Leopard Predation Thread

[Michael]

(11-19-2017, 01:20 AM)Ngala Wrote: From Londolozi Game Reserve, A Day I Will Never Forget by Guy Brunskill:
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While all of us sat entranced by the crash, Shadrack, our tracker, was scanning the surrounding area and pulled off an amazing spot of a leopard walking along one of the roads about 500m away. We quickly headed in his direction as it can be incredibly easy to lose sight of these camouflaged creatures in long grass. This was the first leopard sighting my guests had had at Londolozi. We identified the male leopard to be the Torchwood male, which made the sighting all the more special for me as I had never seen this particular leopard before. He is a male who holds territory falling mostly to the west of Londolozi and he was possibly investigating the option of expanding further eastwards. He walked past our vehicle and we followed him for a while, assuming he was on a territorial patrol but moments after that he started moving with a lot more intent and we came to realize he was on the search for something to eat.

The Torchwood male walks along the road, which offers the path of least resistance. This male leopard’s eyes seem lighter to me than his counterparts and are by far the most beautiful I have seen.

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He walked up a prominent termite mound to observe the surrounding area, using it as a vantage point to see if there was any potential prey close by.

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Leopards are known as crepuscular animals, which means they are most active during dusk and dawn. This is when they do most of their hunting because they have superb nocturnal vision and have a better chance of moving undetected by prey. Their chances of hunting successfully are thus usually better at night and because of the cooler temperatures they use less energy. We were all intrigued to know if anything had happened despite the heat of the day though, so we headed back to see if we could find him during our afternoon drive.

This is where we all got to see something none of us were expecting…

When we found him, he had in fact made a kill. It was what he had made that startled us so much.

Can you spot the dead animal? The Torchwood male rests in the top of the tree during the afternoon warmth, knowing he has a secure meal less than 2m away from him in the fork (top right of the picture).

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Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s an aardvark up in the tree! The look on my guests faces when they realized it was an aardvark said it all. It was a first for all of us, with none of us having seen an aardvark alive before, let alone one that had been hoisted into a tree by a leopard. Aardvarks, a strange looking creature that feeds on ants and termites, are nocturnal animals which are very rarely seen. Guides go many years in the bush without seeing these elusive creatures and now we had both an aardvark and a leopard in the same sighting. Although we felt rather sorry for the caught and now-deceased animal, it was incredibly exciting at the same as it was the furtherest thing from what we expected.

After watching him rest for a while, our patience paid off as the Torchwood male stood up, looked towards the aardvark and moved towards it to feed.

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Aardvarks are certainly not small animals and can weight between 50-60kg and live for about 20 years. Their diet is comprised mainly of ants and termites.

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Leopards are often seen feeding on only some parts of the intestines. Here he is feeding on a portion of them, ensuring there is nothing wasted as these predators are never sure when their next meal will be.

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We all sat in awe as this leopard fed on the aardvark. In all likelihood, due to the nocturnal nature of aardvarks, the leopard made this kill the night before and returned to it after a morning of territorial patrol. Interestingly enough he had not fed on much of it though. After watching him feeding for roughly 30minutes, we began to question why there weren’t any hyenas around the base of the tree trying to scavenge pieces potentially dropping to the ground. It wasn’t a minute after we’d uttered the words that the Torchwood male lifted his head and gazed inquisitively past our vehicle where a hyena had just appeared.

The male leopard briefly stops feeding and stares behind us to identify what animal is approaching him.

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With three spotted hyenas approaching at high speed and calling, the Torchwood male gave off a hissing snarl to try and scare them away.

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It just goes to show that whilst on safari you never know what is going to happen or what awaits you around the next corner. I just hope the next time I see an aardvark, it will be under different circumstances though."

What is he eating in the sixth picture is that part of the intestine or is that an aardvark fetus ? Reply