MalaMala - The Wildlife

6 sightings of an adult female cheetah and her two approximately 14-month-old daughters. These cheetahs were found in the northern parts of the reserve and were seen on at least two kills. This is a fine time for cheetah; the abundance of baby animals, particularly impala, provides them not only with a good quantity of food, but also prey which is easy to handle. One impressive sighting involving these three saw the mother chase off an adult male leopard, something which really does not happen often. When it comes to interactions between these two species, cheetahs usually show a clean pair of heals and will hardly stand up to anything unless cubs are around and particularly vulnerable. Two sightings of probably the same adult male cheetah which has been seen on the reserve for some time now. One of these encounters was on central Mala Mala, the other on central Flockfield. With the former sighting, the cheetah wandered onto an open area, probably with the intentions of spending the night there, and found himself nearly surrounded by hordes of other animals - zebra, wildebeest with young and impala. With the sun descending and the element of surprise probably difficult to get, the cheetah stayed low, this in spite of obvious agitation, seemingly wanting to rush in, but under the circumstances able to control this desire with more rational thought. Anyway, all this changed when something startled the animals and they all came thundering around the cheetah. This was too much and he gave chase, half-hearted at first and then with a fraction more effort until he and the animals disappeared into the surrounding bush. All indications were that he was not successful. It is not certain what frightened the prey animals. Two sightings of probably the same adult female cheetah, one on the Mala Mala airstrip and, the next day just south of it after she had just caught a young impala. One sighting of a nervous cheetah on NE Eyrefield. No sex was determined and game-viewing vehicles did not follow the animal. One sighting, the day after the one above, of a nervous male cheetah on eastern Flockfield
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 7

November 2000

8 sightings of probably the same relatively nervous adult male cheetah. One of these sightings was at night and, as is standard practice at Mala Mala, the animal was not viewed due to potential disadvantages caused by shining a bright light on these animals. However, it was almost certainly this same male. Due to the cautious manner in which this male cheetah has been treated over the last half-year or so, he has relaxed down considerably, to the point that he almost ignores the presence of a game-viewing vehicle. All sightings were on the central-eastern parts of the reserve. With the large number of baby impala, conditions for cheetah are close to ideal; not only are the young antelope easy to catch, but they make a perfect sized meal, allowing the cheetah to eat everything without leaving much for others to scavenge. Towards the end of the month, this cheetah was found with two kills, an adult female impala and what was probably her lamb. Indications are that the cheetah had caught the baby impala and had then killed the adult female when she advanced upon the cheetah. When a female impala has her lamb killed she will invariably stay close to the scene, watching the predator and snorting in a fruitless effort to chase the killer away. The predator mostly ignores the mother as it sets about securing and eating the youngster, but in this case it appeared as if the mother had advanced just a little too close, presenting a not-to-be-missed opportunity for the cheetah. As it happened, the cheetah ate what he could, but ended up leaving most of the carcass of the baby impala and twenty percent or so of the female impala. Several days later the cheetah had moved away from this area. 1 encounter with a quite nervous young female cheetah. This sighting was close to the Mala Mala airstrip and was probably of the same female cheetah which has been seen on the reserve over the last few months. She was seen trying to catch both nyala and impala, but failed on all attempts. 1 sighting of a nervous pair of cheetah on the eastern parts of central Mala Mala, close to the boundary with the Kruger National Park. This pair, probably a mother and a youngster, ran when approached by a landrover. Such disposition indicates that they would probably spend most of their time within the Kruger National Park where expsoure to vehicles such as on Mala Mala would not happen. 8 sightings of the brother and sister pair of cheetah which were abandoned approximately 5 months ago. Judging by their body condition they are eating well. It is not certain how long they will still stay together. Most of the sightings of this pair were around the Mala Mala airstrip, but then, when they had been chased by some lions and harassed by the pair of Jackals which have pups on the airstrip, they moved to the eastern side of the river and then further east, probably into the Kruger National Park. As with all cheetah at this time of year, the bounty of baby impala has been well utilised and they were actually seen killing two of them. Evidence suggested that others too had fallen to their claws. The cheetah appeared to be using the open area of the airstrip as the springboard for their hunting expeditions in the more bushy areas surrounding the airstrip, the open area allowing them to observe the approach of any of their enemies, particularly lions. On one of the occasions when they were observed setting out to hunt, one of the Black-backed Jackals which resides in this same area followed them, yelping all the time. The young female cheetah of the pair then set about chasing this jackal and some of her pups, easily catching the youngsters, but only gently hitting them with her paws. The male cheetah ignored this and soon encountered a herd of impala in the bush off the end of the runway. Within minutes he had caught and killed one of the youngsters, and then set about eating it, making no effort to go and fetch his sister which was still interacting with the jackals. Eventually tiring of this, she then set off in the direction of her brother which by this stage had eaten nearly a third of the young impala. Perhaps sensing that he had killed something close to where she had left him, the female cheetah started calling, but only when she was quite close to him did her brother answer and she came running in to share the kill. That afternoon the cheetahs were back on the airstrip, lying close to the female jackal and one of her pups. Whenever the pup tried to move, the cheetah would walk behind it, cuffing it with their paws and forcing it to lie still, almost feigning death, so causing the cheetah to lie down close by. The mother jackal was understandably almost beside herself and was yelping and howling in an effort to harass the cheetah. All this comotion caught the ears of two lions, a female and young male, which then came along to investigate. Upon seeing the cheetah, they gave chase, but were of course easily outpaced by these faster spotted cats. The lions completely ignored the jackals, giving the mother the chance to pick up her youngster and carry it off to the den in which the other baby jackals were hiding. Quite amazingly, the lioness was no more than 50 or so meters from the jackal as she was carrying her baby away, but, aside from showing some interest in the proceedings, made no effort to give chasse. Anyway, all of this was too much for the cheetah and they moved out of the area. Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 6

