| HLABATINI FEMALE Archives: 2000 - 2003 || 2004 - 2005 |
| April 2005 HLABATINI FEMALE Sadly, the Hlabatini Female will no longer feature in Mala Mala’s game reports, as she was reportedly killed by lions at night in a property just to the north of Mala Mala. She will be remembered as a really plucky leopard, which had the upper hand in clashes with the White Cloth Female. She also survived several years with an apparently serious leg or hip injury, which at one stage looked as if it could seriously impair her hunting ability. Often slightly nervous of vehicles in the beginning, she settled down to become a very worthwhile leopard to view, particularly at night, when the cover of darkness would give her more confidence. Her territory shifted northwards over the years, and certainly over the last two years or so of her life, she probably spent most of her time to the north of Mala Mala’s boundaries, and was therefore only seen on a very few occasions. Her son, at approximately 20 months of age, is physically large enough and strong enough to fend for himself, even though this independence has been thrust on him a few months earlier than he would have liked. March 2005 HLABATINI FEMALE Location: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD The Hlabatini Female is probably still spending most of her time to the north of Mala Mala’s boundary, most likely along the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River. The single sighting of her cub was in the vicinity of Mlowathi Dam, an area where the Campbell Koppies Female is spending a good deal of time. February 2005 HLABATINI FEMALE Location: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD The Hlabatini Female and her son probably spend most of their time to the north of the reserve, but there were two sightings of the youngster near Mlowathi Dam. He is still a little unsure of vehicles, and is always viewed cautiously. January 2005 HLABATINI FEMALE Location: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD The Hlabatini Female leopard and her young son are probably spending most of their time just to the north of the reserve, along the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River. The cub is still a little unsure of Land Rovers, but is quite accommodating of a single vehicle at a respectable distance. December 2004 HLABATINI
FEMALE Location: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD
December was an interesting month, telling a little more about the Hlabatini Female. It was now confirmed that she has a youngster, this being a male cub, estimated to be approximately 16 months old. The Hlabatini Female was seen to share a duiker kill with her son, which is to be expected. It seems that her territory fits in tightly between the territories of the White Cloth Female and the Campbell Koppies Female. Any one of these three female leopards could actually be encountered in the game-rich area just to the east of Mlowathi Dam. The son of the Hlabatini Female is still slightly edgy in the presence of vehicles, but has shown an increasing level of tolerance, and should soon be a relaxed leopard. November 2004 HLABATINI
FEMALE (2 confirmed sightings)
October 2004 HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (No
confirmed sightings) September 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (No confirmed sightings) August 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (One confirmed sighting) The single sighting of the Hlabatini Female during August was one to remember, as she had a territorial clash with the White Cloth Female. These two leopards have long been neighbouring territorial rivals, but their territories have shifted a great deal. Years ago, clashes or stand-offs between them would have taken place a good deal further south and east, for example in the vicinity of Paddy's Pools. It appeared that the Hlabatini Female had the upper hand of the exchange this month, and shortly after the leopards had separated, she caught and killed a duiker. The White Cloth Female returned to the position of the kill, but was not seen to try to feed, and by the next morning, she was gone. There have not been any recent sightings of the Hlabatini Female with any cubs, but a single sighting of a male leopard cub, probably just over a year old, on the reserve's northern boundary to the east of the Mlowathi, could well have been that of her cub. June & July 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (No confirmed sightings) It seems likely that the Hlabatini Female and her cub(s) are spending most of their time to the north of Mala Mala, along or to the east of the Mlowathi River. May 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (2 sightings) There were two sightings of the Hlabatini Female this month, both in the same general area of the upper Mlowathi and within a few days of each other. The one encounter was of the leopard on what appeared to be a routine patrol. This area, after all, is probably the border between her territory and that of the Campbell Koppies Female further to her south.
The next sighting had the leopard in the same area, this time calling for cubs. Several months ago it was established that the Hlabatini Female was lactating, but since then there have been few sightings of her and certainly none of her with youngsters. A short while ago, a young leopard was seen in this area, but was shy of vehicles and vanished into thickets. With limited experience of landrovers and a mother which is herself not always comfortable in their presence, the Hlabatini Females' current litter is almost certainly not going to be immediately relaxed when viewed and so it wasn't surprising that although the Hlabatini Female called and called, no cubs appeared whilst the landrovers were nearby. April 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation: NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD (no sightings) March 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation:
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD February 2004HLABATINI FEMALELocation:
NORTHWESTERN EYREFIELD The single sighting of the Hlabatini Female was towards the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River and she and a pride of lions were both seen eyeing out the same herd of impalas. The leopard wisely backed off. It wasn't possible to see whether the Hlabatini Female was still lactating or not.
Copyright © Rattray Reserves |
