There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
02-13-2021, 12:31 PM( This post was last modified: 02-13-2021, 05:30 PM by Tr1x24 )
(02-13-2021, 02:47 AM)Tonpa Wrote: The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) recently had to respond to a call to shoot a male leopard that was reported to have killed livestock in the rural village of Seville B otherwise known as Makeripeni close to the Manyeleti Nature Reserve boundary.
The decision to shoot the leopard was our last resort as multiple attempts were made by our staff to catch the leopard. This process was conducted under very difficult and challenging conditions. Following the leopard’s tracks, it became evident that the leopard had already infiltrated the village and killed several goats, pigs and a dog and it was becoming aggressive and posed great danger to the nearby community members.
The loss of any animal is tragic and it is important to emphasize the conditions under which our conservationists work to ensure that we rescue the animals while at the same time they safeguard human lives. We are saddened by this act, however, we applaud the community members for working with us in ensuring the matter was handled with their support.
A necropsy was conducted by the State Veterinarians and found that the leopard was in poor condition possibly as a result of a broken canine tooth. It was further discovered that the leopard was blind in the right eye. No diseases were found in the blood smears or organs which may have contributed to its poor condition. It seems as though the leopard was probably pushed out of his territory.
During the search operation conducted by our Field Rangers, it was reported that there were tracks of a single poacher who was poaching with dogs entering and exiting the reserve near the Seville B area. A half an Impala carcass was also found at a nearby house occupied by a well-known poacher while searching for the leopard. A case of illegal possession on dead wild game has been opened against him at the Mhala Police station.
It is important to further indicate that the poacher was not in the Sabi Sands Wildtuin (SSW), but had been illegally hunting in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve. At this stage there was no evidence that the poacher had stolen the carcass from the leopard. We would further like to indicate that the statements that the leopard followed a poacher back to the village is completely unfounded and totally unlike a typical leopard behaviour.
As the MTPA we will continue with our efforts to save and conserve although at times serving human lives become a priority when dangerous animals are at the loose.
Still 0 explanation or reason why they killed Hukumuri and not return him back into reserve...
Their best explanation is that he lost his territory, and will prob escape out again..
??
Also about that territory? He was seen in WE patroling and marking his territory just 3 days before he got killed.. And rangers claim that he lost his territory.. To who? Tourtoise Pan leopard was never seen in his territory...
And in what 2 days or how long was he out, he killed serveral pigs, goat and a dog?
Even ih he did, he is MTPA's leopard, they should be responsible for that, and animal should have been returned into park and not killed..
(02-13-2021, 02:47 AM)Tonpa Wrote: The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) recently had to respond to a call to shoot a male leopard that was reported to have killed livestock in the rural village of Seville B otherwise known as Makeripeni close to the Manyeleti Nature Reserve boundary.
The decision to shoot the leopard was our last resort as multiple attempts were made by our staff to catch the leopard. This process was conducted under very difficult and challenging conditions. Following the leopard’s tracks, it became evident that the leopard had already infiltrated the village and killed several goats, pigs and a dog and it was becoming aggressive and posed great danger to the nearby community members.
The loss of any animal is tragic and it is important to emphasize the conditions under which our conservationists work to ensure that we rescue the animals while at the same time they safeguard human lives. We are saddened by this act, however, we applaud the community members for working with us in ensuring the matter was handled with their support.
A necropsy was conducted by the State Veterinarians and found that the leopard was in poor condition possibly as a result of a broken canine tooth. It was further discovered that the leopard was blind in the right eye. No diseases were found in the blood smears or organs which may have contributed to its poor condition. It seems as though the leopard was probably pushed out of his territory.
During the search operation conducted by our Field Rangers, it was reported that there were tracks of a single poacher who was poaching with dogs entering and exiting the reserve near the Seville B area. A half an Impala carcass was also found at a nearby house occupied by a well-known poacher while searching for the leopard. A case of illegal possession on dead wild game has been opened against him at the Mhala Police station.
It is important to further indicate that the poacher was not in the Sabi Sands Wildtuin (SSW), but had been illegally hunting in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve. At this stage there was no evidence that the poacher had stolen the carcass from the leopard. We would further like to indicate that the statements that the leopard followed a poacher back to the village is completely unfounded and totally unlike a typical leopard behaviour.
As the MTPA we will continue with our efforts to save and conserve although at times serving human lives become a priority when dangerous animals are at the loose.
Still 0 explanation or reason why they killed Hukumuri and not return him back into reserve...
Their best explanation is that he lost his territory, and will prob escape out again..
??
Also about that territory? He was seen in WE patroling and marking his territory just 3 days before he got killed.. And rangers claim that he lost his territory.. To who? Tourtoise Pan leopard was never seen in his territory...
