Ranger Report December 2010 and January 2011 : The Cats |
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With all the rain the bush has received, finding the elusive cats has proved to be a lot more difficult. It's beautiful, lush and green but very thick. None the less sightings of the big cats of Thornybush have been frequent during the months of December and January.
Cheetah After successfully raising her 3 female cubs, who are now on their own and gone their separate ways, the large mother cheetah has given birth to another litter of 6 new honey badger-like cubs. She was first seen in the northern part of the game reserve trying to stay out of the way of any lions. On one morning we had her tracks but also the tracks of a male lion hot on her trail. Unfortunately, the dominant male lion in the north had soon caught up to her and managed to kill 2 of the cubs. Luckily 4 of the cubs are doing well - the abundance of young impala has been helpful - and their mother is keeping them out of trouble for the meantime.  Another female cheetah who had once been seen coming into the reserve from the Timbavati a year or so ago has been seen again, this time with 2 new faces accompanying her. Her 2 cubs are roughly 5 months old and one, the star animal of the month, is a king cheetah. This little king cheetah cub is one of only around 10 king cheetah recorded in the wild today! Unfortunately it appears that she was only to stay for about a month before taking her 2 little ones back into the Timbavati. They haven't been seen since, but the few glimpses we got were unforgettable.   A female leopard, known as Twin-spot, has been very secretive during December and January but her cub, the boisterous year-old male, has been frequently spotted around the lodge. This male cub was even seen in the outside shower in one of the suites. Every now and then, when we're sitting around the fire in the boma, we get the alarm calls of resident vervet monkeys letting us know the young leopard is back. Twin-spot, herself, has been unusually scarce but when she is sighted her sightings are always ones to remember. She is a beautiful feline! She recently took a sharp hoof or horn to her neck from one of her victims. Successful in that attempt or not, she is still looking very healthy and has been seen on 2 fresh kills since the first sighting of her injury.  The other female leopard who holds a territory further south is Nsuku; meaning "diamond" from the shape of spots on her forehead. She was unlucky to lose one of her young males to the Monwana pride of lions during December which was a very sad turn of events. Now with only one cub to care for, also a young male, she has a much better chance of raising it successfully.   Lion After taking over the Northern territory from the much older and larger male lion, Ghana, the new guy has been having some difficulty getting close to the resident northern pride of females called the Monwana pride. He has been spending a lot of time on his boundary during the past 4 month's scent marking and roaring. Now that his newly acclaimed territory is well established as his own the females are finally easing up to the good looking brute. We have been sighting him with the females on a regular basis in December and January. Hopefully soon we'll start seeing some lion cubs in the north.  |
