May 24 - Leopard!

Went for lunch. Monkeys were jumping on the tables in one of the adjacent rooms. Hippos were on the shore of the pond opposite the dining room. And I saw a buffalo on my way back to my room. Wildlife is everywhere in South Africa.

We headed back out with Tony and Michael at 3:00 p.m., hoping that the warm, still conditions would nudge some wildlife out of the vegetation. In just a few minutes, a few lucky people got to see a black mamba (giant snake) on the road and then slither up a tree. Some of the ladies had seen a black mamba when we were on the big bus that rescued us when our van broke down.

Then, in very short order, we saw buffalo, giraffes, green caterpillars, warthogs, more giraffes, zebra, lots of impala, monkeys, and an elephant. We stopped for one last sundowner. The light was fading, and we pretty much gave up hope of seeing a leopard.

With less than an hour of time left, we set out for one last hunt of the leopard. Tony and Michael were seeing lots of lion and leopard tracks, so they were hopeful. Michael was in constant communication with the drivers of the other vehicles. Then, about 6:45 p.m., a call of a visual sighting of a leopard came through. Michael went off road almost immediately as we responded quickly to his calls for us to get down, get down! We learned later that he location was just 150 meters from where we had stopped for our sundowner.

And there she was – a magnificent female leopard with steely eyes. She seemed unperturbed by the presence of machines and people. Michael, best driver and tracker ever, managed to position us the closest to the leopard. We all turned to congratulate ourselves on completing our Big Five count as she moved away.

Then all of a sudden, there was a flash of movement and some commotion. The leopard had taken down an impala. Incredible!! Michael moved the vehicle to within a few metres. The leopard had the impala’s neck in her mouth. She sat there patiently with one paw on the impala’s body, waiting to feel the heartbeat disappear. The impala’s legs flailed once or twice, and then nothing. It was dead.

The leopard started to gnaw on the impala’s back end where the most tender meat is found. She deserved a treat for such a good kill. And then more excitement – a hyena and two lions started circling. They had smelled the fresh kill and were looking to get at the carcass.

After surveying the situation (by now 4-5 safari trucks were almost surrounding her), she swiftly grabbed the impala and scrambled straight up an Amarula tree. A leopard can carry twice its weight up a tree. Lions can’t climb, so up a tree is a good spot for fresh prey. She flung the carcass over a branch and panted for breath. Then she began climbing again and positioned the carcass even higher in the branches. The leopard will feed on an impala for 5-7 days. Elapsed time from the initial leap at the impala to carcass in a treetop – about 20 minutes.

It was the most incredible thing that I have ever seen. We heard one tracker say that witnessing such an event was a one in a million chance. The end of our game drives in South Africa ended on a higher note than we could ever have imagined. We thanked Tony and Michael profusely – their superior tracking skills and their patience gave us the most incredible experience.Read more