TJOLOLO – THE LEGEND
 

Famous leopard at Mala Mala has passed away. He was quite the 'Dude'.

Read Kim Wolhuter's comments on his website. Kim did a film on Tjololo a few years back "Stalking Leopards" following "TJ" in the Mala Mala Reserve.

I know we should not name wild animals, but Tjololo was certainly a celebrity and will be missed.

Rest in Peace Tjololo!

http://www.wildcast.net/

I am sad to read that he is gone and I won't have the chance to see him in person next year. I had no idea porcupine's quills were so deadly. Thanks for the post Dana, that looks like an interesting website that I will check out later.

RIP Tjololo.

I'm sorry to hear he's gone. I so enjoyed watching him in 2001. The leopards of MM are usually given names according to their territories. His official name was the Rock Drift Male, but Wolhuter gave him the name "Tjololo" for the film. In addition to the film, he was on the cover of National Geographic and featured in an article by Wolhuter. I believe it was the Oct 2001 issue.

RIP Tjololo! You gave so many of us such pleasure.

Porcupine quills are deadly if other than a stick on the surface. If 5" into a body, as article mentions, would be painful and do quite a bit of damage to body organs.

That is sad, I had the opportunity to see him on a number of occasions over the years and will remember his character fondly. He will always be remembered because a beautiful picture taken by Kim Wolhuter has pride of place in the Rattrays bar.

Just received an email from Mala Mala about his death.

"Tom Bloy, the Manager of MalaMala, traveled to inspect the animal and confirmed the animal's condition was not good. Michael Rattray, the owner of MalaMala who is not disposed to intervening in nature, irrespective of the circumstances, was moved by the state of Tjololo and requested the Kruger National Parks Veterinary Services to assist. "

You can read the rest online.

No news on the MM website, just some of his past history:

http://www.malamala.tv/LEOP_rockdrif.htm

Been reading and learning more about porcupines this am.

I also got the e-mail. If you didn't get it, Carla, I could forward it to you.

sorry to hear ......

This weeks Mala Mala cyberdiary has Tjololo's final photos & short story on Nov 13th. So very sad to see. Those porcupine quills are bigger than I imagined.

http://www.malamala.tv/diary.htm

Sad, I had never seen him in real life but new about him well. He was quite a TV star and a survivor, surprises me he finally got done by a porcupine!

Nobody does a wildlife cyberdiary like Mala Mala, not even close.

regards - tom

Also received email about this tragedy a couple of weeks ago. We actually saw a young leopard who encountered a porcupine at night back in May 2007. I posted a small video clip of the encounter.

It was my thought that the age of this older male leopard and ill health was primary factor is in his death as well as the infection caused by the porcupine quill.

-GrannyJoan

PS Has Kaye left for Mala Mala yet? Wish I was at Mala Mala for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hi GrannyJoan

No yet - we leave home Saturday 15 December pm and I will be gameviewing Sunday 16 December pm and I cannot wait - 3 weeks from this Sunday. MM's gameviewing has been fantastic and I cannot wait!!!

Kind regards

Kaye

Kaye,

I will be thinking of you during that time period and know that you will be having a marvelous holiday at Mala Mala. Have a safe and fantastic safari!

-GrannyJoan

Thanks GrannyJoan,

I know that we shall have a fantastic time!

Kind regards

Kaye

Hi Kaye,

Just about two weeks to go for your trip - not long!

Sorry, if i've asked you this question before - what time does the AM drive start i.e.,summer schedule?

Thanks
Hari

Hi Hari

I leave 3 weeks today! I believe you meet for coffee/tea at 6am after a 5.30am wake-up, so for me, gameviewing at 6.01am!

Kind regards

Kaye

Another tribute to Tjololo:

http://www.malamala.tv/tjololo.htm


Kaye....I am very excited for you to be able to spend the holidays in South Africa! So far, so good for the cubbies :D

Hi Kaye,

Not too long, i guess...

Thanks - 6am sounds good .....

Rgds
Hari

Hi Carla

Yes, I am keeping up to date with all the cubs - the last cubs I saw of the Eyrefield Pride was in May 2003 and in the Styx Pride it was June 2004 - so a very long time, so am really hoping all of these cubs make it to adulthood!

Also really hoping to see the cubs of the Campbell Koppies Female and of the Ngoboswan Female! And would love to see those Black-backed Jackal pups again!

I have seen the Rock Drift Male on seven visits - obviously on some visits multiple times. The last time was January 2007. I don't like seeing them in a really poor condition as it is so heartbreaking! It is sad when any anything dies, and it's sad that I will not see him again. The way of the wild I guess!

I am really looking forward to my trip in December and wonder every hour what new and exciting sightings I will get to see this time!

