ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE
Archives : 2004 - 2006 | 2007 | 2008
Cub of the Rollercoaster female leopard - Photograph taken by ranger Chris Galliers
| ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Archives : 2004 - 2006 | 2007 | 2008
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| December 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE * UNKNOWN AGE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster female was only seen twice during the month, which is disappointing, but more than likely due to the wet conditions experienced during the month. She was seen to have a kill on one occasion but otherwise was very scarce. One other likely explanation is that she would have given a piece of her territory to her now independent daughter. Daughter of the Rollercoaster female: (1 year 7 months) The daughter of the Rollercoaster female was seen twice this month. She was in good condition but being so young she is still slightly nervous of vehicles and so often moved off into soft ground when approached by rangers. November 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE * UNKNOWN AGE Location: TOULON During the early part of the report period, the female was seen to feed from the carcass of a juvenile steenbok off Elephant alley, close to Giraffe skull west. She was only viewed in the area during the morning drive, and thus rangers assume she finished the carcass and moved out of the area. The female was viewed throughout the month with consistency to previous reports, spending her time on Toulon.
The report period could represent a coming of age of the Daughter of the Rollercoaster female, with all sightings being of the young female along. She was also witnessed to have hunting success as she successfully caught an adult female duiker. Encouragingly, the female shows tolerance towards vehicles whilst being followed, but with a stationary vehicle, she is totally relaxed. One hopes that this young female will eventually settle down and form a territory of her own. Strangely, the association between mother and cub appears to be limited, indicating that the young female is on her way towards a nomadic existence, even though her age suggests that she should still be associated with her mother. October 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The cub of the Rollercoaster female has been seen more frequently this month. The fact that she was not seen at all with her mother is indicative of the fact that she is now almost completely independent. She was also seen with an adult female impala kill, a good sign that she is hunting successfully for herself.
The most interesting the Rollercoaster female did this month was to mate with the Tjellahanga male. Over the course of 3 days she was observed mating frequently with the Tjellahanga male. The Rollercoaster female was also found with a female impala carcass and a few days later was seen to kill an adult duiker. This female leopard is proving to be one of our most successful leopards if her run of success continues. September 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster female was only seen a few times during the report period. The most significant of the sightings involved the female sharing the carcass of an adult duiker with another unidentified young male leopard. Rangers believed that the female more than likely found the young male on the carcass, and chose to scavenge off his hard earned kill. Her daughter was seen close to Rocky Crossing on the morning of the third of the month. She was seen to have a brief interaction with the Rock Drift male, before moving north and west. She was also seen to feed off a freshly killed adult male duiker carcass without her mother. Thus all signs indicate that she is well on her way to a solitary lifestyle.
August 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster female was seen for the first time towards the middle part of the report period. She was feeding off a freshly killed impala close to Boomer’s crossing. Unfortunately the carcass was nearly finished by the end of the first day, and the leopards were not found in the area the following day. They were found again, towards the latter parts of the report period, feeding from an impala carcass at the junction of Giraffe Skull West and Elephant Alley. They were seen to feed from the impala for close on three days, before they moved north and east. The following day, they were seen to rest on some prominent rocks, with the Tjellahanga male in attendance. Interestingly, the cub of the Rollercoaster approached the Tjellahanga male, almost as if to greet him. No real violent interaction was noted, suggesting that there are still some paternal bonds existing, quite surprising from these almost totally solitary cats. At the end of the report period, the female was seen on Skukuza road, close to World’s View. That afternoon the cub was also seen in the area. On the last day of the report period, the leopards were seen to feed from a duiker carcass at the junction of Toulon access and Hlarulini. July 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON June 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster female and her cub appear to be doing well. Although there were relatively few sightings of the two of them during the game report period, each time they were seen they were in good condition. The most exciting experience with the 2 leopards this month was when they were found in the Sand River in the same location as where the Tjellahanga male and Jakkalsdraai female were mating. There was a fair amount of confusion between the Rollercoaster female, Jakkalsdraai female and the Tjellahanga male, all of who were in the same section of reeds in the river. The Tjellahanga male chased the Rollercoaster female out of the river before returning to his duties with the Jakkalsdraai female. The cub of the Rollercoaster female was found on the southern bank of the Sand River nearby, quietly avoiding the attention of everybody. The cub is growing strongly and has been seen at least once without its mother. It appears relaxed with vehicles and promises some exciting viewing in the future. April 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster female was seen several times with her cub in attendance, with most of the sightings congregating along the Elephant Alley, on more than half of the occasions being close to KK crossing. The leopards both appeared in good condition, with the cub showing signs of maturity. March 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster Female was not seen during this report period. February 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON This beautiful female leopard was on the Elephant Ally west of Croc Loop. She was followed as she hunted northwards. After an unsuccessful many attempts she began to call frequently, as Rangers and Guests followed her in the hopes that they would be led to her cub, yet the bush thickened up and she was lost still heading north. Towards the end of the report period the female was seen on two further occasions, with the cub in attendance. The youngster appears to be in good health. January 2007 ROLLERCOASTER FEMALE Location: TOULON The Rollercoaster Female Leopard was seen very early in the report period. She was found on the south-eastern parts of the reserve along the Sand River. Rangers and Guests followed her as she hunted northwards and made many attempts various game, but was unsuccessful. The rangers battled to keep track of her and she was lost as she continued north into thicker bush. Two days later there was a sighting of her cub to the north of the last position of the Rollercoaster female. The cub was found in a large Jackleberry tree. After much waiting the cub was not seen to descend the tree and was left to rest. There were only two more sightings of each of these leopards on the reserve during the report period, both of which were on their own. Neither of these leopards was seen together during the report period. MalaMala
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