December 2009
KAPEN FEMALE 16 YEARS 3 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
She was only seen once and it was a brief sighting. All signs point to her being fit and healthy but like always she allows the rangers to find her before she walks into the thickest most impenetrable bush she can find.
November 2009
KAPEN FEMALE 16 YEARS 2 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
She was only sighted once during the month and the sighting was brief. She was found around the Kapen breakfast spot while rangers were setting up the bush breakfast spot. She looks to excellent health and still looks as young as ever, it’s always been a great pity we haven’t gotten to see her more over the years.
October 2009
KAPEN FEMALE 16 YEARS 1 MONTH
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
She was found one morning lying in a dead Leadwood at the Kapen breakfast spot. The female got active and moved through some incredibly thick bush something that dominates her territory. The female spotted a duiker and made for it, running in she narrowly missed the fleeing antelope, and she spotted another duiker and again charged and again narrowly missed. She then moved toward the sand river and rangers left her going into it. This old female still looks to be in healthy condition and continues to show every now and then just to let us know she is still alive and kicking.
September 2009
16 YEARS
1 CUB 10 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
The Kapen female has been keeping to herself for much of the last month. She has not been seen often, and when she has been seen, she has not been totally relaxed. She has been killing sufficiently to feed herself and is looking in good condition. This leopard has a reputation for being aggressive, but fortunately has not passed this trend on to her son. She continues to frequent the Kapen River and south into Charleston.
August 2009
15 YEARS 11 MONTHS
1 CUB 9 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
Only seen once this month she was found on duiker kill in the Kapen River. She was very relaxed in the presence of vehicles and causally lay in the thickets grooming herself once the meal was finished. Her reported cub has not been seen for several months and it didn’t look as if she was lactating which leads us to believe it might be dead. Lets hope this is not true but in all likelihood the signs aren’t good.
July 2009
15 YEARS 10 MONTHS
1 CUB 8 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
No one is sure if the cub is still alive or not but hopefully this wily old female hasn’t lost another litter. Only seen once she was found a long way north of her territory, this is not a good sign as the most common explanation for her leaving her territory is to find a mate. The sighting unfortunately didn’t last long as she moved into some thick bush. Lets see what next month brings.
June 2009
15 YEARS 9 MONTHS
1 CUB 7 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(2 sighting)
Two sightings of this female but still no sign of her cub. One sighting proved very entertaining when she was seen to kill a banded mongoose. Both sightings had the female on the move and so rangers found it hard to establish whether she was still lactating or not. Possibly in the next few months as the bush thins out more we will be able to follow her more easily and see if she is still hiding a cub somewhere.
May 2009
15 YEARS 8 MONTHS
1 CUB 6 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting)
It is uncertain as to whether this female still has a cub, she was only seen once this month and it was a relatively short sighting in the Tamboti Thicket area. She seems to use the Kapen River frequently as tracks of a female leopard are often found in the area. There is an ample amount of small game here as well thick bush and deep ravines where she could hide her cub.
March 2009
15 YEARS 6 MONTHS
1 CUB 4 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(2 sightings)
She is still lactating which is good sign that her cub/s are still alive. Her territory is such that following her becomes impossible after leaving the road and with her not being completely relaxed around vehicles she often get lost in the grasses or left alone when in one of her bad moods.
Febuary 2009
15 YEARS 5 MONTHS
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(2 sightings)
With the heavy rains during the month many of the rivers were not drivable and so this female could not be followed for long as she continues to use the Kapen River as her den sight for the cub. Only the one brief sighting has been had of the cub but the female still looks to be lactating and so the cub it thought to alive.
January 2009
15 YEARS 4 MONTH
NORTHERN CHARLESTON, SOUTHERN FLOCKFIELD
(1 sighting Kapen female, 1 sighting with Female and cub)
The Kapen female was only seen once this month by herself were she showed her usual disdain for the vehicles. The special sighting of the month was when she was followed into the Kapen river by two vehicles. After a lengthy walk we discovered a very small cub with her. There was a brief scare when the son of the Dudley female attempted to kill the cub but unsuccessfully. The cub was only seen for a brief glimpse and thus its age is uncertain but is probably around 1 month old or slightly older. Perhaps the reason we have not seen her recently is that she has been hiding in the donga systems and spending a lot of time with her cub. Hopefully this cub will be successful and we will have a new viewable leopard on Mala Mala.
