table to show time spent in the field compared to … erindi newsletter8 nov. dec 2008.pdf2008 0 50...

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECT

Natasha de WoroninNatasha de WoroninNatasha de WoroninNatasha de Woronin http://www.globalleopard.com

[email protected]

NOVEMBER/DECEMBERNOVEMBER/DECEMBERNOVEMBER/DECEMBERNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008200820082008

TTHHEE EENNDD OOFF 22000088

2008 has been a phenomenal year for the Global Leopard Project at Erindi and it has been

incredibly interesting to put some of the data recorded during the year into graphic representation.

A total of 6 leopards were captured and fitted with radio tracking collars with a capture effort of 345

hours and 55minutes of setting of traps over 68 nights during the year. This gives an average of 1

leopard captured every 10 nights of capture effort. Also included in the project are 4 cubs, 3 of

which are directly observed almost daily. 1 937 hours and 11 minutes in total were spent in the field

locating and recording data on the leopards that became part of the project and of this time 407

hours and 39 minutes were spent gathering data by direct observation of the 10 leopards that have

become part of the project. This is phenomenal news as the MunYaWana Leopard Project by

comparison took approximately 5 years to gather 500 hours of observational data (WildWatch

Annual Vol 2, 2007)!

TABLE TO SHOW TIME SPENT IN THE FIELD

COMPARED TO ACTUAL OBSERVATION TIME OF

THE ERINDI LEOPARDS.

2008

0

50

100

150

200

250

Dec

-07

Jan-

08

Feb-0

8

Mar

-08

Apr

-08

May

-08

Jun-

08

Jul-0

8

Aug

-08

Sep

-08

Oct

-08

Nov

-08

Dec

-08

Month

Tim

e (

Ho

urs

)

Field Work Time

Observation Time

TABLE 1: Table to show the number of hours spent in the field locating leopards compared to the

time spent gathering data by actually viewing their natural behaviour.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECTGLOBAL LEOPARD PROJECT PULSE AFRICPULSE AFRICPULSE AFRICPULSE AFRICAAAA ERINDI GAME RESERVE ERINDI GAME RESERVE ERINDI GAME RESERVE ERINDI GAME RESERVE

Natasha de WoroninNatasha de WoroninNatasha de WoroninNatasha de Woronin P.O. Box 40551, Ausspannplatz, http://www.globalleopard.com http://www.pulseafrica.co.za Windhoek, Namibia

[email protected] http://www.erindi.com

+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 2 [email protected]

A table 1 show that when the leopard project began in late 2007, a great deal of time was spent in

the field but very little of this time was spent actually observing the cats. Towards the end of 2008,

far more of the field time was spent gathering information by direct observations as the leopards

had become more accustomed to the research vehicle.

During early 2008 there were no attempts to show the leopards to the guests at Erindi but over the

last 4 months of the year when a few of the leopards appeared ready for viewing we began with

special leopard research trips. This paved the way for getting game drive vehicles in to see the

leopards and over a 4 month period, more than 84 visitors to Erindi had spectacular viewing of the

cats! 87% of the guests that we tried to show the leopards to had incredible viewing of these

accepting leopards!

A total of 819 location points were taken on the leopards during the year and FIGURE 2 below

shows the number of locations points taken of each individual leopard. F05, M03 and M04 were

cubs less than 1 year of age that were counted together with their mother’s in 2008. From January

2009 these youngsters will be documented separately. F02 was located more often than the other

leopards as she was captured early in the project and has been a prime candidate for habituation.

F04 was the last leopard fitted with a tracking device but has also proven to be an excellent

candidate for habituation meaning that more locations are taken on her daily than on the other cats.

F01 F02 F03 F04 F05 M01 M02 M03 M04

PROPORTION OF

LOCATIONS

144

329

84 780

100 780 6

LEOPARD

NUMBER OF LOCATIONS TAKEN OF

LEOPARDS IN PROPORTION

2008

FIGURE 2: Table showing the number of location points taken of each leopard in 2008.

During the year the leopards were located with 30 kills of varying prey species. Most of the kills

recorded were made by F02 and F04. This is due to the fact that these 2 females have accepted the

research vehicles into their secret worlds and they do not move away when the vehicle approaches.

Interestingly, both these leopards have shown preference to very different prey. F02 has been noted

to be a “specialist” in killing springbuck (32%) and young oryx (23%). F04 appears to be a warthog

“specialist” as the species makes up over 60% of her kills recorded.