October 2000

3 sightings of an adult female cheetah and her two approximately 12-month-old daughters: These were all on the northern parts of the reserve. Nothing dramatic was noted, but judging from the state of physical well being apparent in all three, the killings have been good and all are getting plenty to eat. Now that the impala are about to start lambing, it can be expected that the youngsters will start making their own kills, being taught first by their mother - not a bad time to be a cheetah on the verge of independence. Several (perhaps 4) sightings of an adult female cheetah, recognisable by having a shorter than average tail, perhaps only two-thirds the usual size. All of these sightings were on western Toulon, the south-western parts of the reserve. At one encounter the cheetah was seen in close proximity to a hyaena and a lioness, this whilst she was showing great interest in a herd of impala. Obviously with two of her archenemies so close by, she would not even try to pursue any prey animals. Not only would she certainly lose the kill to one of them, but would of course risk being caught and killed. 4 sightings of probably the same quite nervous adult male cheetah. This is almost certainly the same male which has been seen on the reserve, mostly in the northern parts, for some months now. By all accounts, the patient use of caution when he has been found appears to be paying off. This can be seen in the cheetahs' general reaction to landrovers so that now it no longer simply bolts away from one when approached. At one sighting it was found with a freshly killed adult female impala and, again, did not abandon the carcass in fear, but was seen to consume all it could before moving off. 2 encounters with probably the same quite nervous young female cheetah. Both encounters were on Flockfield, one on the western parts and the other, the following day, some kilometres to the east. At the first sighting the cheetah was left staring at a large herd of impala which were indeed suspicious and one or two may have smelled her. Anyway, that afternoon when attempts were made to relocate the cheetah in the same area, all that was found was the remains of an adult female impala. She had evidently had success through her patience. The sighting of her the following day revealed a very fat cheetah, indicating that she had not only killed, but managed to eat as much as possible without having had the carcass stolen from her. 5 sightings of the recently abandoned brother and sister pair of cheetah which have been seen on various parts of the reserve for some months now. As has been the past scenario, they were observed moving great distances this month, roaming from the south to the north on the western bank of the Sand River. Close to the Mala Mala airstrip, always a favourite area for cheetah, they were found having killed an impala. This they completed before the scavengers arrived, one of which was one of the pair of Black-backed jackals which has a litter of pups on the airstrip. The jackal claimed the remnants of the impala's skin and dragged it back to the den sight for its pups.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 7

