Day 7 - First Night Drive

After our Sundowner we took off to find the creatures of the night.

It wasn't long before we got a call from one of the other groups that they had found a leopard.

Man was I excited.

How close could we get before it would run?

Was it hunting?

I was not at all prepared for what we were about to see.

As we approached the location our guide, Abel, took off into the brush. We were running over small trees. We could see the other vehicles across the field. They were also treking through the brush.

Then we saw it. A solitary leopard, a 3 year old male, intent on something, paying absolutely no attention to us what so ever.

As we looked out ahead we saw what he saw...a steenbok.

He was hunting!

The other trucks left...it was just us.

His prey sat still, he approached. Not to interfere, we turned off our spotlight and sat quietly, waiting, wondering if we would hear the cry of the steenbok or would it be quick enough to elude the leopard?

We heard movement. But, there was no scream or roar or anything.

We turned the light back on. The leopard had moved, the steenbok was gone.

We picked up the leopard again 30-40 meters away...how had it moved so far so fast without making any noise.

It was not the same young male, it was his mother.

Then we saw the two of them but they didn't get within 10m of each other. As a matter of fact, as we sat and watched, the mother put on an incredible display of purring and panting and growling.

Our guide explained to us that the mother was warning her cub to stay away.

They were not hunting together.

Actually, the cub hadn't known she was following him while he hunted.

Her growling was a warning to him to stay away from her.

According to Abel, she was likely in heat and would be followed by older male leopards trying to mate with her. If they found the cub nearby, they would kill it.

WOW...what a first night!

Though I was a little sad we hadn't seen an elephant I knew we would. And, there are some people who never get to see a leopard. That is why they are one of the Big 5.

Lion
Leopard
Elephant
Rhino
Buffalo

We were late for dinner. Not one of us cared the least bit. Eat or watch this, easy choice.