CHEETAH SIGHTINGS - 2004
December 2004
One sighting of a well fed adult male cheetah, near the north-eastern corner of the reserve.
Four sightings of an adult female cheetah and her three sub-adult offspring. These four cheetahs were seen in the central parts of the reserve, and later on the western bank of the Sand River, near the Mala Mala airstrip. They were seen to be active and even hunting, but not to make any kills.
Number of different Cheetahs encountered: 6
November 2004
There were few sightings of cheetah in November, listed as follows:
One sighting of a cheetah, sex unknown, on south-central Flockfield, moving northwards.
One sighting of a very well fed adult male cheetah, near Clarendon Dam on north-eastern Eyrefield.
One sighting of an adult female cheetah and her three sub-adult youngsters on Toulon, feeding on an adult female impala kill.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 6
October 2004
There was some good cheetah viewing during this game report period, and all the cheetahs seen were relaxed animals.
1 adult male cheetah was seen on three consecutive days, around mid-month, in the north of the reserve.
1 adult female cheetah (scarred) was seen at least once, in the south of the reserve, and possibly also once or twice in the north.
An adult female cheetah with three sub-adult youngsters (2 male, 1 female): seen just once, close to the Mala Mala airstrip.
A young female cheetah was seen on at least four occasions (and possibly as many as 6 times), as she moved northwards through the reserve late in this game report period.
An adult female cheetah was seen on south-western Toulon.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 8
September 2004
It was a fairly quiet time for cheetah viewing, with just four sightings. One sighting was of an adult male cheetah, near the north-eastern corner of the reserve.
An adult female cheetah and her three sub-adult youngsters (2 male, 1 female) were seen on two consecutive days. On the first occasion, they were feeding on an impala kill, after dusk, and then they predictably appeared on the airstrip the next day.
The other cheetah seen was a fairly young adult female, initially sighted on the airstrip. She crossed east through the Sand River.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 6
August 2004
There was some good cheetah viewing during August, with the following animals making up most of the sightings:
A single sighting of the scarred female cheetah.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 9
July 2004
July was a good month for cheetah viewing, particularly in the north of the reserve.
There was one sighting of a young adult female cheetah, feeding on an impala kill, the scraps of which were then taken by hyenas.
There were three sightings of the scarred female cheetah in the north of the reserve, west of the Sand River. On two occasions she had impala kills.
There were four sightings of an adult female cheetah with three youngsters, probably close to a year of age.
An adult male cheetah was seen on two occasions (consecutive days), in the north of the reserve, looking very well fed.
An adult female cheetah was seen on one occasion, to the west of the Sand River in the south of the reserve.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 8
June 2004
May 2004
Compared with previous months, cheetah viewing during May was very good.
There were 10 sightings of the female cheetah with wounds suffered from a lion attack two years ago. A female cheetah reported on NW Charleston was almost certainly this same scarred female as she made her way between southwestern Toulon and NW Mala Mala. The scarred female started the months viewing on the Mala Mala Airstrip, stayed for a day and then, 10 days later, reappeared on the 'Golf Course' area of NW Toulon where she spent nearly two weeks. Then it was back to the Mala Mala Airstrip for another couple of days. This is, in some ways, quite typical movement for a cheetah, flitting from open area to open area, trying to get a compromise between security and the need for food.
A female cheetah and three approximately 9-month-old cubs (this assuming that these were the same animals which were seen at the end of January near the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River; at that stage they were thought to be approximately 5-months-old) were seen on four successive days on northern Eyrefield. The cheetahs were found one afternoon, looking well fed and lying in the Wild Dog Rocks Open Area. A young leopard had that morning been seen in this same area and at one time had attempted to follow some low-flying vultures; these vultures had probably spotted the cheetahs on a kill, but both them and the leopard had almost certainly failed to get any of it.
That afternoon, as the cheetahs lay in the open area, the young leopard reappeared and climbed a tree not far from where they lay and it was only now that the cheetahs became aware that he was in the area. Cheetahs and leopards are great enemies and the balance of power usually weighs heavily towards the leopard. But, with cubs to protect, and perhaps seeing that it wasn't an adult leopard, the female cheetah advanced menacingly towards the leopard, now staring at the cheetah from the lower branches of the tree. Seeing their mother react with such alarm caused the young cheetahs to bolt in the opposite direction, running away from the direction of the threat. But, as it turned out, the young leopard was no real opposition. Within seconds it decided that flight was its best defence and it baled out of the tree and fled at high speed. The cheetah made a brief dash towards the leopard, working on the initial momentum of the its retreat, but then stopped, turned and followed her cubs. When they'd run off perhaps some 300 metres, the cheetahs settled down, every so often glancing nervously towards where the interaction had happened. But they had nothing to worry about and they spent the rest of the day and the next resting in the area. On the third day, the four cheetahs headed out hunting, but failed to catch anything, this in spite of walking many kilometres.
