Kgalagadi Leopard Sightings

[AstroMatt]

2013-12-10 Tebogo
20km South of Grootkolk










Tebogo walking towards Safran







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[AstroMatt]

2013-12-10 Safran
20km South of Grootkolk









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[AstroMatt]

2013-12-10 Tebogo and Safran
20km South of Grootkolk, afternoon

So to continue our sighting of Safran and Tebogo. Apologies if this takes a while to load for anyone....there are a few pics
After the loo stop we returned to the scene from the other direction and suddenly noticed that there was another kill stashed in a tree by the side of the road and it was untouched. Sadly we couldn't find any leopards but we decided that with two stashed kills mere metres apart they would surely be back. So we headed home for lunch with the plan to return.

We made it back to the kill location at about 16:30 but there were no leopards in sight. We sat and checked all the trees. Suddenly we heard what we thought was a leopard call, we looked around and suddenly noticed down the road in the distance was Tebogo walking directly towards us.

He continued towards the kill tree and briefly paused before heading for the river bed.

We then realised that we had missed Safran lying in plain sight. She looked exactly like a termite mound!! We decided that it was her that had called. What happened next had us both completely speechless...Tebogo broke into a run and charged straight at Safran, they both jumped into the air and proceeded to play fight Tebogo starts on the right and Safran is on the left.





Safran had decided that was enough and walked towards us whilst Tebogo wandered off for a drink. She briefly fed on the kill stashed under the tree before heading back to the river.



Tebogo again started walking towards Safran...obviously play time wasn't over!
Round 2.

At the start of many of these fights Safran appeared to be quite submissive....but ended on top :)

Really I think all Tebogo wanted was a cuddle


Tebogo briefly wandered off under a tree whilst Safran had a quick drink before they decided that Round 3 was on....this time they played in the river. Tebogo is on the right.






Picasa has just magically made this animated gif of the last fight.


This sighting didn't end here but i will save the rest for a second post...

[AstroMatt]

2013-12-10 Tebogo
20km South of Grootkolk, evening

So to conclude the story.
After the fight in the river they both took a breather for a few minutes. Here you can really see how Tebogo on the left is now bigger than mum!


She's done really well to raise such a great young boy...lets hope he stays clear of the bigger boys for a while.
Safran decided to wander away but Tebogo clearly wasn't finished...Round 4!





Safran (who finishes on the left) clearly wasn't happy with Tebogo's play fighting style and gave him a good telling off!



It was at this point that I remembered that my camera would do take movies...I switched to movie (seemed like it took an age) and hoped they would play again. We were delighted when they put on one more performance for us. You can see the video at the URL below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... b60E5GELjM

In many ways this is our favourite of their play fights as you can clearly see Safran trying to calm Tebogo down half way through....and just like any young cat he takes no for an answer. It is also clear how much love there is between them.

After this we didn't think it could get any better for the rest of the trip.
With the light reaching that magical time they decided to wander over towards us and try and squeeze some more springbok into their stomachs.
Safran

Tebogo


Tebogo only fed briefly whilst Safran hid herself away under the tree eating. He then cam even close and used the car as a bit of shade whilst he cleaned himself.



Eventually like all kids he decided he was full and worn out and decided a nap was best!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 1jJAIWLCzs

Two hours had flown by and time had run out on us and we had to leave ....but there was still an untouched kill in the tree by the road so we made a plan to come back the following morning.

[AstroMatt]

2013-12-11 N!xau, Safran and Tebogo
20km South of Grootkolk, 07:00 - 18:30

So to follow-up the previous days play fighting we returned to the scene early the next day to see what had happened over night.

To our amazement, the previously whole springbok carcass had been devoured and little more than the head and neck and a few dangly legs were left.

Lying by the side of the road with a full belly was N!xau the dominant local male! He didn't like being disturbed early in the morning and quickly crossed the road in front of us and disappeared over the ridge. We tried to locate him by trying different views but had no luck.


We drove back up the road towards Kannaguss to see if Safran and Tebogo were else where due to N!xau's presence. After a coffee break we decided to check the kill location again. To our amazement as soon as we turned up we spotted Safran slowly wandering down the road.

The portrait I showed yesterday was also taken from this sighting.
We waited patiently for her to come to us and she didn't disappoint. After walking through the dreidoring she crossed the road and headed straight for the kill.

She wasted no time in jumping up the tree.


After getting comfortable on a high branch she tucked into breakfast...cheek and nose I think!


After feeding for a while Safran suddenly became a bit nervous. She then leapt down the tree and dashed away. This was when we noticed the big N!xau running after her.

He obviously hadn't gone far during the morning and could either see, smell or hear her eating. After a short attempt to follow her he gave up and headed for the tree. Check out the staining on his teeth....he is also about 7+ years old.

N!xau tucking into breakfast. Unlike Safran he had to settle for the lower branches. Eventually he climbed down and sat under the tree guarding the kill.


Unfortunately his rest, and our sighting was disturbed when the Botswana Army rocked up and proceeded to get out of, and climb all over the cars for a better view. He didn't like this one bit and dashed across the road and away.
I did report this to the Section Ranger at Nossob but apparently they are a law unto themselves...not good.
Photo by Susie


We retuned to the kill later in the afternoon at 16:30. As if he was waiting for our return Tebogo suddenly appeared on the bank almost exactly where Safran had come from earlier in the day.

He gave us this wonderful view crossing the road a few metres away.

