I didn’t quite understand how rare it is to see leopards walking around in broad daylight, when we joined a herd of Land Rovering safari-ers watching a female and her cub in the Serengeti. When the animals were within yards of our vehicle, my guide Joseph was stunned. It’s not the leopards themselves that were rare – in fact they are relatively common. But leopards are typically shy, tree-dwelling animals. Not to mention they’re nocturnal. So the chances of seeing a mother and cub walking among safari vehicles in broad daylight are relatively slim. Joseph had never seen them that way—not once in his ten years of guiding.
Not only was this a rare sight; it was a heartbreaking one. There were at least 15 other vehicles in this small area of the Serengeti, each driver jockeying for a better view every 60 seconds or so. The air was filled with loud noises of rumbling engines and the smell of diesel.
Nevertheless, watching the leopards was amazing. The mother and cub walked through grasses and occasionally straight down the middle of the safari road, which afforded an unusually close view of them. Their coats are magnificently and flawlessly spotted—a U-shaped dark brown patch with some lighter brown within. It doesn’t surprise me that these animals are hunted. Despite the spotted pattern, in the grasses, the leopards moved almost completely camouflaged. Especially when the cub moved through taller grasses, the only way I spotted it was by the flick of his spotted tail, which had a snow-white tip.
The pair moved about 100m toward the base of an acacia tree, where the female stretched out for a nap. I noticed another small figure on the ground near her. Was it her stomach, or did she have a second cub? My binoculars revealed a solid light brown coat…no spots. When the mother stood up, I realized that the brown coat was actually a kill! Time constraints coupled with the fact that I was guilty for being one of nearly 25 vehicles were swarmed across from the tree led me to call it a day at that point.
We checked on the leopard site again the following day. As we approached, we saw a herd of vehicles. Good sign. We parked in front of a tree where a spotted tail was swinging from the branches. A leopard lounged high up in the tree, draped over branches that were about 20 feet off of the ground. It appeared to be alone – different from yesterday’s mother and cub. I got out my binoculars to get a closer look; as I scanned the branches, some additional movement caught my eye. Another tail swinging on the left side of the tree! This was the mother and cub from yesterday! I wondered if the kill was up there with them. (Leopards typically drag their kills, usually antelopes and gazelles, up trees in order to protect them from other predators.) With my naked eye I scanned the lower branches, and noticed that a few of them were vertical—pretty abnormal for an acacia tree. Four vertical branches…which the binoculars revealed had hooves! The branches were actually legs of an antelope that the female had pulled up into the tree for safe-keeping.
Not only was this a rare sight; it was a heartbreaking one. There were at least 15 other vehicles in this small area of the Serengeti, each driver jockeying for a better view every 60 seconds or so. The air was filled with loud noises of rumbling engines and the smell of diesel.
Nevertheless, watching the leopards was amazing. The mother and cub walked through grasses and occasionally straight down the middle of the safari road, which afforded an unusually close view of them. Their coats are magnificently and flawlessly spotted—a U-shaped dark brown patch with some lighter brown within. It doesn’t surprise me that these animals are hunted. Despite the spotted pattern, in the grasses, the leopards moved almost completely camouflaged. Especially when the cub moved through taller grasses, the only way I spotted it was by the flick of his spotted tail, which had a snow-white tip.
The pair moved about 100m toward the base of an acacia tree, where the female stretched out for a nap. I noticed another small figure on the ground near her. Was it her stomach, or did she have a second cub? My binoculars revealed a solid light brown coat…no spots. When the mother stood up, I realized that the brown coat was actually a kill! Time constraints coupled with the fact that I was guilty for being one of nearly 25 vehicles were swarmed across from the tree led me to call it a day at that point.
We checked on the leopard site again the following day. As we approached, we saw a herd of vehicles. Good sign. We parked in front of a tree where a spotted tail was swinging from the branches. A leopard lounged high up in the tree, draped over branches that were about 20 feet off of the ground. It appeared to be alone – different from yesterday’s mother and cub. I got out my binoculars to get a closer look; as I scanned the branches, some additional movement caught my eye. Another tail swinging on the left side of the tree! This was the mother and cub from yesterday! I wondered if the kill was up there with them. (Leopards typically drag their kills, usually antelopes and gazelles, up trees in order to protect them from other predators.) With my naked eye I scanned the lower branches, and noticed that a few of them were vertical—pretty abnormal for an acacia tree. Four vertical branches…which the binoculars revealed had hooves! The branches were actually legs of an antelope that the female had pulled up into the tree for safe-keeping.
Look closely and you'll see her up there:
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