On the Prowl
An afternoon on Kapama Nature Reserve is always full of excitement, even more so when you get to go out on Safari and aim to see one or two of the Big Five. During one of the afternoon game drives I set out with ranger Freedom and his tracker Noel, along with six guests, from South America, eager to see some animals on their first trip to Africa. We were hoping for an eventful drive to try and spot as many animals as possible for our excited guests.
The start of the drive was rather quiet and peaceful as we cruised past a few dams in the open land cruiser. We were heading to the South Western section of the reserve. We came across a few Impala browsing on the trees, with two Giraffe standing among them. It was quite an enjoyable setting with the sun at the right angle, allowing many a photo of the animals in their natural bushveld surrounding.
As the drive progressed we came to an area known as Nyala Sloot, which is a drainage line of one of the dams nearby. We drove along this drainage line and suddenly something caught Noel's eye. He said to us that he saw movement on the termite mound. We moved closer for a better look. It was a Leopard, lying ever so gracefully on the side of the termite mound, with the front legs stretched out and the head upright, she looked at us. Everyone was silenced in awe of this majestic animal. She yawned, and you could hear the cameras shuttering as they captured the great spectacle.
As we all enjoyed the sighting we realised that she had her eye on something. We had a look around, and realised that there were Nyala not so far away from where she was lying, oblivious to the Leopard's presence and browsing on some leaves. Slowly, after a few more yawns, the Leopard got up and started stretching, and it wasn't long before she slowly started making her way down from the termite mound. The Leopard seemed to be quite interested in the movement of the Nyala, and she was slowly making her way towards them. In her elegant stride, she stopped a few times and glared at us before continuing steadily. We followed, eager to see what would happen.
Then suddenly she started to increase her pace, but very subtly. Her head dropped down and she was on the prowl. It was clear that the Leopard was stalking the Nyala, who were still oblivious to what was happening around them. The Leopard was clearly keen on making a kill. Everyone immediately got quite excited whilst wondering what would happen next, with cameras in motion. It was important for the guests to remain calm and quiet so not to interfere with the hunt. She was very patient, every time the Nyala would lift their heads she would freeze, and blend in with a nearby shrub or bush. The Leopard followed them for a few hundred metres, and got within about 20 metres of the Nyala, and then... just as she was moving from one tree to another, she was spotted by one of the Nyala. All we could hear was Nyala barking and alarming whilst running off in different directions. The Leopard immediately realised she was spotted and started licking herself as if to say 'It's okay, calm down, there will be another chance soon.'
On the cruiser we were all a bit grieved for the Leopard, as we were hoping she would have a successful hunt, but unfortunately it turned out not to be.
When we returned back to the Lodge we all took a deep breath in awe of what we had witnessed. It may not have been a successful hunt, but it was a hunt non-the-less and we knew we were very lucky to have seen such a unique and special sighting. It is very rare to see a Leopard, yet alone see it on a hunt, so we all felt very privileged and smiled ever so effortlessly.
