About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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9 Comments

on The Best Tree Species to See Leopards In at Londolozi

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We have seen leopards on the ground and in trees. On logs or dead trees that have fallen over, but one for the bucket list is to see a leopard in a dead tree as in some of these photos. We have seen a leopard in a sausage tree and that was diffucult to see the animal between all those leaves.

I’ll never forget my very first game drive at Londolozi, when I saw a sighting of a leopard in a tree with her kill, something I had been dreaming of for years! The close second sighting was a male leopard, snoozing by a waterhole, when quick as a flash a pack of painted wolves chased him up a nearby tree. My photo of the leopard’s disgruntled look, perched on that branch, is one of my all-time favourites.

One of the special moments during my visit was parking just off the sandy bank of the river, next to a jackalberry tree to watch the Ingrid Dam female. She was sleeping, no surprise, and the partial remains of her impala kill drooped over a branch adjacent to her resting spot. We were the only vehicle for a while and just sat quietly, enjoying the sight of her and the freshness of the morning air. She eventually disembarked her perch, strolled around the tree and in the blink of an eye, returned to her resting, observation limb. I think this was just after she birthed her cubs as she didn’t look pregnant. At any rate, it was a great sighting, but then any leopard is special.

Thank you for the tree information!!

First ever leopard sighting was in a Jackalberry tree–will never forget it!

Well James, you did it again. Totally captivated me with so much interesting info that I had to read this twice! Lol! Frankly because Londolozi is known for it’s leopards and because there have been so many stellar images of them up a tree to sleep, eat, view, that I was very surprised to learn they sleep mostly on the ground! I wrongly assumed because of predators. Secondly I enjoyed learning all about the Londolozi trees and the why they are chosen, or not, by the leopard. The selection of images were exceptional. Okay, I’ll stop now…..lol.

Great fun … a disertation on not “what” but “where”. Very enjoyable … thanks James!

Great tips for the weekend coming! Hoping for some great pics!

I’d love to get a shot of a leopard in any of those trees (or just a shot of a leopard period)!!

I shall plant some of these trees immediately. If, as you say, they are the best trees for seeing leopards in, surely some leopards will come and park of in the garden here…

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