A couple of days ago we published a post about the first of a great run of sightings that senior ranger John Mohaud had with his guests.
Today John recounts the next great sighting he had (which actually took place over two drives).
Leopards in dead trees are some of the ultimate photographic subjects, so when we found the Mashaba female close to camp with a kill hoisted in a dead Knobthorn, we knew we simply had to wait it out. She was full-bellied and sleeping on the ground in the shade of a Gwarrie tree, so photographically the sighting didn’t offer much at first. We knew the potential though, so parked comfortably, and waited. And waited.
5 and a half hours later, the leopard did not look like moving at all. Since it was now approaching noon and we felt that she would probably not want to feed in an exposed tree during the heat of the day, we decided to head back to camp for a rest ourselves, to get some food and prepare for what we imagined would be another wait that afternoon.
Heading back there on afternoon drive, the leopard was still sleeping!
Eventually after another two hours, she started showing signs of waking up, and our patience was rewarded. With a quick leap she rocketed up into the main fork of the tree before deftly grabbing the kill and shifting it slightly higher to a more secure position. We had an incredible view of her and managed to snap some pictures.
The agility and power of leopards is almost surreal. Seemingly without effort they will go from ground level to the top of a tree in mere seconds.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
A quick repositioning of the kill allowed the Mashaba female to feed more easily. A tree like this dead knobthorn would never have been her first choice to hoist into, as its open nature means the kill would be very visible and she would therefore be likely to be robbed by a rival leopard or lion. Most likely she was under serious pressure to get her kill to safety – probably from hyenas – and simply rushed it up into the closest tree available.
Red, yellow and blue are the primary colours, so despite the macabre way in which red is represented here, their combination is rather pleasing to the eye.
A slightly zoomed out perspective gives one a better idea of just how stark the tree was, and just what incredible viewing it afforded.
Very little meat remained on the impala carcass, and by the next morning, the leopard was gone…
It is not often that one gets as lucky as John and sees a leopard up in a dead tree like this.
At the end of the day though, the real lesson here is patience. Knowing the leopard would go up the tree sometime, John was prepared to put in the time to get his guests the best possible photographic opportunity and viewing they could wish for. And all credit to the guests as well, who were prepared to wait that long, knowing the potential the sighting had to develop into something spectacular.
John’s run of spectacular sightings was far from over however. We’ll be releasing the next two later this week, so keep checking in at blog.londolozi.com…
Some cracking photos and glad the guests had the patience to sit it out. They were rewarded with some photos that I am sure will adorn their walls for years to come
Worth the wait I would say! Fantastic Shots taken!
This is an example of extreme patience and the superb rewards it brings to those who wait. Waiting 5 hours without leaving and then an additional 2 for a sleeping Mashaba to wake up boggles my mind. Bravo to John for his keen determination and also the guests for their willingness. The rewards were some if the best tree shots of the Mashaba female I’ve seen! So many images could be on a canvas. Mashaba never disappoints and neither does John! Don’t see how this could be topped, but I’m looking forward to the next reveal!
Just one picture tells the whole story. A fat tummy on the Mashaba female and stark ribs and stringy bits hanging down from the kill. Well done, John, and guests, to wait so very long for the pics! Don’t think many people would wait so patiently! Wendy M
WOW! That was an amazing reward for patience. I would give up breakfast and lunch for a sighting like that.
The image at the top of the blog is one of the more incredible photos of a Leopard with its kill in a tree that I have ever seen.
Just incredible!
Looking forward to part 3!
Beautiful pictures, especially the B&W where you zoomed out! Mashaba is just the most awesome leopard ?
Stunning images.