Kind regards

Kaye

I was just at Mala Mala last month with the most fantastic animal sightings everyday. Including the nine Eyrefield cubs-but the best picture may be the accidental one in the bar at Rattray's. The photo of Tjololo is in the picture, so thank you to whomever made the comment that was the photo of such a beautiful cat. I will treasure the photo of the "bar"-by the way, Michael will not be at the bar any longer as he is going home to care for his wife.

Hi Shellcat

It shall be a different Rattray's without Michael in attendance! I shall be there at the end of December and it will be a hard spot to fill!

I am beside myself with excitement over what I shall be seeing in my time at MalaMala! Certainly the cubs of the Eyrefield Pride and the Styx Pride would be a highlight!

Kind regards

Kaye

Kaye-

You are so lucky, I wish I were going back at Christmas. The Eyrefield cubs kept me captivated for weeks before I went mid-October. The one cub that went missing was found just the week prior my arrival, and if I only saw them once, my trip would be complete. No worries, Carl and Colin found the pride of lions in the first thirty minutes of my first game drive. Give them both my regards when you see them.

Please let me know how the cubs are when you come back! Also-I will post Micheal's address so people can send him their good wishes. I have NapaMatt to thank for this new friend as he suggested I request his favorite drink upon arrival. Michael was so pleased.

Mala Mala is such a special place.

Enjoy, I know you will.

Hi ShellCat

Yes, I know I am very lucky! We will be at MalaMala for 25 nights, so my sightings will be incredible -they always are! I will never see everything but I am willing to give it my best shot!

I also love being at MalaMala, and I don't go anywhere else now, as I have been to quite a few places and I am never as happy anywhere else as I am at MalaMala for lots of reasons, but ultimately it comes down to gameviewing as super luxurious rooms and 6 star dining is something I can do at home, do not need to spend 30 odd hours flying and in transit lounges.

So yes I am really really looking forward to being at MM in December!

Kind regards

Kaye

shall try and let you know about the cubs when I have seen them over there.

Kaye-

Should you want to drop Michael a note, his new email is: [email protected]

He is the maitré'd at The Royal Grill-and the website there is www.theroyal.co.za

25 days, that would be so incredible. Again, I will look forward to your trip report at the end of January.

Kaye, just read the latest MM cyberdiary and am so thrilled for you. Can you say... cubs, cubs and more cubs! I can only hope that you will be reporting "Live" from MM like your last trip ;)

I saw a recent photo of the Rollercoaster Male lion and he didn't look good but on the diary photo he looks much better (leg was healing) . I really do want to catch a glimpse of him next year and hope he hangs in there.

Hi ShellCat

Thank-you for the email address for Michael. I would like to send him a note.

Hi Carla

Just raced through the cyberdiary, shall read more thoroughly when I return from my dog walk! The cubs of the Eyrefield Pride are looking so much bigger, which is great!

I am sure I shall be able to get in a few "reports".

Kind regards

Kaye

What's the difference between this unfortunate event and the one in Kenya with 'Honey'? By that I mean why all the criticism for KWS and none for their SA equivalents?

>What's the difference between this >unfortunate event and the one in >Kenya with 'Honey'? By that I mean >why all the criticism for KWS and >none for their SA equivalents?

Because Honey was young, healthy, and only anesthetized because of her cub, while Tjololo was going to die there on the road anyway if they didn't try to fix him up. The unfortunate event here is that he was about to die - you can't really say it was caused by the anasthesia, unlike Honey.

nancy

Hi Tanky

I hadn't read anything about Honey, so did a search. Certainly, it was long and he said, she said type of stuff so did not read in detail but it seemed to me, it was due to lack of information given and the huge amount of time that lapsed before information was given that got the KWS into their situation. The giver of information regarding the Rock Drift Male was given in a very timely fashion, and with all the facts we needed to know!

Kind regards

Kaye

I don't doubt that KWS and the MM\SA Parks authority acted in the best of interest of the animals. That's in no doubt, in my opinion.

What I don't understand is the amount of vitriol directed at KWS in the Honey thread versus the total lack of it in this case.

Both animals were 'named', both were TV 'stars' (there was a direct criticism of Big Cat diary and the Kenyan lodges for this) and both died under anesthetic.

Sorry, wildcatzoo but you don't know that 'Tjololo' would have died and that 'Honey' would have survived.

Some of the posters in the 'Honey' thread stated that there should be no intervention...where are these posters now?

Hi Tanky,

The Kruger Park vets in attendance on the Rock Drift Male certainly indicated through a general email sent by MalaMala that his condition was very poor and the infection was very advanced - so I do not think it is far fetched to say he would have died sooner rather than later, especially as it took the vets around 5 hours to see him and he had not moved.

While I understood nothing to be wrong with Honey, they were trying to solve an issue with one of her cubs so the chances seem to be that she would have survived though maybe not all the cubs!

Kind regards

Kaye