Allusive at best, our young leopard the Dam 3 female, was seen mating with Dawane this morning along the Sand River. Aptly named for being territorial around Ulusaba's Dam 3, it was the best view we have had of this female in a long time, although the fact that she was mating puts rest to our queries as to whether or not her other young cubs had survived, of whom we haven't seen for some time.
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| Dam 3 female (standing) circling Dawane, who had little interest in mating |
Infant mortality in leopards is generally high; only 40% of cubs are thought to make it to independence. In the case of a lost litter, the female comes back into oestrus and is ready once again to mate. Dam 3's choice of male was a good one; Dawane is one of our prominent and resident male leopards, and at 7 years old, is in his prime. With a territory of over 89km², mating with him should help improve her cubs survival, as a stable male territory will reduce infanticide by other visiting male leopards.
The interaction this morning was an exciting one to watch, with Dawane sporting an obvious shoulder injury and thus seemingly being far from interested in mating. Dam 3's persistent following and flirting paid off periodically however, awarding us displays of violent yet impressive bouts of copulation. Coupled with intense growling, snarling and painful paw swats and bites, we watched in awe and with fascination, hoping all the effort and pain pays off with a new litter soon for our little lady. Watch this space!
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| Dawane telling Dam 3 to go away |
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| Cheeky lady....she even climbed on top of him to get his attention... |
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| ....and he eventually gave her what she wanted! |
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| Mating is a violent affair....the male bites down on the female to keep her still |
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| Lots of growling and hissing |
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| The end of copulation brawl |
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| Collective growling and hissing...this is one of my favourite pics |
