The Life of a Young Male Leopard in a New Area
on Oct 17, 2023Over the last couple of months, all rangers and guests have been treated with very special sightings of the young male leopard, Makumu, that has been occupying the Southern section of Sabi Sabi.
This male is only around 2 and a half years old and is originally from much further northwest of our reserve. He has made his way down South most likely due to the high population of leopards in a certain area. After seeing this male for the first time on our reserve he caused great excitement around rangers, hoping he would stick around to one day call the Southern section of Sabi Sabi home.
Makumu, meaning ‘The End’ is a Xitsonga word, one of the African languages used around us. He got his name because of the low survival rate of leopard cubs, and he was a survivor from his litter, which was his mom’s last litter. Since then, his mom has unfortunately passed away and he is the end of their little family tree. His mom was the Tlangisa female from the Western sector of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin where she was often seen, but vanished around January of this year, 2023. He has a sister who is known as Mahetelelo, who is currently still around in the same area their mom has passed on. Makumu made his way further South when he became independent.
With young males moving into a new area, it is always a struggle for them. Not knowing the area very well, the density of other leopards, the best hunting grounds, and where the prominent water sources are. But this male seems to be doing very well so far over the last few months. With the Southern sector of Sabi Sabi not having a dominant and territorial male at the moment, this space is wide open for new males, like Makumu, but it doesn’t come without a fight. Areas like this are often seen as a grey zone, where multiple young males and even sometimes old males that have been kicked out of their territory will move in to stay out of harm’s way. These are the kinds of things individual young males like Makumu, trying to take over a certain area will have to face and stand their ground.
For the first couple of months, Makumu kept a low profile, not vocalising or scent marking at all, and he got to know the area very well. By now he knows this area inside out, which he will use to his advantage if he ever runs into trouble that is too big or strong for him to face. Not attracting any unwanted attention to himself, was exactly what he was trying to do as he was basically studying the area.
Recently, Makumu had an intense encounter with a female close to our private airstrip, where he was chasing her off into the bush and looking very confident in the area. He later became very vocal as this was the first time I ever heard him rasping and saw him scent marking the entire area as he was moving off after he defeated the female.
With female and male leopards being territorial, it is always difficult to understand how their whole system works. Males often have much larger territories, whereas females will have smaller territories. Usually, one male will have multiple female territories within his larger territory.
Over the last 5 to 6 months, we have seen this young male growing stronger and stronger in every sighting to become the male he is today. So far, he hasn’t had it easy, but he is about to face even tougher challenges. As soon as his scent starts getting dominant in the area and he starts vocalising to mark his territory, he can attract potential rival males who might have the same goal in sight as himself. Only time will tell what exactly is going to happen and if Makumu will become the dominant male of the Southern sector of our reserve.
The only big male that currently poses a threat would be Mawelawela, as he occupies the North-Western sector of Sabi Sabi and often comes into the Southern section for a couple of days before heading on again. It is going to be interesting to see how this male reacts to the scents of another male in the area and even more so if they run into each other. At the moment Makumu still has a lot of growing to go through as he is not fully mature yet, but with the confidence boosts he is experiencing now, his testosterone levels in his body will start rising and he will start picking up body weight and muscle very quickly, hopefully getting him ready to actively defend this area in the next year or two.
Personally, Makumu is one of my favourite leopards to have around and spend time with. He is incredibly calm and relaxed, showing that as a cub he was treated very well and not over-pressurised by vehicles or humans. He is also a great pleasure to track on foot, as it is always a difficult task, as he is still so young and covers a lot of ground, trying not to spend too much time in the same area. But once you find an animal like this on foot, he often just watches you walk by, sometimes giving a soft growl letting you know he is close by. This feeling of finding a leopard on foot is a feeling that no ranger and tracker team can beat.
Leopards only reach full maturity at around 3 to 4 years of age, but males will continue to pick up in muscle weight for months after this. Their testosterone levels play a vital role as this hormone is the prime substance for their growth. Makumu has grown significantly over the last couple of months which is all caused by this. Testosterone levels will increase with every confidence boost that he gets which will lead to him getting stronger and closer to his end goal, of becoming the dominant male of the Southern section of Sabi Sabi.
Other than leopards, lion distributions and their populations in a certain area also play a massive role as there is always interspecific competition between these cats, competing for the same things, food and territory. Luckily for Makumu, the Southern Pride is the only territorial pride in this area with other lion prides occasionally moving through the area. With him having spent a fair amount of time he will know the areas to avoid and where he as a leopard will flourish, which will count in his favour. Leopards try to avoid areas where the lion density is very high as they know they will run into trouble sooner or later and know that every distress call of a prey animal they are taking down will attract unwanted attention from any lions close by.
We are hoping that all favours count on Makumu’s side and that he will be successful in taking over this area as his new home and maybe one day have offspring in the area and become the male he wants to be. He is definitely doing a good job so far.
Even though his name means ‘The End’, hopefully, this is NOT the end of his bloodline and we are holding thumbs that he will carry his genetics over to the next generation of leopards around Sabi Sabi.
Blog by Ruan Mey (Earth Lodge Ranger)
