Relocation Update
Glen Vena, Born Free’s Animal Care Manager at Shamwari reports on the progress of Roxanni, Rhea and Leda - "the Limassol leopards".
12.6.09
Roxanni - I was lucky enough to see Roxanni sitting on the shelter in her hospital camp, as Sidney told me she had been doing for the past few days. She looked so relaxed! I managed to take some pictures with my mobile phone’s camera. They are not the best quality but you can see how relaxed she is, and how close she lets me get to her. She will actually come right up to the fence and look at you.
Rhea – she is still nervous around people and when I went to take some pictures of her she charged the fence so I backed off and gave her some space. She went to the middle of her enclosure and started grooming herself, but keeping an eye on me at all times. Sidney, who has been helping feed her, says she is not aggressive at all when she is fed, but takes the food and runs into her shelter and they can hear contented leopard talk coming from inside, as she tucks into her meat. Perhaps she thought the camera was a dart gun, or was unnerved because she couldn’t see my face, and that’s why she charged me.
Leda – she also enjoys her food, but is still nervous too, and during the day stays in the little ‘cave’ she has made for herself in the bush. She eats there and sleeps there. However, she seems to be more active in the evenings as the next day there is a lot of ‘spoor’ (tracks) next to the sliding gate that separates her from Roxanni.
13.6.09 - Leda has emerged from her bush at last! I managed to get a pic of her with my mobile phone camera. Dr Murray Stokoe, our vet, thinks the time has come to allow them into the main enclosure, now we are confident they are eating well. We set Friday for the day of the release.
19.6.09 2.00pm - Rhea and Roxanni were lying alongside each other, separated by the fence in their hospital camps, so we decided to release them first. The gates to the outside were opened, and the gates between the two camps were opened. The first thing Roxanni and Rhea did was to swap camps! A few minutes later they met up and growled at each other, and then lay about two metres apart, and continued to growl at each other. Roxanni seemed the most dominant of the two, although in Limassol Zoo, she was the one being bullied by her mother and sister. Then Rhea went outside, and lay outside Leda’s camp, and growled at her mother.
Roxanni ventured out next but unfortunately she went straight up to the perimeter fence, which is electrified, and got a shock. Poor Roxanni dashed straight back into the security of her hospital camp and there she remained. Rhea remained outside, close by her mother and her sister. We decided to leave them alone. Maybe Roxanni will choose to go out in the main camp under cover of darkness, and will meet up with her sister. If all goes well, we will let Leda out too.
20.6.09 – 8.00am - we find Rhea and Roxanni lying outside their mum’s hospital camp. As soon as the sisters saw us, they both retreated into their own hospital camps: Rhea in what was Roxanni’s section; Roxanni into Rhea’s. At 9.30am I decided to feed them as they hadn’t eaten yesterday, and threw meat into each camp which they all devoured eagerly.
This afternoon we opened the door of Leda’s camp so she too could go out into the main enclosure if she wished. She didn’t wish; none of them did. All three remained in their individual hospital camps. It is good though, that they see these camps as secure places / places of food, as, once they get out into the main enclosure they can disappear from view if they wish, and we need them to know these small camps mean food and safety.
However, an hour later, Leda emerges. And she is so confident! Unlike her daughters on their release she gets straight on with exploring the whole enclosure. She didn’t even seem to mind Martin and I walking alongside her, outside the fence. I took a picture of her on my mobile. Look at her! Tail erect, totally sure of herself. Good to see. Rhea and Roxanni are outside in the main enclosure too, but remaining by their hospital camps.
- Leda, confidently exploring after her release into the main camp
Later that evening, Roxanni and Rhea are seen sleeping in front of the visitor’s viewing decks, out in the open, and Leda is resting 10-15 metres away.
25.6.09 – Leda and Kuma, our male leopard in the next door, enclosure, have been seen looking at each other. They are by the big metal gates which give each a good view into each other’s enclosure. Leda is quite confident, and is often seen by the guests out in the open. We have not seen Roxanni and Rhea have any contact with their mum though, and they are rarely seen by the guests. Martin, who is based at the Jean Byrd Centre, says he sees the sisters hanging around with each other in a friendly fashion. We are now feeding three times a week, on 2kg red meat each, and we are trying to encourage them into their hospital camps to feed. Leda doesn’t seem keen to go in but the sisters seem happy to go in together after their meat. Rhea is fed first; she takes hers into an adjoining hosp camp and is shut in there, then Roxanni is fed.
3.8.09 – All three leopards are doing well. Leda has found a favourite place: a wooden shelter at the top of the slope in their main enclosure. She likes lying on top of it, not in it, but usually, as soon as she sees you coming, she jumps down from there and lies in the bushes. She still finds Kuma very interesting, and will look at him, sitting up straight, ears forward, tail swishing, but not scared of him. He is interested in all three females, but he is not pacing, wanting to get at them, so that is good.
Rhea is still a bit nervous of people, but Roxanni is okay. They don’t show much interest in their mum, or she in them, but they are very affectionate with each other and seem to enjoy each other’s company. They have been seen on the ‘jungle gym’s’ as we call them, but if they see anyone approaching they jump down, so we haven’t got a picture of this yet.
It is still a lengthy procedure getting Leda into the hosp camp for feeding, but we are persevering. She seems to prefer Roxanni’s old camp; the sisters don’t mind which camp they use. All in all they have settled in really well though, and we haven’t seen any aggression between them.
How you can help
The leopards still need your support for their care at Shamwari - please help by calling Born Free on 01403 240170 or you can donate online here >
or by becoming a Born Free Champion when you buy one of these stylish T-shirts (as worn by Lauren St John below).
- Lauren St John and big cat rescue expert Tony Wiles with one of the leopards before the move
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