Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Ngala]

Amazing shot of Anderson male, thanks @Majingilane.

Other updates of Anderson male, look at his neck, second photo. He is a monster!!

Photo and information credits: Tusk Photo
Elephant Plains Safari: Anderson Male Wants his Kill … - 23 April 2016
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
Fanus Weldhagen Reports:
"There was great excitement at lunchtime when everyone arrived, looking forward to experiencing the bush after the recent plentiful rains. We set out after a quick briefing, eager to check on a pack of Wild Dogs that we heard about as we arrived.
We found the dogs lying close to a dam overlooking a large plain, and remained with them until the sun started to approach the horizon and they started to move around. We followed as they ran, listened, checked their surroundings, and then ran on – and on, keen to find something to hunt, but without too much luck.
We were on our way to a suitable stopping point for our sundowners when we spotted a stately Kudu bull on a termite mound, silhouetted beautifully against the evening sky. 
At our sundowner stop we heard that some Hyenas had been spotted with a kill, so we headed there without hesitation. Sundowners were totally forgotten as we found the clan of eleven Hyenas with quite a large Wildebeest kill. 
Naturally we stopped for photographs – and as we did so we almost immediately noticed that the behaviour of the animals was rather unusual. They were extremely skittish, looking around furtively, jumping at any sound, and showing signs of quite a bit of anxiety.
Then the cause came into view. Anderson Male, a humungous, very handsome Leopard, was circling around – and around – and around, and he watched each movement made by the Hyenas.
Oho, we thought. The plot thickens! This must be Anderson Male’s kill, and the Hyenas have pinched it from him, and he wants to grab any chance to get it back. (No-one can be absolutely sure, but that is the most likely scenario).
So Anderson Male continued his circling, unnerving the Hyenas as he did so, until he retired to a nearby tree to continue his unsettling vigilance from above.
There you have it! As you can see, our latest safari has started with a bang!
Tomorrow we wil probably dash straight to the Hyenas and Leopard to see how the situation develops over night …"

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

The proof of the strength of this big leopard:

Elephant Plains Safari: A Buffalo up a Tree? - 26 April 2016
[Anderson Male Strikes Again!]
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
Fanus Weldhagen Reports:
"Early this morning, in fact soon after leaving the Lodge, we came across two hyenas on a mission. An adult female with a youngster were trotting and running along in a fixed direction and with determination. Were they hunting, we wondered as we decided to follow them.
They kept going, eventually slowing to a walk – and then they reached their destination where they proceeded to loiter around and rest for quite some time. The site was an old hyena den, which made us think that maybe they were on a scouting mission to find a new home for the younger generation? Maybe?
Then we heard that Anderson Male, that huge leopard, was in the vicinity with a buffalo in a tree. ‘A what?’ We asked again. ‘A buffalo’ came the reply. Scarcely able to credit what we had just heard we went directly to the spot.
Sure enough! There was Anderson Male! And yes! That was definitely a buffalo up there. A calf, sure, but not a tiny one. That just shows how big and powerful this leopard is. We saw buffalo tracks everywhere, and putting the sequence of events together we realised that Anderson Male must have found the buffalo herd sleeping, and undaunted by their sheer number and huge size, had made a kill at some stage during the night.
We could hear a female buffalo calling, calling, calling. This could only be the bereft mother searching for her calf.
While we were photographing this amazing scene a Vine Snake came slithering along. It hung around long enough for plenty of photographs.
We moved on after a while and soon bumped into Salayexe. She was as cooperative as ever as she walked along marking her territory.
We returned to Salayexe after our lunch break and rest, and during the afternoon she was even more fabulous. She climbed tree after tree. Up one, then down, then up the next, down and up the next – on and on. 
Eventually the lovely leopard climbed a particularly large tree and remained there as the light faded, giving everyone a chance to practice with different light levels and how to adapt to spotlights and flash photography in the bush.
After sundowners we returned to Anderson Male. He relaxed comfortably at the bottom of the tree with his kill way up in the branches. He ignored us completely as we filled our cameras with even more images.
Tomorrow we would like to start the day at Anderson Male to check whether any intruders arrive overnight …" Reply