We had set out to find her and it did not take long. Lying up in a tree we had discovered the Vomba Young Female at exactly the right time. Moments later she cascaded down the heavyset trunk of the Marula and momentarily disappeared into the long grass. Frantically our eyes searched until she gracefully leapt onto a fallen stump, reappearing for us all to see. Cautiously glancing left then right her ears pricked suddenly before she sunk once again into the lush summer bushveld. A short distance away, we too caught the unsuspecting bleats of young impala lambs in the clearing….
By the time we rounded into the open grassland, the Vomba Young Female was in full stride. Her muscular pulse pushed her forward as she covered the distance to the impala lamb in seconds….
It is common for leopards, especially mature females to play with their prey before killing it. In the case of maternal leopards they do so to allow their sub-adults to experience live prey and practice the motions of bringing it down.
For young females, like the Vomba Young Female, it is more of a cat and mouse game. The impala lambs are naive and do not know whether to flee or stand their ground. More often than not the instinct will kick in and the lamb will flee, however when shock sets in the lamb remains still in its confusion. For the leopard, the natural instinct to chase and kill is softened slightly by a prey that does not run from it…and so the catlike playing begins.
This is not the first time we have witnessed the Vomba Young Female playing with her prey. Take a look at this post of her playing with a mongoose before killing it.
I’d be very interested to hear your comments about the reasons behind this leopard’s actions. Let me know in the comments section below.
Filmed by: Stoff Kane-Berman
Great find and filming Stoff. We were struck as well by the seemingly playful nature of the female leopard ahead of a similar kill we witnessed in November.
Perhaps she is still young enough just to enjoy a game, rather like she would with siblings? Also it seems the lamb didn’t make any distress calls and perhaps if it had, the killer instinct may have been aroused? Just guessing?
Liz I definitely think there is a bit of playfulness which stems from two parts. The first is the feline tendency to be exceptionally playful with something new or something that responds. This is very similar to how she might have acted with her siblings..
The second is that this leopard is still relatively young. She has only reached maturity and independence over the last few months and as such I think that her actions are somewhat generated out of curiosity as much as the need to eat….
Thanks Rich … its wonderful to watch these special cats. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I have just watched, after many years, a video a friend took whilst we were at Londolozi in Dec 1998. There were 3 dark maned lions and the guide, Kevin, mentions that they are part of a coalition of 5 – is it likely this was the Mapogos in their youth?
Also on this visit we saw a leopard (my first in the wild, having longed to see such a wonderous sight for over 40 years!) and Kevin mentions that she has a distinctive kink in her tail (which can be seen on the video) and how she attacked a python that had eaten her single cub. She also appears to have very tattered ears. I recently saw ‘The Leopard Queen’ on Nat Geo Wild about Manama. Is Manama the 3:4 leopard and is it likely from Kevin’s description that I was fortunate enough to see this very special legendary leopard? Watching the video again brought back such fantastic memories of a truly magical place that I really hope to return to one day – even if its in the form of ashes!! Thanks Rich
Liz, they most likely were the West Street/Sparta Males who are believed to have sired the Mapogos. The Mapogos are about 10 year old and I don’t this they were born yet back in 1998. Rich could correct me on this. Anyway, here’s a link that can help:
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/mapogocoalition
Its true Bader, the Mapogos were born around 2002ish
Thanks Rich and Bader … that help clear my puzzle. Beautiful boys … no wonder they sired such strong sons!