On the fourth day, they arrived at the Mlowathi Dam around which where several groups of impalas. But the open areas provided security for the impalas too and the mother cheetah was cautious, not only about getting to within striking distance of her prey, but also in watching out for any of her many enemies which might be around. After a long wait and a brief stand-off with a large warthog which happened to run into them, the mother cheetah took her three youngsters in the direction of the biggest impala group. The stalk was long and again cautious, but finally successful. An alert impala noticed the cheetahs just as they approached the open area in which they were feeding, but by then it was too late. As the first snort of alarm sounded, the adult cheetah dashed in and caught a young female impala. Once she'd strangled her victim, she called the cubs which were 150 or so metres away, patiently waiting for their mother in the open area. The carcass was well hidden and of a size which could be eaten quite quickly, so no scavengers appeared and the cheetahs had it all to themselves. Upon finishing the last of the scraps, the four cheetahs returned to the open area to the west of the Mlowathi Dam to settle down for the night. But the days activities weren't over yet; an hour after dark, a pride of lions appeared, saw the cheetahs and gave chase. Fortunately they made good their escape and the lions emerged from the bush empty handed.
There were five sightings of a female cheetah, all on successive days, on the Mala Mala Airstrip. On one of these occasions she was with a male cheetah and the two were reported to have been courting, but soon vanished into surrounding bush. They reappeared on the runway that evening, arriving separately and staying a distance apart. The male looked well fed. The following day, the female was still in the area, but the male was across the river and moving steadily northwards. Looking lean, the female cheetah spent the morning hunting, but failed to catch anything on at least three occasions and was eventually left heading westwards.
There were two sightings of the same male cheetah, one when he was with a female cheetah on the Mala Mala Airstrip and the other, on the day following this encounter, when he was seen moving from the area, finally being left heading towards the very northeastern parts of Eyrefield.
A male cheetah, slightly apprehensive of landrovers, was seen walking from central Flockfield all the way to the Mala Mala Airstrip.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 8
April 2004
Cheetah viewing continued to be poor during April, with there being only 7 sightings over the course of this months' report-period. Perhaps cheetahs have been present a great deal more often than the sightings do suggest, but, with the tall grass, they just simply aren't visible when lying down. Alternatively, the tall grass and abundance of other predators, particularly lions, would cause them to move off to safer areas.
A young female cheetah was seen on two successive days on the Mala Mala Airstrip. She was well fed. On the second day, when she moved off the runway and lay down in long grass, she simply vanished from view and, in spite of searching for her, was only seen again when she returned to the runway towards evening, no doubt to spend the night in an area where it'd be easier to spot any approaching enemies before they could take her by surprise. This might have been the same young female cheetah which, a week later, killed an impala on NW Toulon. The cheetah killed the impala that morning and managed to stay in the area for the entire day, avoiding the attention of scavengers and making the most of her hard-earned meal.
An adult female cheetah, well fed, was seen lying on the Mala Mala Airstrip, two days in a row. A pride of lions ventured into the area on the second night of her stay and could very well have been the reason for her not bothering to hang around.
The female cheetah with the prominent scars, these mostly from a lion attack two years ago, was found on SW Eyrefield, eating a freshly killed impala. In spite of the fact that she'd dragged the carcass beneath a tree and was in long grass, vultures still spotted her and moved in. Fortunately she's also quite brave, this relative to other cheetahs, and chased off the first vultures which landed next to her, hoping to intimidate her from the kill. This response, as well as the generally thick bush, must have made the vultures a trifle wary and they hung back. Luckily too, the descending vultures didn't attract any other scavengers, particularly lions and hyaenas, and the cheetah managed to eat all that she could before leaving the carcass just before sundown. She'd hardly gone more than a few metres from the kill when the vultures swarmed in and demolished what was left. This cheetah had last been seen just over a month before on the Mala Mala Airstrip and at the time had a small cub with her. The two had spent the day dodging a male lion which seemed intent on catching and killing the cub. The lack of sightings of the cub this month can unfortunately only mean that, in spite of its mothers' valiant efforts, it must be dead. Although the tall grass is good to hide behind, it also makes for treacherous ambush conditions and for a small cheetah to cope with things as they are must be very difficult.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 4
March 2004
March did not produce good cheetah viewing, perhaps as a result of the thick vegetation following the heavy rains this year. Cheetahs prefer conditions which permit them to spot their enemies well before they can be caught unawares. Open plains will help, but not if the grass is very tall and dense, as are circumstances in the area.
