TJOLOLO – THE LEGEND
This morning Tjololo was found on Mala Mala in a really bad way.
His was very lean, his coat looking terrible and had many porcupine quills stuck in his body. A vet was called in and Tjololo was darted. He had quills in his throat his chest and even his paws. Some quills about 5 inches deep in his body. The vet removed these all and cleaned him up, but Tjololo never came round again after antidote was administered.
This was probably the best way for him to go, as he would probably just have continued to suffer in ill health.
I first saw Tjololo in 1999 as a young 4 year old leopard setting up his territory on Mala Mala Game Reserve. It was then I made a film about him, “Stalking Leopards” for National Geographic. I spent 18 months in the field with him following his every movement every day. He became a close friend as this image alone speaks to.
Tjololo had just killed this kudu cow and was dragging it off. I got out the vehicle and lay on the ground to take photos. He could drag the carcass anywhere, but wanted to go where I was lying, and so did just that. He dragged the kudu within touching distance of me and didn’t so much as give me a glance. What a trusting dude.
He was small male leopard but feisty. As time went by Tjololo began to take control of a larger territory encompassing nearly the whole of Mala Mala. On several occasions he came across much bigger males who we thought were REAL dudes and in just about every confrontation the little man came out the victor. And then in time he started trespassing outside Mala Mala still increasing his domain. He RULED!
But in the last 6 months his condition has been seen to deteriorate as he’s been getting on and would now be 12 years old. Not a bad innings for a male leopard.
I left Mala Mala in 2005 in which time I’d made another 2 films, “Predators at War” and “Hyena Queen”, both of which featured Tjololo in numerous sequences.
He also did me really proud when he was the feature of my cover story in the National Geographic Magazine 2001.
He was a very special leopard and I’m just so grateful to have shared so much time with him.
Yes I’m back on Malilangwe. I would like to say my trip was uneventful, but not really the case although it still wasn’t too bad.
Firstly while on the way up I got a call to say Tjololo, the leopard I had made several films about, was dying. He was infested with porcupine quills. A vet was called in to try and help him but it was too late. Just as I got to the border with Zimbabwe I got the call to say he had died.
Then while crossing on the bridge over the Limpopo River I had another experience that could be called a true African experience. I was driving across the bridge. No vehicles in front of me. It’s a narrow 2 lane bridge. The other lane, going in the opposite direction was backed up with trucks. But suddenly up ahead from in between the trucks this old Peugeot, really old and definitely shouldn’t have been on any road, swerved from behind a truck and came straight for me. I couldn’t believe what was going on. What was this guy’s problem? A suicide accident? I had absolutely nowhere to go and he rammed me from the front trashing the bumper on my vehicle. He had NO brakes! Luckily my vehicle was still mechanically sound, except for the lights that were now shining all over the place, and I was able to continue on my journey.
I obviously jumped out my vehicle, gave the guy a few thousand words and left. It was pointless trying to call the police and anyway this guy would never have been able to pay for anything. Also I was in ‘no-mans land’. So was it a South African or a Zimbabwean problem?
The elephant bulls took to the water a few days ago, even in the drizzle. The cows and calves drank but didn’t venture in to join them. Like beached whales the bulls sank and floated in the depths of Malilangwe dam for at least an hour. It looked like a synchronized swimming symphony. Well not much was in time.
13th November 2000
Up to an early start with a stunning almost full moon setting, we headed north.
We were lucky to find Tjololo at sunrise on the move. He was in the very north of his territory. With the morning still cool he was hunting. Resting briefly on an anthill, 2 subadult male waterbuck walked past. He showed a huge amount of interest, or was it just a pose?, but then let them continue by.
As the morning warmed up he took to the shade and we left him.
We noticed he had a rather swollen left cheek. It was almost the size of a baseball. We’re not sure what could have caused this, possibly a snake bite, but will keep tabs on it. It doesn’t seem to worry him at all.
The day proved to be a scorcher with the temperature already into the 30’s by 10 o’clock. As we pulled into camp the cumulonimbus clouds were already building to the west.
The dark clouds were over us as we left camp in the afternoon and shortly another thunderstorm struck. We managed to sit it out undercover for the hour that it lasted as it headed north dropping a huge load over the rest of Mala Mala. The rest of the afternoon was clear and we slipped and slid our way along the roads until sunset.
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