The dead leopard in an earlier picture taken 20/2/2008 ( Note her lower lip and missing upper left canine)
Jackson, Daniel (A guest) and myself with the dead catYesterday morning, was a very sad moment fro the guides in the central Mara region. This is because, one of the key leopards in the area, was found dead, having being killed by another leopard, highly suspected to be olive. The overlap in their territories has resulted in these leopards living in close proximity to each other.
When I heard of the bad news in the morning, I called my friend and colleague on BCL, Jackson Looseyia, who without hesitation, rushed to the scene and I found him there with guides from other camps too. We also allowed guests to come and see as we explained what happened. She died just east of the Mar-Talek junction.
Olive, her daughter Binti and son Kali still roam the Talek river up and down between Mtamaiyo lugga and the Mara-Talek junction. This area saw a good concentration of small herbivores before the wildebeest arrived recently, and that provided a good food resource for the leopards in the area. We attribute the conflict to the overlap in territories and competition for food.
The dead leopard is the mother of one that has been named as Lorian, and is almost a permanent resident of Olkeju-Rongai area. The common feature on her helped us with identity when we found her dead.
When I heard of the bad news in the morning, I called my friend and colleague on BCL, Jackson Looseyia, who without hesitation, rushed to the scene and I found him there with guides from other camps too. We also allowed guests to come and see as we explained what happened. She died just east of the Mar-Talek junction.
Olive, her daughter Binti and son Kali still roam the Talek river up and down between Mtamaiyo lugga and the Mara-Talek junction. This area saw a good concentration of small herbivores before the wildebeest arrived recently, and that provided a good food resource for the leopards in the area. We attribute the conflict to the overlap in territories and competition for food.
The dead leopard is the mother of one that has been named as Lorian, and is almost a permanent resident of Olkeju-Rongai area. The common feature on her helped us with identity when we found her dead.
3 comments:
Paul: that is very sad news.
Will the body be buried so that it can not be scavenged?
Also how old was the leopard and how old is the daughter she
leaves behind?
The body was taken by the park rangers. they will skin it and keep skin in store.
the femlae leopard is thought ot be 8-9 yrs old and the daughter was born in 2005.
Thanks Paul. The loss of ANY of the big cats is sad news indeed. I hope Lorian has the good sense to stay away from the area where her mother was killed. Did Lorian's mother have any younger cubs not yet indedpendent of her?
Thanks also for the update on the sighting of Shakira the cheetah. How old are her cubs? Is Shakira one of Honey's cubs or Kike's?
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