September 2000

11 sightings of a female cheetah and her 3 approximately 8-month-old cubs: All sightings of these cheetahs were on or in the immediate environs of the Mala Mala airstrip. This area has always been popular with cheetah. Not only is it a fine area for small prey animals such as steenbok and duiker, but the open area allows cheetahs good views of any approaching danger. There were several occasions when these four cheetahs would head off into the surrounding bush to hunt, returning to rest up on the open strip. A day before they were last seen towards the middle of September, they had with just returned from an evidently successful hunting expedition, when a lioness from the Eyrefield Pride saw them and gave chase. The mother cheetah bravely stood her ground until the last minute, allowing the cubs to get well out of the way, before she too ran from the lioness. Quite surprisingly, that was all the lioness did, even though one of the cubs had been separated from the others and had to make a perilous journey past the lioness again back towards its mother and siblings. Anyway, this appeared to be enough for the cheetah and they cleared out of the area. 4 sightings of an adult female cheetah and her two approximately 11-month-old daughters: These cheetahs were last seen in January when the female had three cubs towards the northeastern parts of the reserve. All are in fine condition and the mother has done a commendable job in losing only one thus far. The adult female is recognised by having a large scar on her left rear leg, this the result from some or other attack nearly two years ago. All sightings of this trio were on NW and western Eyrefield. 2 sightings of a semi-nervous adult female cheetah, these on central Charleston and Central Flockfield on successive days. 4 sightings of an adult female cheetah, recognisable by having a shorter than average tail, perhaps only two-thirds the usual size. One encounter was on western Toulon, the other three were much further north in the vicinity of the Mala Mala airstrip. 4 sightings of adult female cheetahs, perhaps at least two different animals involved. All were of cheetahs quite habituated to the presence of game-viewing vehicles. One of the sightings was on the northern boundary of Mala Mala where the Mlowathi River enters the reserve; the cheetah was finishing off the remains of a small kill. 1 sighting of an evidently nervous cheetah towards the northwestern areas of Mala Mala. The animal ran when approached by a game-drive vehicle.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 12

August 2000

2 sightings, both towards the end of this game report period, of a relatively nervous cheetah. At the first sighting no sex was determined, at the second encounter the animal was seen to be a male. There is a good likelihood that it was the same animal seen on both occasions. When first encountered, the cheetah had killed a young impala and many vultures had arrived and managed to chase it off the carcass. Fortunately for the cheetah it appeared to have eaten about as much as it could consume before the vultures arrived. 10 sightings of a pair of sub adult cheetah, one male, one female. It is believed that this is the same brother and sister combination which were abandoned by their mother in June this year, this taking place towards the south western parts of Mala Mala. When first seen this month the two cheetah were still in this general area, but two days later, had walked 15 kilometres up a fire-break towards the north of the reserve. When they reached this area, it was noticed that the female of the pair had a flap of skin missing from her left rear leg. The wound appeared fresh and it is not sure what caused it. Aside from this, however, her condition was good. The following day the pair was some distance from this, having crossed the Sand River in front of the Main Camp and continued to wander north. At this next encounter, the still juvenile status of these cheetahs became quite evident when they saw a small herd of elephants and deliberately set about following them until the elephants chased them off. Such a waste of energy in following animals way out of their league would not be expected from an experienced adult cheetah. What was also seen at this sighting was the dominance of the male over the female and her dependence on him, indicating that the wound was perhaps troubling her somewhat. Some days later when this pair again reappeared, they were found consuming the remains of a steenbok and then, a few days after this, they had killed and eaten a young impala. By this stage the wound on the leg of the female appeared a good deal better. Having survived for some months alone and evidently learning fast, the future for these two cheetahs looks good. For how long they will still stay together remains to be seen but, inevitably, they will part and go their separate ways. 4 sightings of adult female cheetah, at least two of these being of the same individual, recognised by having a shorter than expected tail. These two encounters, as well as a third, were all on the Mala Mala airstrip. The fourth sighting of a lone female cheetah was on the Mala Mala/ Kruger National Park firebreak, towards the central regions of the reserve. This cheetah was evidently quite used to the presence of vehicles and later wandered onto Mala Mala. The burned areas of land are always most sought after by cheetah. Not only does such terrain allow them to see any potential enemies such as lions and hyaenas, but also the recently burned areas produce a flush of green growth which usually proves irresistible to prey animals such as impala, duiker and steenbok.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 5

