MalaMala - The Wildlife

TOULON FEMALE

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December 2005

TOULON FEMALE
2 CUBS * 6 MONTHS
Location: TOULON

(5 sightings of the female, 1 of these with both her cubs)

he Toulon female appears to be raising her cubs successfully, feeding them on impala and bushbuck and showing preference for the safety of the rocky stretches of eastern Charleston and Toulon . The cubs were seen on one occasion and seem to be taking well to vehicles, ensuring good viewing of these animals in the future.

November 2005

TOULON FEMALE
2 CUBS * 5 MONTHS
Location: TOULON
(6 sightings of the female, 4 of these with both her cubs)

The Toulon Female and her cubs again provided some quality leopard viewing in the south of the reserve, and on a couple of occasions, the three leopards were seen feeding on impala kills. The cubs are both fairly relaxed in the presence of a Land Rover, although, as is often the case, one seems to be bolder than the other. It has not yet been possible to positively determine the sex of the cubs.

October 2005

TOULON FEMALE
2 CUBS * 4 MONTHS
Location: TOULON , SOUTH-EASTERN CHARLESTON
(12 sightings of the female, eight of these with both her cubs)

The Toulon Female leopard and her latest litter of cubs provided some very good viewing in October. Now that the cubs are starting to eat meat they are being led to kills. This has allowed for some stable viewing, which has given us the opportunity to slowly habituate the cubs to the presence of vehicles. They are now quite relaxed in the presence of Land Rovers, but it is still best to limit the number of vehicles at a sighting of the cubs to two. The Toulon Female and her cubs were seen on at least four different kills in October.

On one of the occasions when she was seen without her cubs, the Toulon Female was in close proximity to another female leopard, the Rollercoaster Female, and a male, the Chellahanga Male. The Chellahanga Male is the father of the Toulon Female’s cubs, but of course a male leopard’s territory will usually cover the territories of a few different females.

September 2005

TOULON FEMALE
Location: NORTHERN TOULON , SOUTH-EASTERN CHARLESTON
(3 sightings)

The Toulon Female, sometimes one of the most frequently seen leopards in a month, was only seen on three occasions during this report period, all in the first two weeks. The sightings involving her were without drama, but she seems to be doing well and is still lactating. At the time of writing this report, there has not yet been a sighting of her cubs.

August 2005

TOULON FEMALE
Location: NORTHERN TOULON , SOUTH-EASTERN CHARLESTON
(7 sightings)

The Toulon Female was seen fairly regularly in the first half of the month, but not at all after that. On one occasion she was seen to clash with another female leopard. This took place close to Charleston Rock, and the Toulon Female was so engrossed in her fight, that she suddenly found herself right in the middle of the small herd of buffalo! She had to forget about territorial disputes for a moment, and get herself out of this mess. She was able to emerge unscathed, but it was potentially a close call for her.

Just before the middle of the month, the Toulon Female killed an impala and put it in a tree in Ingwe Donga to the west of Rocky Crossing. She fed on this kill for three days, and during this period, it was clearly evident that she was lactating. The Chellahanga Male is very likely the father of her cubs this time. The Toulon Female does not have a particularly good record for rearing cubs, and has lost a number of them before they have reached independence.

July 2005

TOULON FEMALE
Location: NORTHERN TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(3 sightings)

Surprisingly, there were only three sightings of the Toulon Female leopard, and these were all very early in the game report period. This should not give any cause for alarm, however, as it can often happen that a particular individual leopard is simply not seen by occupants of a game drive vehicle for several weeks.

The Toulon Female continues to be a stable leopard in the south of the reserve, and has given some fine viewing. At the beginning of the game report period, she was found with the remains of an adult male impala kill in a tree. Much of the carcass had already been eaten. The next day, she was a little careless, and allowed the carcass to fall from the tree. It was immediately taken by a waiting hyena. Leopards lose many of their kills to hyenas, but at least the Toulon Female had been able to eat a substantial proportion of this kill, before losing it. The other sightings of the Toulon Female were without drama. Reports suggest that she is pregnant, which could well be the case. She was last seen mating with the Chellahanga Male. The Toulon Female seems to have a poor record of raising cubs, although we do know that she has raised at least two males to independence.

The Toulon Female leopard once again delivered fine viewing in May. She was seen hunting on several occasions, and on one occasion was seen to make a kill (a duiker). She fed on the carcass of this duiker for three days. As there were no sightings of her mating in May, chances are good that she is again pregnant, after her mating episodes with the Chellahanga Male.

The Toulon Female was again seen quite frequently in April, and was involved in some good sightings. At the beginning of the month, she was seen mating on successive days with the Chellahanga Male. A week later, she was seen having a territorial clash with another younger female leopard, while the Hlarulini Male looked on. The two female leopards had quite a vicious fight in a tree, which resulted in the Toulon Female receiving a painful bite to the nose. Although the Toulon Female appeared to emerge with a psychological victory, the smaller leopard gave as good as she got, and certainly did not disgrace herself. The smaller leopard was not positively identified, but could quite easily have been the Rollercoaster Female.

March 2005

TOULON FEMALE

Location: TOULON
(8 sightings)

On 2 March, the Toulon Female appeared to still be lactating, and she was heard to be calling softly, as if to cubs. This was close to Rocky Crossing, and in the past, she has often had her cubs in the Sand River, not far west of Rocky Crossing. But then three days later, she was seen mating with the Chellahanga Male, and this mating activity continued into the next day. It could be that her cub(s) died towards the end of February or in the first day or two of March. Normally a female leopard will come into oestrus very soon after the death of her cubs. The Toulon Female has been known, in the past, to lose her cubs at an early age. Perhaps the well reeded Sand River bed is not the most ideal lair site, and she might have more success if she uses rocky dongas instead. Having said that, the Toulon Female has raised at least two male cubs to independence.

Location: CENTRAL-NORTHERN TOULON, SOUTHERN CHARLESTON
(4 sightings of the female, not with her cub; 3 sightings of the youngster on his own)

The son of the Toulon Female is now well and truly on his own, and is coping satisfactorily. Chances are that he will in the near future move well out of the area of his birth, and he could disappear from Mala Mala land altogether. This is quite normal, for young male leopards to be nomadic for a while, and then to eventually establish themselves in a new area. For a few days, the Toulon Female’s son was seen to feed on a bushbuck kill that he had made on western Charleston, just east of the Sand River. When not feeding, he tended to be rather shy and elusive.

The Toulon Female has been spending a fair amount of time in an area close to Island Crossing, and it could well be that she has given or will soon give birth to cubs in this vicinity. It has, in the past, been her area of choice for raising her cubs.

MalaMala Game Reserve, PO Box 55514, Northlands, 2116, South Africa.
Telephone: + 27 11 442 2267 or 0861 SAFARI.
Facsimile: + 27 11 442 2318
e-Mail: reservations@malamala.com