Involved Leopards

Anderson 4:4 Male

Anderson 4:4 Male

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Alex Jordan

Alumni Ranger

Born in Cape Town, Alex grew up on a family wine estate in Stellenbosch. Spending much of his young life outdoors, Alex went on many a holiday into Southern Africa’s national parks and wild areas. After finishing high school, he completed a number ...

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18 Comments

on Safari is About the Unexpected

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Unbelievable, just unbelievable!! First, I’m surprised that the Anderson Male killed a kudu that big (and a young male too), and then you got to witness an incredible inter and intra-species interaction!

Always expect the unexpected when you are out on a game drive. You never know what you will find around the next corner. Amazing sighting.

Kudu sub adult 350lbs+??

Probably around there…

You never know what might occur on a safari, is right. I’m assuming the Anderson male made the kill, but why didn’t he at least begin to feed or haul away a part to a tree? Not hungry? He appears so disinterested. Guess his size and territory can dictate whatever mood he wishes! Excellent images Alex. One clearly shows that his eye is healing well. And for that, many of us are appreciative.

Thanks for the comment Joanne. There were signs of blood on his paws and neck which he soon groomed out. A small part of the kudu’s rump had been fed on. From all the clues we can only speculate what might have happened. Leopards will generally start feeding from the hind quarters, targeting the softest meat. Being such a large Kudu as well as the energy required to wrestle and kill it, it is possibly the reason he was resting up close by.

Master Tracker

Lucky guests , it does show the advantage of not worrying what is over the hill, but waiting to see how a good signing pans out.

Could not agree more Ian!

Wow ?. What a great sighting. The Anderson male is quite the specimen- the poster child for amazing leopards. I guess the big question is, who took down the kudu and why was it left unattended for the hyenas to take over? The mysteries of the animal world……

Denise it’s the question that went through all of our minds. With the kudu’s neck bent in a classical suffocation position, canine puncture marks in the neck, a small amount fed on the rump and inner legs, we can only speculate that the Anderson male had successfully made the kill. He groomed out blood from his neck and paws while lying up on the large granite boulder. It was a big sub-adult kudu (+-150kg) and would therefore be a mighty task to hoist.

What an amazing sighting! I know the Anderson male is big, but a male kudu?!! It certainly suggests that he’s not suffering any permanent impairment from his eye injury!

Londolozi and leopards- always a great prospect. We were at the Tree camp 4-5 years ago. A great stay except for a scary encounter with a Cape buffalo one night after dinner. Some wonderful photos of leopards. Hope to repeat at the Founders camp in September.

I love the last Thamba male leopard photo. Such an amazing photo

It’s just so good to see that the Anderson male has hardly skipped a beat since his eye injury. Obviously he is one tough old brute and showing signs of becoming a one off legend in his own time.

Hi Cynthia,
Yip, he’s a beast. That injury hardly slowed him down at all!

Is there not a photo from back in the day of Mr Anderson with a giraffe foal he had hoisted up a tree? Birth weight for a giraffe foal is about 100kg…..

Incredible to see how resilient the cats are. You would never know by looking at the Anderson Male now, how bad that eye injury looked just a few weeks ago. And, Thamba, what a beautiful leopard, those eyes and golden coat. Hope we get to see him into adulthood.

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