A Rare Sighting. A Rare Day.

It was a very sad morning for this young female Leopard, as her short lived life was suddenly ended. The morning started off very quiet until a radio call was put through on a location of two Leopards.

I made my way to this sighting and had caught the end bit of this sadness. Just before I arrived, the young female had made an Impala kill and had stashed it in a tree, not long after, a mature male Leopard saw his opportunity and decided to attack this young Leopard for her food. In a fierce battle for food this female tried to defend it, but unfortunately succumbed to serious injuries.

The Male had clamped his powerful jaws around her fragile head and had pierced the skull casing as well as a jugular. As I got there, I witnessed this female’s death. One minute she was alive in front of my eyes, and then next minute she slipped away into a permanent sleep. Very heart breaking. So it was up to me and the other rangers to lift this Leopard into a tree so as to avoid being eaten by Hyena, as the Ecologist needed to confirm her wounds and identification.

Sad as this was, this is Africa, and only the strongest survive.