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 3 [email protected]

PROPORTIONS OF EACH PREY SPECIES

KILLED BY LEOPARD AT ERINDI: 2008

28%

20%

13%

10%

10%

7%

3%

3%

3%3%

SPRINGBUCK

ORYX

BLUE WILDEBEEST

KUDU

WARTHOG

OSTRICH

RED HARTEBEEST

DUIKER

JACKAL

ROCK HYRAX

FIGURE 3: Pie chart showing prey species killed by the leopards during 2008 shown in accurate

proportions.

FIGURE 3 shows the prey species killed by all the leopards during 2008 and FIGURE 4 indicates

the proportion of kills recorded that were made by each of the individual leopards of the project.

PIE TO SHOW THE PROPORTION OF KILLS FOUND

THAT WERE MADE BY EACH INDIVIDUAL

LEOPARD

6%

69%

6%

16%

0%

3%

F01

F02

F03

F04

M01

M02

M03

M04

FIGURE 4: The proportion of kills found that were made by the individual leopards.

Due to the fact that we were able to partially habituate F02 we manage to find most of the kills that

she makes. F01 has been part of the project for a longer period of time but she can only be followed

on foot and thus only a few of her kills have been located.




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 4 [email protected]

FIGURE 5: Map showing the areas that each of the project leopards ranges.

The map in FIGURE 5 shows each leopard’s territory or home range. All of the female leopards

hold definite defended territories. Jakkals Draai Male also holds a territory but Ger Male has been

noted to range large areas and he has never displayed any territorial behaviour as yet. Signs and

sightings of larger males in he same area as Ger Male combined with his young age indicate that

this young dispersal leopard still needs to establish a territory of his own.

“Internat“Internat“Internat“Internationalize the plight of the Leopard”ionalize the plight of the Leopard”ionalize the plight of the Leopard”ionalize the plight of the Leopard”

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FFFFFFFF0000000011111111:::::::: MMMMMMMMIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTT FFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE Microlight Female is still keeping her cub very carefully hidden. She shows absolutely no

aggression towards being approached on foot and early one morning she was with the cub on the

southern side of a drainage line. I approached on the northern side and she allowed me to get

incredibly close before she gave a call for the cub and both leopards moved away. Perhaps with

extra time and effort we will get more regular viewing of this female and her youngster while

approaching on foot.




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 5 [email protected]

FFFFFFFF0000000022222222:::::::: PPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM TTTTTTTTRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE ((((((((TTTTTTTTAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH)))))))) &&&&&&&& TTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEE 22222222 CCCCCCCCUUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBSSSSSSSS For the first time in a long time Phantom Tree Female (Tash) and both the cubs were located

altogether. Phantom killed a young oryx and the young female fed ravenously when her mother led

her to the carcass. She was looking rather thin and it was noted that both the male and female cub

had grown very little since October. Phantom Tree Female was struggling to make successful kills.

To add to this challenge, the lion pride with 4 cubs moved into her territory during November and

they managed to thieve numerous hard earned kills from Phantom Tree Female. Late on a rainy

afternoon she seemed to lead the cubs away from a kill before she returned to the meal to eat as

much as possible as quickly as she could. Before her stomach was full she heard something and she

elegantly bounded off into the long grass. Just a second later the entire lion pride arrived to claim

her hard earned oryx carcass!

Phantom Tree Female with a freshly killed juvenile oryx. In early December she was followed while she pursued a herd of oryx with young. She kept close to

the group as they headed into thick bush and a moment later chaos erupted…the oryx alarmed and

exploded out of the trees. As I rounded an Acacia shrub with the vehicle and there was the leopard

among thorns in a tree barely large enough to hold her weight! It seemed that the oryx had won the

battle and the leopard had escaped their sharp horns by tackling a thorn tree instead!

By mid December, Phantom Tree

Female was back on top of the hunting

game and she was located on numerous

kills including juvenile gemsbuck and

an adult male ostrich! Within a short

period of time, the cubs were looking

far stronger and healthier and they even

began to attempt hunting on their own.

Both youngsters attempted to subdue a

small spotted genet late one night but

the little viverrid was far smarter!




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 6 [email protected]

The genet hid in the centre of a fallen tree and the cubs surrounded the thicket from both sides.

