FINSBURY LEOPARDS
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| A new little girl that is establishing a territory beside Mom's in the Steenkamp Valley |
We have been having quite a few leopard sightings on the estate in the last few months. This can be attributed to the fact that there are three sets of cubs on the estate. We had the Steenkamps female with three cubs sighted quite regularly by staff in the last year in that valley. One of those cubs may have been drowned during the Dineo weather front because only two cubs were seen after that flood. I think these are the cubs, who are now independent of their mother, who were sighted by Don and Anne in their second month here in Nooitgedacht farm.
Another female leopard with two large cubs was sighted in February by The Van Heerdens and others above K15. I had a good look at the mother and was pretty sure it was not the Steenkamps female, she looked a lot older.
Then Don found an eland carcass on the access road to Rod's Rest (unit #7). According to the wounds on the carcass, it appears the eland was dispatched by another eland during a fight. Don erected a temporary camera trap at the scene and got some special shots of a mother leopard with only one 3-5 month old cub. This cub is younger than the rest and should still be with its mother for another six months or more.
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| The youngest of the known cubs, a single child |
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Mom with her single cub at a Eland carcass near Rod's Rest
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I have been sending photos of Finsbury leopards with coordinates to the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks' Predator Specialist, Gerrie Comacho, who is mapping the Mpumalanga leopards. He uses the unique spot patterns of leopards to identify individuals from the data he receives.
Now, on Friday I got to see a large young male leopard at K33. He hung around there the entire day and was spotted by the Ririe's of Kingfisher Lodge (Unit #6) later that afternoon. This is now a new boy on the block and I suspect he won't be around for too long because he will drift away from his father's territory in good time. I have managed to confirm a photograph of him (using spot pattern)when he was about 6 months old up at the cycle path. His mother is the old Granny Leopard that has always been sighted here and his father is, I believe, the massive Big Boy leopard that has dominated this area for a long time. In fact, according to Comacho, Big Boy was caught on a cctv camera in the town of Sabie in 2012! I think he is the father because last month I got a photo of the Big Boy male on the cycle path camera and a minute later this youngster was photographed following him. A young male would not follow a big male that was not directly related unless he was suicidal!
This young male, who I will call "TIGER" because he has a mane like a tiger, is very relaxed with vehicles and will be spotted more often while he is in the area. Behavioral traits are also hereditary and relaxed leopards are usually shot out in areas where they are not protected, leaving only very skittish genes in the population. But in areas where they are more protected, like Finsbury now, the relaxed genes can show themselves again and even proliferate.
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| Tiger when he was less than 6 months old sniffing around the camera up at the base of the cycle track on Loop road: 05 July 2015 |
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| Tiger caught on James Mackenzie's camera mounted on the chain pole at the bottom of the Razorback road: 03 May 2017, making him around two and a half years old. |
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| Tiger spotted by me on the game path leading from Loop road down to K33 on Friday. |
There has always been leopards in these valleys but there were times when they were more heavily persecuted than now. With the understanding and protection of our leopards now, the populations will not only increase but relaxed individuals will become more prominent.
It is a great honour to have these majestic cats in our presence but visitors need to be aware of them. They are not dangerous to humans and will avoid us at all costs. They are dangerous, however, to dogs and very small children if they are on their own. So please be aware! Do not let your dogs sleep outside or let them run about out side on their own. Also keep an eye on young children and have a bigger child or adult accompany them if they are playing away from the unit.
As for your freedom on the estate? Do not let the presence of leopards restrict you. Enjoy the cycling, walking or hiking that you normally do. I have spent more than 25 years living in areas where large predators exist and have had many experiences with wild leopards. The best way to react to a leopard if you accidently encounter one in the bush is to pretend that you did NOT see it. Unlike a lion where it is best to stare it down and challenge it, a leopard will not attack if it believes it has not been seen or that you are not going to react after seeing it. Look the other way and keep on walking (Johnny Walker style!). VIVA LE LEOPARD!