Unlike the others he was quite cautious. He smelt all around the tree before he climbed in and proceeded to finish off what was left! Like N!xau he was too heavy for the higher branches.

After filling his belly he wandered down to the river....and yes I mean river. To me this photo looks more like something you might see in the Okavango Delta rather than the dry Kgalagadi.


We looked up and down the road but couldn't find Safran. Eventually time ticked away and we had to leave Tebogo lying in the shade of a tree by the river.

Three leopards feeding off the same kill on the same day....kalahari magic

[AstroMatt]

So here is the final instalment of our leopard sightings in the northern part of the park.

2013-12-12 N!xau
15km South of Grootkolk, 09:45

It was our last morning at Grootkolk and we decided to head north to try and find Rosa or Bontle. After having no success (we did find a cheetah so not really no success ) we headed back to camp to pack up and leave.

On our drive down to Nossob about 5kms further north from where we'd had all the other sightings we came across N!xau lying under a tree with a wildebeest carcass lying in the river! The time was about 09:45


After speaking to our neighbours who had headed south early in the morning we learnt that there had been hyenas feeding during the early hours. But they had left and N!xau had appeared.


We believe that it was N!xau who made this kill due to an actual sighting of him making another wildebeest kill the following day! When we found this out we wished we'd stayed an extra night

We couldn't stay long as we had to make it to Urikaruus. But i believe he sat under this tree for most of the day.

So ended our incredible stay at Grootkolk....we'll definitely be heading back

[AstroMatt]

After this sighting of N!xau we headed to Urikaruus where we bumped into a few people who informed us that Tsamma had been seen north of camp. Unfortunately we didn't find her or any other leopards for the next few days.

We then left the park for a quick visit down to Augrabies and to pick up my little brother (Chris) and a colleague (Kelley). We then spent a few nights in Augrabies searching for the leopards there to no avail before heading back to the park. For both of them this would be their first visit to KTP

2013-12-19 Warona
Munro at 11:30

On the second day (19/12/2013) we hit the jackpot when we found a lion under a tree a few 100m north of Munro at about 11:30. We came across a bit of a traffic jam that we thought was because of the flat lion lying under a tree, but something didn't add up as most people weren't looking that way...peering up into the next tree we spotted what the traffic jam was really for. A lovely leopard lying quite uncomfortably on a few thin branches.


After a bit of repositioning we managed to find a little window through the branches. A quick check in the guide and our dreams came true. It was Warona! the tiny cub we found last year!


Warona really didn't look too happy and was constantly fidgeting. Unfortunately we had to head back to TR to pack up...but we would be driving past again on our way to Mata Mata


After a quick turn around we again arrived back at the traffic jam. Neither the lion, or Warona, had moved more than a few feet.


She glanced down to us a few times with a distinctly unimpressed look on her face.


The situation clearly wasn't going to change and we needed to leave, but we left Warona being looked over by enough photographers that someone would certainly capture any daring escape.

[AstroMatt]

So to finish off our sightings from December 2013.

2013-12-20 Warona
Munro at 15:00

After leaving Warona in the company of lions the previous day I was delighted when on our way to Twee Rivieren, Susie (driving) exclaimed, very calmly, like she was discussing what was for dinner, that there was a leopard lying on a sociable weavers nest! Apparently she had seen her from miles away!
So our little lady had survived the encounter and was now looking a whole lot more comfortable.
This was a few 100m north of Munro at 15:00.

She seems extremely content with her choice of nests and we decided that we would wait this out...However long it would take

The constant chattering of the birds and their aerial passes was obviously disturbing her sleep.

The sociable weavers were quite funny. Every now and then they would realise that there was a large predator on their nest and start alarm calling. Then they would forget!


Definitely pondering her stomach

After deciding the birds were a no go something on the ground caught her attention.

After racing down the tree she quickly glanced at us as if to check we were still there.

Then she decided to retrieve her victim who was trying to make a... slow get away!

Big 5 and little 5 :)

Looking very proud with her catch!



If you can't eat it...play with it.

She kept flicking the leopard tortoise around for about 30mins! During this time she climbed back up to the weavers nest and gave it a good bash with her paw.

However, she quickly got distracted with the tortoise only to return a few seconds later to play with it. Just like all kittens she tried rolling on her back and using the back legs....fail!

During all this play, she popped back up the tree to bash the weavers nest a few times. Unfortunately quite a few cars had arrived and so we didn't move. Right decision when she returned again to play with the tortoise. Notice the very very white teeth.


17:42
After quite a bit of wandering around under the tree she suddenly heard something and wandered out the back.



After quite a few minutes however she returned and looked around.

Then she went into full stalk mode!


She suddenly ran right behind our car and stopped just behind us....peering over the sand bank. Then we realised that she was stalking a ground squirrel. She was about 3-4m away in plain sight but the squirrel hadn't got a clue!

One lucky squirrel! Unfortunately a 300m lens and the wrong side of the car was too much for this action.

Not satisfied with her failed hunt she tried flushing the squirrel out.

Unfortunately that squirrel was holding tight.

She then picked up a yellow mongoose on the other side of the road. A quick dash and stalk through was seen from miles away.

18:40
By now it was getting late and we had to leave to make gate closing. A hungry Warona was left lying in the shade.


This was our final leopard sighting in December and a really special one for us having seen her last year as a tiny cub. She certainly seems to be spending some time away from mum and is trying to hunt more. Hopefully she will hang around and keep entertaining us all for a while :)

[AstroMatt]

Safran





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[AstroMatt]

N!xau



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