April 12 - Animals Part 3

We were so fortunate to complete seeing the Big Five. Several people on the ship who have done multiple safaris mentioned that they still had never spotted leopards.  Luck was with us, because we spotted leopards 3 of the days we were there.

Some interesting facts about leopards:

•  No two leopards are alike, as the many possible combinations of spots and rosettes, as well as the number, size and position on the body are so varied and unique.  Each Leopard may be identified by the beautiful pattern on its coat. 

• Various adaptations have enabled the leopard to efficiently climb trees, taking its pry up with it.  This enhances its success rate of hanging onto its food by removing it from the reach of its most tenacious competitors - the lion and hyena.

• A tail which is 3/4 of the length of the body allows it to keep its balance when moving about on the branches of a tree.

We came upon this juvenile male leopard quietly sizing up a Cape Buffalo off to his left.  Our guide said juveniles who are no longer being fed by their mothers have to learn what they can tackle or not to feed themselves.  You can see how his coat creates a great camouflage for him.

When he stood up, still checking it out he shows his beautiful coat, but the Cape Buffalo knew the leopard was not a threat

He looked back as another vehicle arrived

Knowing he was out sized, he headed on down the road, right past me in our vehicle!.  I have to admit, I held my breath until he had past by.  The color on a couple of the pictures is different because I was using the I Pad for videos, but I got this great shot.

This gives a good example of how close he was to the vehicles

We circled around him so the folks on the other side of the vehicles could get some good pictures.  Rick got these with his camera and shows the colors better.

What a face!!

The coloring varied so much depending to the amount of sun or shade

We started following him as he walked right down the road like he was leading a parade. Suddenly he stopped, perked up his ears, and starting slowly walking into a grassy, rocky area.

Each movement was so deliberate as he s-l-o-w-l-y crept forward

He had this large Kudu in his sights.  We waited for 15 minutes, thinking maybe we'd witness his victory, but alas, he gave up and just as quietly walked away.  Our guide told us that he probably did not have to expertise yet to take down something that big by himself yet.