopards
were still in the area the following morning.
Towards
the beginning of this month's game-report-period, the Ngoboswan Female
was seen taking all three cubs towards a young bushbuck kill that had
been hidden in a thicket close to the Sand River. The route to the kill
was long and on the way the three cubs put on an impressive display of
playing around and chasing after whatever they encountered. When they
reached the hidden carcass, one of the cubs immediately started to feed.
A size difference amongst the youngsters suggests that there are two females
and one male. Strangely, however, the larger male cub does not always
seem to dominate around what kills they have been seen eating from. The
following day, there was no sign of any of the four leopards at the sight
of the kill and nor of the carcass. All indications, however, were that
it had been taken from them, perhaps by a male leopard and this probably
the nearly four-year-old son of the Paradise Valley Female. At midday
that same day, the Ngoboswan Female was found on the hunt once more and
seen killing another young bushbuck which she promptly dragged into a
deep ravine. Tracks that afternoon indicated that she had returned to
fetch her cubs and had then taken them back to the kill. But later that
evening the father of the cubs, the Newington Male, was also seen heading
into the gully towards where the carcass had been dragged - probably another
loss of food for the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs! But by and large the
youngsters look to be in fine condition and the Ngoboswan Female is probably
quite capable of looking after them. One of her biggest problems seems
to be making sure all three are under control and don't wander too far
unnoticed. 
Three
cubs can be a handful to look after, but so far the Ngoboswan Female appears
to be doing well and the youngsters are prospering. Perhaps the biggest
headache for the Ngoboswan Female will be thieves, scavengers out to steal
the hard-earned kills she needs so desperately to feed herself and the
ever-hungry youngsters. Interestingly, it is the father of the cubs, the
Newington Male, which is probably one of the biggest of these scavengers.
This month he was seen arriving at a kill which the Ngoboswan Female and
her three cubs were feeding on and aggressively claiming 'his share',
taking food which could have been eaten by the cubs. However, another
part of the impala carcass was at the time being eaten by a hyaena, evidently
the result of bad 'carcass-management' on the side of the Ngoboswan Female,
a leopard not famous for treeing kills. The Newington Male managed to
chase the hyaena off this piece of meat, but before he could claim it,
the Ngoboswan Female grabbed it and secured it up in another tree. Although
there was blatant aggression between the two adults at this sighting,
it was probably all within the scheme of things as far as leopard interrelationships
go. At this same sighting, one of the cubs was seen to approach the Newington
Male and lie on his front paws, rubbing against him. So perhaps his presence
is not too negative. After all, as father of the cubs he probably has
to be there just to ward off other male leopards which could otherwise
try to take over the territory and in order to mate with the Ngoboswan
Female, would have to kill the young cubs. But at this stage the cubs
seem to be keeping in good form - a tribute to the overall effectiveness
of the Ngoboswan Female - and all are really relaxed in the presence of
landrovers. Although the sexes of the cubs is not known, size differences
suggest that one is male and two female.
The
Ngoboswan Female certainly seems to be keeping a tight lid on her cubs
and although by this stage meat must be close to their main food source,
they have not been seen very often. This month there was only one sighting
of the cubs, all three together with the Ngoboswan Female. All leopards
appeared well fed and indications were that they were leaving the area
of whatever they had eaten. Although the three cubs were initially nervous
when approached by a vehicle, they soon settled down and vied for their
mothers' attention. A cursory glance at the cubs certainly suggests that
there are already size differences amongst them. Females could be expected
to be smaller and with a tight supply of food, these differences will
only be exacerbated. It will be surprising if all three cubs are raised
to maturity. The Ngoboswan Female then led her cubs to an area of safety
in the thick reedbeds of the Sand River. Other than looking after her
youngsters, the Ngoboswan Female still has to contend with her territory-hungry
daughters from her previous litter, one edging in from the southwest,
the other from the northeast. 
The
young cubs of the Ngoboswan Female were seen twice this month and both
times showed some apprehension to vehicles. Perhaps the finest sighting
involving this trio of youngsters happened when the four leopards were
suddenly encountered on the road. The cubs reacted with fright to the
landrover and vanished into the surrounding bushes. Soon two of them emerged
and with their mother headed off down the road. After a kilometre or more,
the trio turned into a rocky and heavily vegetated gully and vanished
from view. At that stage there had actually been no sight of the third
cub. But that afternoon, 7 or so hours after the leopards were seen, the
Ngoboswan Female was found walking back to the spot where she had originally
been found. As she approached the area, she became more watchful and started
calling softly; without doubt she was looking for the third cub! After
a few minutes there was a response to her calls - a high-pitched bird-like
whistle - the cub answering. The Ngoboswan Female entered the thick bush
and both mother and cub could be heard reuniting. After perhaps half-an-hour
or longer in the bush, the two emerged and the youngster was taken to
join the other two. The Ngoboswan wasted no time waiting for anything
else and immediately set off looking for food.