July 2000

10 sightings of an adult female cheetah and her three approximately 6 month old cubs. These sightings were all on NW Mala Mala. As is so often the case when a cheetah and her cubs stay around an area for several weeks, this often necessary due to the degree of helplessness of the youngsters, the trials which these cats go through become quite evident. Some of these were clearly demonstrated this month when the cheetah had killed a young male impala and then had a male lion arrive on the scene. This young male lion had responded to impala alarm calls and arrived in the area of the kill only a short while after the cheetah cubs had, these having been called to the carcass by their mother. Upon seeing the approaching lion, the mother cheetah growled at it and retreated. By a stroke of fine luck, the lion did not see the kill and wandered off from the area. The cheetahs cautiously returned and fed for over half an hour before the suspicious lion returned. This time there was no hiding the kill and he stole the remains from them. The following day the female had killed another impala, this time one of this current seasons youngsters. The cheetah appeared to have eaten well but again attracted many scavengers, this time in the form of birds of prey (50 - 70 Whitebacked Vultures, Hooded Vultures, Lappetfaced Vultures, Tawny Eagles and a dozen Marabou Storks) and jackals (both side-striped as well as black backed). All of this action took place towards the beginning and middle of July before the cheetah moved off, this understandably given the attention that they had been attracting to the area. 4 sightings of adult female cheetah, two on NW Mala Mala, two on western Eyrefield. It is suspected that at least two different cheetah were represented by these sightings, the one a young female, the other somewhat nervous in the presence of vehicles.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 6

7 sightings of an adult female and two approximately 17-month-old cubs, one male, one female. The only sightings of these cheetah together was at the beginning of this game-report period when it was speculated that the days to being abandoned were fast approaching for the youngsters. Within a few days the young cheetah were on their own, staying in the area for a couple of weeks, probably hoping that their mother would suddenly reappear. Although a traumatic time for any youngster, their body condition indicated that they were certainly quite capable of looking after themselves. All sightings were on the southwestern parts of the reserve. 2 sightings of probably the same adult male cheetah on western & eastern Eyrefield. This cheetah was quite clearly not accustomed to vehicles and ran at the sight of any landrover. 3 sightings of perhaps the same adult female cheetah, all on NW Mala Mala on or close to the airstrip. Two of these encounters were at the beginning of the game report period, the last sighting several weeks later when the cheetah was found hunting in close proximity to another cheetah, a female and three cubs. It is not known if either cheetah was aware of the presence of the other, but both were eyeing prey animals in the same general area and, by a stroke of unplanned timing, both took off after their own targeted antelope at the same time. The female cheetah with the cubs sprinted in after impala and in spite of running straight through a large herd of these antelope, somehow missed. However, she was close enough to the other cheetah to hear the death bleat of the young female Nyala which this other cheetah had successfully brought down. The female which had missed her prey was no more than 50 meters from where the other cheetah was still strangling the Nyala, but initially, although looked longingly to where she knew a kill had been made, did not head in that direction. This was wise for it may have been anything which had made the kill, from lions to hyaena or leopard, all which would be enemies of cheetahs. After the Nyala was finally dead, the lone female cheetah rested for some time before feeding. Several hours later, when her belly was quite distended, the female cheetah lead her three cubs to the kill, at least half of which remained. Cheetah usually eat their fill of a carcass and then move off, no matter how much meat still remains, this an effort to stay out of harms way and a kill being a magnet for any scavenger and hence enemy. No aggression was seen between the two cheetah groups, the first female moving off and the others completely devouring the kill. 6 sightings of an adult female cheetah on NW Mala Mala, two of these with three approximately five-month-old cubs. All sightings were on or close to the Mala Mala airstrip, this a large open area and a safe-haven for cheetah. All of this family appear in fine condition, apparently getting a good supply to eat, even if it is in a most unconventional manner (see above). Another fine moment with these cheetahs (aside from the cubs chasing birds and generally giving a good show) involved 21 giraffe approaching the family group and surrounding them as they lay huddled together with their mother in some tall grass. The giraffe did nothing to harm the cheetah, but all craned their necks and peered down on them, surely a nightmarish experience for the youngsters. It is not sure what the giraffe would have done to the cheetah, but it is certain that if the cheetah felt particularly at risk they would have quickly put a distance between themselves and the giraffe.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 9

