Leopard looses his kill
Hi there,
The other day while at our elephant hide platform which overlooks an age-old elephant crossing point we suddenly heard the unmistakable screams of an antelope being throttled by a leopard. Realizing it was within a hundred meters of where we were sitting, we quickly abandoned the elephants and drove towards the commotion.
By now a bushbuck was alarm calling ( a loud dog-like bark) which made it easier for us to home in. As the bush was really thick we were almost on top of it before the leopard sauntered off leaving a freshly killed bushbuck on the ground. Bizarrely – a separate female bushbuck was standing facing the leopard less than 10 meters from where her mate had fallen. She was not making a sound – only shivering in shock; one could sense the loss for her.
After hastily leaving the area so that the leopard could finish its work and take the kill up a tree we came back late in the afternoon but only managed to catch a glimpse of the cat – still with the kill on the ground.
Returning at first light the next morning we found that the young male leopard had positioned the kill perfectly in a nearby sausage tree and was busy eating while a hyena waited patiently for scraps below. We had a great view of the leopard as he changed position.
The hyena had the last laugh when the leopard dropped a chunky leg and then tried in vain to collect it only to be chased up another tree minus the meat.
This young leopard is learning the hard way! Here are a few pictures taken by our guest Peter Chadwick.
Until later,
Derek
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