A herd of about 30 impala were drinking at Taylor’s Dam; it had been a hot day and they needed to quench their thirst. They had braved the crocodiles and had moved towards the watering hole. The Vomba 3:2 Female Leopard maneuvered to perfection. She acted quickly and silently. From our vantage point on the vehicle we could see her plan…she used the long grass as cover and was aiming to chase the herd down the dam wall towards the water…they would be trapped. Her body lowered, belly nearly dragging on the ground. She moved like lightning. We hardly dared to breathe!
The Vomba female was a leopard with an instantly recognisable rich golden coat. She spent much of her life around the Londolozi Camps.
The Vomba Female stalks a herd of impala drinking at Taylor's Dam - Adam Bannister
Body positioned low to the ground she moves in for the kill
The impala saw her late but did incredibly well. I could not believe how the impala reacted and managed to evade the predator.The agility was unreal! At her age the Vomba Female has years of experience but even her quick decisive decision making and silent ghost like moves could not bring one of the impala to it’s knees.
Paw outstretched and claws unsheathed she leaps towards a young male impala - Adam Bannister
Only after flipping through my pictures and watching the incredible video, filmed by Rich, did I really realise how truly amazing impala are. The fact that that young male impala managed to see the leopard at about 1,5 meters and still get out alive is miraculous. I am filled with admiration for these beautiful creatures.
Impala flee in all directions in an attempt to get away from the chaos that has exploded out of the grass - Adam Bannister
The brutality of nature was still yet to truly unfold. The Vomba Female had just missed her target, expending massive amounts of energy in the process. She headed for the shade and sank down into the grass. Her breathing was heavy. You could see she was extremely tired! We stuck with her and were rewarded. Fifteen minutes later and she stood up; moving off towards another thicket. Like a jack-in-the-box she was off careering into the bushes. Squeals of pain followed. She had literally stumbled into a sleeping baby nyala and had no qualms in executing the kill. We all watched on as the nyala fought for its life; a hopeless struggle but a brave one.
This young Nyala stood no chance - Adam Bannister
The harsh circle of life...in order for one to live the other must die - Adam Bannister
Great action shots, with the claws and the lighting, but I appreciate your knowledge of the bush to read into the situation and be well positioned to take in all of the action. I have a similar scene with leopard and impala in the KNP, not the great shots like yours but they capture the relaxed impala and the leopard doing leopard crawl. The impala spooked and the leopard was out of the bag! Check it out on http://www.facebook.com/nguniafrica I look forward to visiting Londo’s soon, maybe some transfer business??
Awesome footage guys. Makes you realise how fast impala actually are and how difficult they are to catch!
I have watched leopards & lions prey on the beautiful impala; I have seen an impala lieing breathless in a tree with a leopard skillfully positioned next to her, but have yet to actually witness the kill. That is the one thing I fear seeing although I realize it is the “Circle of Life”. Just love following your blogs daily!
Hi Gail, it is unique experience which evokes different emotions in different people. Although not for everyone, if you can take a step backwards and adopt the role of an observer of the natural systems, it makes it much easier to appreciate. Thanks as always for being one of our regular readers. Look forward to seeing more of your comments. Rich
Rich your comment is so true, as are the captions to the pics. Nature is a brutal but beautiful and fascinating beast. I always tell myself (although never witnessed a kill either Gail) that the beautiful leopard or lion would go hungry and potentially meet its fate if it weren’t for that meal.
Amazing blog. as ever.
Thanks for your thoughts Penny, what you have said is true – nature is a system that works in and around itself. Everything has its beginning and its end regardless of where it falls on the trophic pyramid.
“…body positioned low to the ground….” fantastic shot!
To me this image epitomises the true spirit of a leopard – It is unable to ignore its feline tendencies when seeing opportunity. From secretly watching the impala to deciding on the hunt was a split second decision in which her body stiffened and adopted this split second pose before beginning her charge forward. Great shot Adam!
great article, I really like the photos. great work.