May 2000

3 sightings of an adult female and two approximately 16-month-old cubs, one male, one female. These encounters occurred along the western side of the reserve, the cheetah having moved steadily from the northern to southern areas. The youngsters of this cheetah appear in very good condition and perhaps ready for a life on their own, this even though their mother does not appear pregnant. At one of the sightings the three cheetahs were approached by a lone hyaena and, quite surprisingly, the mother advanced on her enemy, snarling viciously. Although the hyaena did not appear in the least intimidated, it did not stay around to harass them further. 2 sightings of an adult male cheetah on western Eyrefield. This cheetah was quite clearly not accustomed to vehicles and ran at the sight of any landrover. 3 sightings of an adult female cheetah on NW Mala Mala, two of these with three approximately four-month-old cubs. These three cheetah were seen at the beginning of May and their brief stay in the area may well have been due to the number of competing predators in this area, particularly lions from the Eyrefield Pride. One of the most dramatic sightings this month involved the mother of these three cubs catching a baby Nyala and then having a large male leopard rush in and steal it from her. As could be expected, the cheetah did not even stay to defend her kill. Not only was the leopard intent on eating an easy-won meal, but at the same time did his best to catch the cheetah, for a brief while even pursuing the latter whilst holding the antelope carcass in his mouth. Fortunately for cheetah this type of aggression is quite standard and they appear to take it in their stride. A few hours later the cheetah had killed another antelope, this time an adult male Steenbok and this time she and the youngsters had the opportunity of finishing the kill. Jackals had a good time on the scraps later.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 8

