The past couple of weeks on the Umkumbe traverse we’ve certainly not had any reason to shout “girl power”. We normally enjoy a varied mix of both female and male leopard sightings, but recently the toms have dominated the leopard sightings. Males tend to cover a wide range and spend much of their time defending territories and seeking out female companionship. Females tend to cover a smaller range and are drawn to an area because of the potential den sites and density of prey. Both leopards defend territories that are same-sex exclusive, but at the moment the spotlight is on the toms of the Sabi Sand.
Mxabene and Bicycle Crossing have been spotted out on patrol. The toms are aggressively scent marking territories and seeking out females. Ranger Marius and the eagle-eyed tracking team from Umkumbe spotted Mxabene sniffing and scent marking the low-lying scrub. He seemed to be on the move. Luckily the sighting happened in the first light of the morning, making photography somewhat more successful than in the black of night when leopards are the most active.
There were female leopard tracks in the area Max was patrolling, which means he probably picked up the scent and decided to seek out one of our graceful leopardesses. Females leave behind a complex chemical clue in their urine when marking and males will pick up in this and follow the trail.
Bicycle Crossing provided an exquisite, yet somewhat inactive sighting. He seemed to merely pass by and settled into a pattern of sleeping. When he tired of his position he got up and disappeared into the dead of night. Marius lost visual as Bicycle swaggered his way into the vegetation.
Let’s hope we see a bit of female Sabi Sand leopard activity this week – just to keep our leopard sightings in balance!
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