The summer rains have arrived and the Leopard are enjoying the cooler conditions.
Thlangisa and her cub were seen in a riverbed being very playful after a early morning thunderstorm.
Dayone Male Leopard resting on the top of a termite mound after some refreshing rain.
Ravenscourt Male Leopard on a territorial patrol on the edge of Dayone’s territory after a heavy thundershower.
Thlangisa & her cub found the perfect spot in a dry riverbed to spend the afternoon as they took a break from feeding on their hoisted kill. The sun had already set and soon the two leopard would be hidden by the dark night.
She noticed a duiker moving towards them in the riverbed and starting paying close attention to its movements, as it had not seen the two leopard in the sand. Her cub on the other hand, had different ideas. She noticed the duiker and started walking in its direction, however not in the normal stalking posture, but tail raised high up in the air.
Thlangisa kept an eye on her cub as she moved towards the duiker, as she got closer she started stalking and used her camouflage to hide her whereabouts. The antelope wisely kept moving away from the riverbed and out of the leopards’ sight.
With time and practice the cub will learn the skills to become a successful hunter.
One morning after tracking down and following the Mhangene pride for most of the morning, we heard that the pack of Wild Dogs had been found. We decided to head on over to the area where the dogs had started to settle down. Being late in the morning and already fairly hot we expected the pack to just be lazing around and mostly sleeping.
As we entered the sighting, the first thing we saw was a Hyena carrying an Impala carcass in its mouth with three of the Wild dogs following close by. There was however no sign of the rest of the pack. We followed them to a shady area where the Hyena decided to feast on his stolen spoils. Meanwhile the three dogs stayed close by just watching and hoping to get some back.
We could hear the rest of the pack calling in the distance, and with that one of the three dogs started running straight back to the rest of the pack while the other two remained. It wasn’t too long before we could see the pack return. With the pack in full force the Hyena realized that it was outnumbered and made a hasty retreat, leaving the Wild dogs to feed on their well earned meal.
Please enjoy the video below and remember to turn up your volume to hear the excitement of the pack.
Written by Hugo Breed
Over the last few weeks we have been fortunate to view the Mhangene pride in the Western Sector. It is amazing to watch this pride move as they consist of sixteen lions in total. Four females and twelve youngsters, of which nine are males. If they all break away together we could possibly see another strong coalition to rival the likes of the Mapogo.
During one of our sightings we watched as they competed against each other to get their helping of a juvenile Giraffe that they killed.
It is incredible to watch how these youngsters already have that competitive and survival spirit.
Enjoy the video below.
Intense interaction between Ravenscourt Male & Boulders Female, it is always wonderful seeing these solitary cats together.
Boulders Female made a kill which she safely hoisted away from the lurking hyena below. Ravenscourt had other ideas and he claimed the hoisted meal as his own. While the hyena were guarding the tree, hoping for any scraps to fall from the hoisted kill, Ravenscourt made his way to a nearby waterhole for a drink.
As he approached the water, Boulders showed herself from some tall grass and made her presence known to him when he got close to her. Ravenscourt didn’t let her growling influence him too much and he lay down withing a few feet from her.
Thlangisa (The Playful One)
“Leopard cubs found” the words that brings joy and excitement to every ranger working in the Western sector.
This was the same joy we found in a little female leopard cub, we would later know as Thlangisa.
Born in April 2009 Thlangisa immediately demanded a soft spot in the heart of each person that saw her. She was from the start a very bold, active and adventures cub. She grew up as an extremely playful young leopard leading to her name Thlangisa meaning “the playful one” in the local language Shangaan.
At age 18 months she became independent and set up her territory just North of the Sand river in an area that was vacant at the time.
She gave birth to her first litter in April 2014, two female cubs that she raised to adulthood, proving to us that she is a good mother. We are still seeing both the females in our area as independent territorial and very relaxed adults now.
In November 2015, she gave birth to her second litter that she unfortunately lost rather quickly.
In the end of October 2016 Thlangisa gave birth to her third litter, two cubs who is currently just over three months old, sex still unknown, and looking healthy.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for Thlangisa to raise this litter to independence and handing down yet another generation of this amazing bloodline.
Spotted Hyenas work in a matriarchal society, meaning their is a dominant female or queen that will be in charge of the clan. Within a clan’s territory they might have multiple den sites which they use when they have pups.
They are known to be very social animals and enjoy playing with each other, especially when the pups are involved. While we were at one of the Hyena dens, we were fortunate enough to enjoy one of these playful occasions between a mother, her baby and another youngster from the clan.
Enjoy the video.
Video by Hugo Breed
Having discovered one of Kiara Rodgers photographs on her Face book page Kiara Rodgers Photography, Simon Stevenson, an amazingly talented artist from the UK, asked Kiara if he could use one of her photos, to sketch. You can follow the “work in progress” on the following link: http://www.abrushwithafrica.com/Work%20in%20progress
You can also follow some of Simon’s other amazing creations on his Facebook Page (Wildlife Art) A Brush With Africa.
http://www.abrushwithafrica.com/shop/leopards/kiaras_leopard
The bush has turned beautifully lush after some much needed rain and has burst with vibrant colours.
Kelly Dam Female was seen resting up on a fallen over tree, prefect vantage point from where she kept an eye on an approaching hyena.
Shortly after the hyena moved away, she continued to scent mark on the path she was following and disappeared into a nearby thicket.
Dayone Male Leopard vocalizing and scent marking during his afternoon patrol. Ravenscourt Male has been edging his way into the territory of Dayone, which is forcing Dayone to regularly traverse his territory to make sure there are no intruders. There has recently been some interaction between Dayone and Ravenscourt as they met up while Dayone and Xikavi were mating.
With Ravenscourt putting pressure on the territory of Dayone, there is sure to be some interaction between these two Male Leopards in the weeks to come.
There is always a sense of huge privilege watching a Mother Leopard & her offspring interact, as she lets you witness those special moments.
Spending time with Xhikavi and her (now nearing adulthood) Male Cub, who has been named Mondzo ( Mondzo is the Shangaan name for a Leadwood Tree ), you realise the time is nearing for him to move away from his Mother and start fending for himself. The two Leopards are still spending time together and the meals that Xhikavi are providing her cub are now diminishing quickly, as he is becoming an adult leopard.
Over the last two days Torchwood has been busy feeding on a Warthog kill. We would check up on him regularly, in the hopes to find him where he has hoisted the kill into a tree.
Yesterday afternoon we did the same, but when we got there he was still busy feeding on the ground. After a while just watching him and enjoying the amazing sight of watching a wild animal feed close by, a Hyena appeared on the scene.
The Hyena quickly picked up the scent of the kill and made its way straight towards Torchwood. Torchwood was to slow to react and tried his best to fend off the Hyena. Unfortunately for him the Hyena overpowered him and he lost his hard earned meal.
Written by Hugo Breed
