The Northern Tuli Predator project has now finally begun. With the incorporation of lions as a major research species, the Northern Tuli Leopard project, formally run by Villiers Steyn, has now been altered. The research study will be two-fold: looking into the socio-ecology and population dynamics of the lion population; and focusing on the movements and behaviour of the leopard population of Northern Tuli Game Reserve. For the beginning stage of this leopard project, four VHF radio collars were made available by Mashatu Game Reserve (3) and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) (1). The intention is to radio collar 3 adult male leopards and 1 adult female. Thus far two adult male leopards have been captured and collared.

On the 7th of July a big male leopard, that is suspected to have killed three collared females, was captured. He was caught in a cage trap just behind the Majale Cocktail Spot after only 3 days of baiting. With the help of Pete and David le Roux he was darted and fitted with a VHF radio collar. The male, now named Mathata (Problem), weighed in at 63 kg and looked to be around 7-9 years of age. It’s not known why male leopards would kill and eat their own species, especially adult females that could be a potential mate, so the idea is to monitor his movements on a daily basis to determine his home range and to collect as much information as possible on this accused ‘lady killer’.

On the 10 th of July another big male leopard was caught on the old M1 crossing of the Matabole. Rangers saw this male early in the morning on a warthog kill. The cage was brought in during midday and the male’s warthog kill was then placed inside. By 21h00 the male was caught. With the assistance of Jo, Jeanetta, Paul and Malapisane, the male was darted and also fitted with a VHF radio collar. He weighed in at a staggering 76 kg and was in excellent condition. He is estimated to be approximately 4 years of age.

Andrei Snyman