Involved Leopards

Anderson 4:4 Male

Anderson 4:4 Male

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Flat Rock 3:2 Male

Flat Rock 3:2 Male

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Mashaba 3:3 Female

Mashaba 3:3 Female

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Nkoveni 2:2 Female

Nkoveni 2:2 Female

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Tamboti 4:3 Female

Tamboti 4:3 Female

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Piva 3:2 Male

Piva 3:2 Male

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Inyathini 3:3 Male

Inyathini 3:3 Male

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About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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12 Comments

on What Happens Now: The Piva Male’s Vacant Territory

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Great blog as usual James,critical times lie ahead for those youngsters.I don’t think the Tamboti female will be thrilled if the Inyathini male pushes further north,when Piva and Inyathini had that fight a couple of months ago she actually attacked Inyathini and was very aggressive towards him,so she believed that Piva is the father.Further north,another possibility would be that Anderson pushes south of the Sand River and all the litters there are in danger.One of his females in the north has died,so we may see him south of the river soon.

Hi Alexander,
Yes, I didn’t discuss the possibility of the Anderson male moving South. We’ve often seen that leopards use the Sand River as a natural territorial boundary, and as yet the Anderson male hasn’t been seen south of the river to the east of camp as far as I’m aware. Without hearing the Piva male calling or smelling his scent however, he may well start to push in that direction.

Thanks James this is extremely informative and is a great study of the dynamics. The maps are especially useful in order to understand the movements.

I’m rooting for the 7-0 score. I know there’s nothing we humans can do to safeguard the leopard cubs, but I do hope the one of the two males can claim the Piva male’s territory so that the little ines have a good chance to survive.

Thanks for the insightful analysis, James. I know the odds aren’t good, but in pulling for all 7 to make it!

I’m praying for a success on those 7 babies making it! I wanted to cry and felt so bad when I read about the Piva male! Just made me sick to my stomach! And now so much in the “what if” scenarios makes everything so uncertain for those babies!!! I am praying for the best outcome for all of them! Do the male leopards actually know who the father is or is it just based on the amout of time spent with the female and cubs?

Hi Carol,
Yes, time with the cubs is important. The third paragraph discusses this very thing.

James, Thanks for the update! Wow, it’s always changing isn’t it! Like I always say, leopard and lion dynamics at Londolozi are much more exciting to follow than any of the “housewives” shows we see on TV! Our hopes are for the cubs of course! 7 cubs at the end of a year from now would be awesome.

Thanks Michael, we’re keeping fingers crossed as well.

Great write up. The maps are always super useful. Are there any cases where cubs manage to survive despite the new resident male trying to kill them? i.e they manage to avoid detection and/or the mother successfully defends them until they reach independence? I guess it would greatly depend on the age of the cubs and how long they need to survive under the new regime but lets assume similar ages to the cubs in question here…

Hi Lachlan,
I’m sure there are instances in which a female has managed to keep her cub(s) away from a marauding male, but the chances aren’t high in the long run. The age of the cubs would definitely be a factor. The Ravenscourt female in Singita defended her male cub against the Nyelethi male a couple of years ago and lost her own life in the incident, yet the cub survive and is still alive and well. He was around 14 months old at the time, if not older, so would have already been able to take care of himself a little bit.

Thanks for the exta info James. Much appreciated 🙂

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