There were three sightings of a young adult female cheetah on or in the general vicinity of the Mala Mala Airstrip; these sightings were on successive days and towards the beginning of the March-report-period. Cheetahs often make use of the open-plains environment of the airstrip as a refuge against surprise attack from enemies.
There was a brief sighting of a cheetah, apparently shy of landrovers, towards the northeastern parts of the reserve.
A relaxed female cheetah was seen on eastern Flockfield.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 4
February 2004
A nervous cheetah was seen on southern-central Flockfield; it ran when approached by a landrover.
A nervous cheetah was seen running into the Kruger National Park, away from where some Blackbacked Jackal pups were eating the remains of a young warthog. An adult male cheetah was found not too far from this same scene, but seemed quite unaware of what was happening.
A female cheetah was seen on central Charleston; it was lying down and the sighting occurred after sunset. Viewing of cheetahs using spotlights after dark is not permitted on Mala Mala.
A cheetah with three cubs was seen very briefly on NW Toulon. Could this have been the same four which last month were seen at the northern end of the Mlowathi River and had their steenbok kill pinched by a hyaena?
Towards the end of the month, there were three sightings on consecutive days on NW Mala Mala and SW Eyrefield of almost certainly the same young female cheetah.
A young male cheetah was seen on the Mala Mala Airstrip towards the beginning of the month.
There were two sightings near the northeastern corner of Mala Mala of almost certainly the same relaxed adult male cheetah.
The female cheetah which was so badly mauled by lions nearly two years ago appeared on the Mala Mala airstrip in mid-February, accompanied by an approximately 4-month-old cub. Although her body condition appears good, some of her wounds still appear red and sore. These two cheetahs spent three days in the area and, on the second day, re-appeared well-fed, this after being absent from the airstrip soon after sunrise on that day. Cheetahs will often use such open areas as zones of security, places where they can spot enemies approaching them before they are taken by surprise. They then hunt from these areas, returning from the surrounding regions to sleep off whatever they have managed to eat or to rest until their next hunting effort. On the third day of their stay on the airstrip, the two cheetahs spent their time trying to keep clear of a male lion which had chanced along. The male lion appeared intent on catching the young cheetah, but was constantly harassed by the female as she tried to draw him away from her cub. Of course this particular cheetah female cheetah has a reputation of taking on her bigger adversaries and there have been several instances when she has been observed almost recklessly charging towards lions, leopards and hyaenas. Such 'un-cheetah-like' behaviour often takes these stronger predators quite by surprise. It was probably during just such a scene that this cheetah was so badly injured in May 2002. Anyway, the cheetah-lion interaction continued all day, with a lull during the heat of the midday hours. That evening things resumed and again the male lion attempted to find the cub whilst being harried by the mother. This time the lion appeared more focussed and almost ignored the adult cheetah as he searched the bushes into which the cub had run when the lion was seen approaching. But, when they were eventually left to themselves, it appeared as if the bravery of the mother cheetah had won the day and the lion was last seen looking longingly towards both mother and cub, walking, a distance off and towards the safety of another open area.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 11
January 2004
A female cheetah and two well-grown cubs, one male and one female, ages estimated at two years, were seen on two occasions on successive days on SW Toulon. They killed a young impala before leaving the area the following day.
A young female cheetah was seen on three successive days on or close to the Mala Mala Airstrip. It's possible that this was the most recent daughter of the heavily scarred female.
There was a single sighting of a nervous female cheetah on eastern Flockfield.
Probably the same male cheetah was seen on successive days as it moved in a northwesterly direction through the central parts of Eyrefield. On the second day it was seen chasing after three sub-adult warthogs, but backed off when they stood their ground. It later chased after 3 steenbok which it had stalked to within 15 metres, but again failed to catch one.
A female cheetah with three approximately five-month-old cubs was seen on two successive days near the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River on NW Eyrefield. It was seen killing a steenbok, but lost this to a hyaena.
Approximate number of different Cheetahs encountered: 10
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