When the male cub looked away for a second, the genet saw the gap and leapt away. The cubs did

not see the genet leave and 15minutes later they were still searching for any sign of their potential

prey!

Phantom Young Male “claiming” the adult male ostrich that his mother killed.

FFFFFFFF0000000033333333:::::::: GGGGGGGGUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAA FFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE Although there have been no sightings of Guinea Female due to her behaviour of mountain

dwelling, regular locations are taken of her position and an excellent pattern of her territory has

emerged. FFFFFFFF0000000044444444:::::::: XXXXXXXXIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNAAAAAAAA FFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE &&&&&&&& CCCCCCCCUUUUUUUUBBBBBBBB After a few months of getting to know this beautiful leopard, she adopted the name “Xinkovanyana

Female”. Xinkovanyana is a Shangaan word meaning dry river bed as this leopard spends 90% of

her time in the sandy rivers that only flow occasionally on the southern reaches of the reserve. She

has become an incredible viewing leopard in a very short period of time and although she is shy of

game drive vehicles, during leopard research trips she has been photographed by people from Israel,

London and America already!

Xinkovanyana Female has been named “Yana Female” by the Erindi team.




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 7 [email protected]

Yana Female was located on numerous kills during November and December and more than 60%

of these have been warthog. This is the first time that I have ever encountered a female leopard that

selects adult warthog as her main prey. In time we will try and find out whether this is because she

has a special tactic for capturing this difficult prey species or if they are simply the most abundant

species in her territory.

Yana Female’s male youngster.

Yana Female’s male cub has been the most accepting leopard of the vehicles on the project. He

allows game drives to approach to 30m in day light hours and from time to time we wonder if the

leopard is watching the guests more closely than the guests are watching him!

The young male was left by his mother after a kill and when she found him a few days later he

appeared to have made his own kill. He had a blue wildebeest calf that he certainly did not want to

share! Yana Female has not been noted to hoist a single kill as yet but the young male spent a great

deal of time hoisting his wildebeest in numerous trees until it was high out of reach of any

scavengers. The question has thus arisen: what made him attempt to hoist his kill if has never learnt

this behaviour? MMMMMMMM0000000011111111:::::::: GGGGGGGGEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRHHHHHHHH MMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE Ger Male was noted to get into a fight with a male leopard that was much larger than him was. For

almost 4 months he remained on Gert Schwarting’s farm and he did not appear to return to Erindi at

all during this time. It was wonderful to find him back on the koppie close to where he was seen for

the first time during November and December. We are still working towards acquiring a satellite

collar for this youngster as he could roam very far before he finally establishes a territory of his own

in a few years time.

MMMMMMMM0000000022222222:::::::: JJJJJJJJAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLSSSSSSSS DDDDDDDDRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII MMMMMMMMAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE Jakkals Draai Male continues to extend his territorial boundary north into the far mountain ranges

of Erindi. As with Guinea Female he has not been viewed but we carefully monitor his movements

as regularly as we can. UUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDD LLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDSSSSSSSS In early November while we were searching for Ger Male on Gert Schwarting’s farm, G.P spotted

an adult female leopard with a youngster no more than 60m from the vehicle. At that point both

leopards moved away up a koppie and there they sat watching us for almost 2 hours!




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 8 [email protected]

A female leopard and her cub that were spotted on Gert Schwarting’s farm.

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� Erindi Game Reserve: Home of the project and the leopards.

� Catchco Africa Dr Douw Grobler: Capture & training.

OOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG SSSSSSSSPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS:::::::: OOOOOOOOnnnnnnnnggggggggooooooooiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg ffffffffuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnddddddddiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg

� Erindi Game Reserve: Accommodation, meals, capture and tracking equipment,

vehicle and fuel.

� Pulse Africa: A contribution from every booking made with Pulse Africa is put

towards the GLP.

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� Florissa Keisel: 2007




+ 264 (0)81 355 5728 9 [email protected]

GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD GGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEE SSSSSSSSPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS:::::::: NNNNNNNN$$$$$$$$ 3333333300000000 000000000000000000000000--------0000000000000000++++++++

� Vlasta and Keith Ross-Jones: 2006

� Rick and Lindy Dekker: 2007

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� Dr Andrzej Jandziol & Dr Beverley Lewis: 2008

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table to show time spent in the field compared to … erindi newsletter8 nov. dec 2008.pdf2008 0 50...

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