And in what 2 days or how long was he out, he killed serveral pigs, goat and a dog?
Even ih he did, he is MTPA's leopard, they should be responsible for that, and animal should have been returned into park and not killed..
This explanation of what supposedly happened seems to me full of loopholes, as it can be so difficult to capture the animal, there are tranquilizers and equipment for that. I may be mistaken but they decided to solve it the easiest way
(02-15-2021, 01:27 PM)Gavskrr Wrote: This explanation of what supposedly happened seems to me full of loopholes, as it can be so difficult to capture the animal, there are tranquilizers and equipment for that. I may be mistaken but they decided to solve it the easiest way
Agree.. Theres 0 reasons why he was not returned into reserve, his future in reserve is not their business..
As for map, there was a good run down on adult females present by Tristan on one recent* Wild Earth drives during Xidulu sighting - he was naming female who are around Xidulu makign a point how there is a lot of young animals, on their first surviving litter or younger, some still setting up territory - anyway, based on that info:
N of Xidulu* are Cara* and Luna
E of Xidulu*are Tlalamba*,Thandi*, Sibuye and Kuchava* and further east Inkayeni and Mondzo
W of Xidulu* are Ndzutini, Tiyani and Moya
S of Xidulu* is Xindzele
That likely covers most ofnorthern Sabi Sands plus up to Manyeleti river to the west.
*females with asterisk were spotted on Wild Earth drives in last few days, namely Xidulu, Cara, Tlalamba, Kuchava and Thandi (wtih Maribye, her male cub). As well as the run down summarized above was given. Some of those sightings were quite helpful regarding females location and their territories, especially Xidulu encounter with Tlalamba, resulting in clear landmarks those two scentmark as a border till today, which is likely to be observed quite regularly as Tlalamba patrols very close to Djuma camp, so if that stays it might become a somewhat reliable sighting (the crossroads of Vuyatela Acces and Zoe's roads west of camp is where Tlalamba scentmarks before turning back east).
The other interesting one is Cara, who is now north of Sidney Dam on Buffelshoek, hoisting kill after kill in marulas and overlooking the open landscape there, which migh have been bit of vacant spot leopard wise. The Thandi + Maribye sighting is worth it for unrelentness playfulness of the young cat, not much new about them otherwise they are still close to Chitwa Dam.
And Tlalamba might be pregnant (nothing confirmed yet).
Ndzutini (young female) was spotted in Mala Mala had an incident with the Island female (with a cub), Ndzutini chased into a tree. via legendsafaris
I should have make an attempt on a rough estimation map, before they all move around again.
Oh, and there was a great WE sighting of Kuchava and her almost year and half son (still not named) on Chitwa Chitwa yesterday, the "cub" is looking good and very well fed. And pretty big and good looking overall. Playing it more safe than bit younger Maribye for sure. Hopefully Kuchava succeeds with raising a cub to adulthood finally, this time it looks promising.
04-10-2021, 02:27 AM( This post was last modified: 04-10-2021, 03:46 PM by Tonpa )
Lion sands virtual diary featuring "Msuthu" and her two cubs. They mention they think the father might be "Maxabene" since they were seen mating, although there are many males in the area.
Also some cool footage of one of the cubs hoisting a kill up a tree
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Always a favourite, the beautiful Schotia female continues to perfect her motherhood. With a strong young male as a son who seems to be increasingly more curious and confident as the months progress, this sort of attitude will ensure that he will move out into independence with a strong will and the precise skills in order to hunt and survive.
The Misava male, although small for his age, still continues to survive and tends to move around in his mother’s old territory. From time to time we find him further spread from these areas however, his father the Nyeleti male, continues to tolerate him and therefore is able to stick around. This is due to the fact that he doesn’t make too much of an attempt to mark territory and exude his presence - he seems to keep more of a low profile.
Our excitement this month has been focussed on the movements and behaviour shown by the Nyeleti and Hosana male leopards. With a high flowing Sand River for extended amounts of time and potentially less presence from Nyeleti male on the northern bank due to difficulty in crossing, it seems as though Hosana male has made his mark all the way down toward the northern bank of the Sand River in front of Boulders and Ebony Lodges thus holding an even larger territory than ever before. Recently, both males displayed fight wounds on their bodies and this could only be speculation, however a few of us believe these two males have already come face to face. With the Nyeleti male beginning to age out of his prime years as a dominant male leopard, the prospect of the Hosana male moving further into his territory is becoming more evident. We hold our breath as this story continues to unfold. The next few weeks and months are going to get interesting!
Leopards of Sabi Sands
