December 2009
EMSAGWEN MALE +/- 6 YEARS 5 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(9 sightings)
He had a marathon mating month with the Ostrich Koppies female this month, she simply wouldn’t leave the poor chap alone. At the beginning of the month the were found together over a span of eight days, when the typical mating period is three to four days eight is unheard of. The male finally moved off and killed two wildebeest calves that night. Later in the month he was found again stuck in the age old mating ritual with the Ostrich Koppies female. The pair mated again for another three nights before splitting. In between all the mating the male was also seen to kill a adult bull Nyala and he also managed to sneak in some scent marking and territory patrolling.
November 2009
EMSAGWEN MALE +/- 6 YEARS 4 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(8 sightings)
Although the Emsagwen male has not had a busy month as far as viewing goes it has been a busy month as far as territorial male leopard duties go. He has covered huge amounts of territory from Clarendon Dam to Emsagwen waterhole to the Gowrie Boundary and even to the lower parts of the Mlowathi River. To add to this immense amount of travelling he has been seen mating with 3 different females over the last 5 weeks. In both cases of territory and mating, they are signs of a very well established and now mature male who has not only set up a large territory for himself but so are the females in the area realising his dominance and seeking him out to ensure the strongest genes for survival of their young. Although he has had a little pressure from the south from the Bicycle Crossing male both leopards seem to have come to terms with their respective territories for now and at the moment this is to the benefit of both leopards and the Emsagwen male seems to be making full use of his status.
October 2009
EMSAGWEN MALE +/- 6 YEARS 3 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(10 sightings)
Again seen all over his territory this month, he moves around a lot more than the bicycle crossing male and we often don’t seen him for days at a time. His territory still extends into Kruger but he is also pushing further north into Gowrie, this ever expanding territory is getting very large but lets hope he continues to remain on Mala Mala. He was found one afternoon following the scent trail of the bicycle-crossing male, as the two males made eye contact both began to salivate profusely, they parallel walked and roared at each other but there was no contact and both went their separate ways. Another incident towards the end of the month had him facing off with the son of the Kikilezi female. The young male sniffed out the older males impala kill and came to take a closer look, unfortunately for him the Emsagwen male was lying at the base of the tree, when the big male noticed the younger one he immediately chased him off, the young male vanished into the sand river but curiosity got the best of him and he was back a short while later but when he was chased away for the second time he finally got he message. The Emsagwen male has still yet to reach his true potential but at the rate he is going he might well be one of the most powerful male leopards ever at Mala Mala.
September 2009
EMSAGWEN MALE +/- 6 YEARS 2 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(14 sightings)
This male is on the move, since the fight between the bicycle crossing male and himself he hasn’t backed down instead doubling his efforts at taking over a piece of the river territory left by the Manyelethi male. He was found only in the eastern bank but always close to main camp and around bicycle crossing hippo pools. Often one of these two males would walk the exact same path the other had only days previously scent marking over the others scent. The male was found in the Mlowathi river one evening with an impala kill on the second night the Kikilezi female showed up at the carcass and for the next two days she mated with the Emsagwen male. Another comical sighting had the Emsagwen male in a tiny tree wisteria with a large impala carcass, for the next three nights he fed off the impala while six hyaenas salivated under the tree. Amazingly he never dropped the kill, often he had to lie upside down just to feed and when the wind blew it looked as if the entire tree was going to fall over with the added weight.
His territory now extends from the Kapen River in the southeast to Clarendon dam in the northeast and Mlowathi dam in the northwest; a successful take over of the sand river would complete a magnificent territory.
August 2009
EMSAGWEN MALE +/- 6 YEARS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(7 sightings)
The second male involved in the big fight this month. Younger than the bicycle crossing male but evenly matched in size and weight and possibly with more to gain territory wise. The Emsagwen male is dominant over the entire north of the reserve but that doesn’t include much in the way of water or pristine leopard territory so he has more of an incentive to take over from the out going Manyelethi male. Seen mainly in the lower reaches of the Mlowathi and the Piccadilly area he has made a strong move for the sand river around the confluence of the Mlowathi and the Manyelethi Rivers. The only obstacle standing in the way of complete domination is the large form of the bicycle crossing male and judging by the outcome of the fight these two had neither one is backing down or giving any ground what so ever so explosive times lie ahead as the dry season forces them closer together.
July 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 10 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(8 sightings)
Fewer sightings this month than last but still very consistent. He continues to be found in the Mlowathi region and Sand River close to camp. This last month all three dominant males, the Bicycle Crossing male, the Manyelethi male and the Emsagwen male have being making a push for the stretch of Sand River from the causeway to the confluence of the Sand, Manyelethi and the Mlowathi rivers. Sooner or later there will be epic clashes between these three males.
June 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 9 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(10 sightings)
The most number of sightings for many a month, this large male is making a push for the prime territory of the Mlowathi and Sand River. He was seen roaring and scent marking all around the Piccadilly area and was even seen walking through camp one night. These areas are new to this male but with the river attracting the game he needs to challenge for the space or face a bleak winter. The two male leopard territories coming under threat are the Gowrie male and the Manyelethi male. Both these males are older and smaller and so it will only be a matter of time before the Emsagwen male comes to dominant arguably the best piece of real estate on Mala Mala.
May 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 8 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(6 sightings)
This male is really making a push for territory closer to the Sand River. The majority of the sightings have being around the southern end of the Mlowathi River system. Whether he has challenged the Manyelethi male in this area recently is unknown, but with the upcoming winter and the prey species being closer to the Sand River they may very well come head to head in a bid for prime territory. Other wise he was seen being courted by the Campbell Koppies female who it looks like was trying to distract him from her cubs.
March 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 6 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(4 sightings)
Again similar to the bicycle cros
sing male this leopard was found on the move for most of the month. He wasn’t seen at all in February and so its was with relief rangers found him healthy and in great condition. Once interesting sighting had him matched with a herd of buffalo. The male spotted the herd coming from a distance and instead of turning tail he stalked closer in the long grass wanting a better look at some of the young calves. The Emsagwen male has caught a young calf out of the herd before and perhaps he was thinking about repeating the feat, anyways the leopard stalked closer but a wall of big males presented him a tough challenge and so he eventually backed away.
February 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 5 MONTHS
EYREFIELD, EASTERN MALA MALA, EASTERN FLOCKFIELD
(0 sightings)
There were no sightings of this leopard during the month.
January 2009
+/- 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS
EASTERN EYREFIELD AND MALA MALA
(2 sightings)
Unfortunately, viewing of this leopard would have been severely hampered, as bushwillow thickets and long grass dominate the territory that he inhabits. Nevertheless there were two sightings of this leopard this month. As is the case with Bicycle Crossing male this leopard is coming of age and expanding his territory all the time. The sightings this month were very far apart, one of them up near the Clarendon region and the other near the windmill.
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
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