February/ March/ April 2000

5 sightings of an adult female and two approximately 15-month-old cubs, one male, one female. This trio were seen on every day of March when Mala Mala was open and all sightings were on the Mala Mala airstrip. This family were seen on the airstrip by field-workers for at least two weeks, seemingly using it as a spring-board to launch their hunting efforts into the surrounding trees and then retreating to the open area once they had fed. Such open areas are sought after by cheetah, as they will allow them to spot any approaching enemies before being suddenly surprised. 1 sighting of an adult male cheetah on NE Mala Mala - seen early February. 1 distant sighting of an adult cheetah on central Mala Mala - the presence of this cheetah in the middle of a very wet seepline prevented any form of identification. This sighting was in mid-March 1 sighting in early April of a relatively nervous adult female cheetah. This sighting occurred on the western parts of the Mala Mala/ Flockfield boundary. 3 sightings in early April of an adult female cheetah on NW Toulon. It is suspected that this is the same cheetah which at the end of October last year departed Mala Mala with three small cubs, this shortly after losing a fourth youngster. At the time of her stay on the reserve, she sustained a nasty looking wound on her rear leg which, although terrible in appearance (a large flap of skin had been torn off), did not seem to affect her hunting success in any way. Sadly it appears that she has lost the remaining three cubs as well. 1 sighting in early February, shortly before Mala Mala closed for the first time due to the heavy rains, of a single female cheetah on NW Toulon. 3 sightings in mid-April on western Eyrefield of three adult male cheetah; another sighting of a single male was probably one of this trio, wet conditions preventing follow-up operations to locate the other two. These big and healthy looking cheetah could well be the same trio which have in the past 2 years or so been seen on and off the reserve. Their body condition certainly indicates that they have been well capable of looking after themselves. At one of these sightings an adult female leopard, probably the Mlowathi Female attacked them, but instead of immediately running away, they actually stood their ground. This must surely have frustrated the leopard which retreated, clearly bristling at the fact that her attack had not resulted in its usual intimidation. 1 sighting of an adult male cheetah on central Mala Mala, this in mid-April. 4 sightings of an adult female cheetah on NW Mala Mala, two of these with three approximately three-month-old cubs. When the cheetah first appeared she was seen successfully killing a young impala, but did not fetch her cubs to the kill, they obviously not yet at the meat-eating stage. Unfortunately for this cheetah, the area she chose to set up temporary residence is where one of the Eyrefield Pride lionesses also appears to be sheltering her cubs. This regular lion presence would not impress the cheetah and it is doubtful that she will stay in the area.
Approximate number of different cheetah encountered: 14

January 2000

Compared with the viewing last month, January certainly saw superb cheetah activity, thanks mostly to a female cheetah and her three 2-3-month-old cubs found towards the northeastern parts of Mala Mala. It is estimated that these youngsters were less than 2 months of age when first found. The female is thought to be the same which a year or so ago had an approximately 8-month old youngster and when the latter was last seen alive, the mother had just sustained a vicious looking flesh wound to her left-rear leg. When next seen, this female cheetah was alone and it is highly likely that her youngster had died. However, the wound had healed and all that remained was a scar. On the day that this group of four cheetahs was first found this month, the mother killed a young impala. Unfortunately for her the alarm calls from the surviving members of the herd attracted the attention of a male lion which came running into the area. Initially he did not see the cheetah and walked past her, but returned later, noticed her and stole the kill. Fortunately the cubs were not in the immediate area and the female slunk off, leaving her almost uneaten booty to the lion. Nonetheless, the cheetah took this in her stride and for the next nearly three weeks stayed in the general area. Towards the middle of January she was found with another dead baby impala, but this time the cubs were also feeding, perhaps their first meal of meat. Soon thereafter, however, these cheetahs departed and were not seen again. This sort of behaviour can only be expected - the mother moves into an area which has all the requirements of safety for her and the cubs - open terrain, enough prey and a relative absence of competing predators. However, after a few weeks of working such an area, not only would the prey animals wise up to the presence of the cheetah, but so too would other predators and the safety of the area would be compromised. General conditions for cheetah are unfortunately not very good - the luxuriant growth of the vegetation limits their ability to see great distances, this require not only to spot prey, but also enemies which would otherwise creep up and surprise them. There were 4 sightings of three cheetahs - a mother and her two approximately 14-month-old cubs, one male, one female - on the southwestern parts of Mala Mala. This area of reasonably open umbrella-thorn acacia vegetation typically has an abundance of small antelope prey, but is also well traversed by other larger predators. The cheetah was seen with two kills, both adult female impala. Whilst she was in the area, one of the dominant male lions of the region, the Kingston Males, was seen dragging the nearly complete carcass of another adult female impala and it could well have been that this was killed by the cheetah and stolen from her by the lion. With this inter-predator competition and the fact that the youngsters which are rapidly approaching independence were seen 'practising' their hunting skills on the impala, it could not be expected that such a family of cheetah would stay around for long and within a week of them making an appearance they had gone to happier hunting grounds. There was one encounter with a male cheetah on NW Mala Mala.
Number of different cheetah encountered: 8