Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Tshokwane]

Tusk Photo:
Elephant Plains Safari: Three Leopards and Hyenas Vie for The Kill


Brendon Reports:
(Photos from Brendon’s Camera Screen)
Our plan of action this morning as we left the Lodge was to start with the three leopards we saw together yesterday. (Salayexe and Tiyane with their kill that ended up with Anderson).
We arrived as the sun started to rise, and found Anderson lying under the tree where he had stashed the kill. We started to photograph the huge guy lying there, catching the first rays of the sun, when two more shapes appeared out of the dawn. Salayexe and Tiyane were lying close by on the side of the river bank.

We spent the whole morning with the three leopards as they moved around and engaged in a complicated set of manouvers to outwit each other re access to the tree and the kill.
Tiyane tried again and again curry favour and ‘schmoozed’ up to Anderson to try and convince him to let her go up. As soon as she felt that he was relaxed she jumped into the tree, with him right behind her as he chased to into the highest reaches of the branches where she had no access to the kill.

While this interaction continued again and again – and again, hyenas intermittently wandered hopefully onto the scene, sending Anderson back into the tree yet again to safeguard the kill. He growled ferociously at the hyenas from his lofty perch, causing the hyenas to retreat for a while. Some of the larger hyenas tried to stand their ground for a while, snarling menacingly back at Anderson, but he always won the intimidation encounter. The animals know who they can intimidate and who not to argue with and to rather seek safety.

We watched and photographed the ongoing action for more than three hours. There was just so much going on with the interaction between the leopards and between the leopards and the hyenas. It was an amazing morning and the three hours seemed to pass very quickly.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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