Wildlife can be frustrating to photograph. I learnt this early on, after yet another exasperating sighting in which I had missed the best of the action.
Animals don’t always do what you expect. They are wild after all, and as much as you study their behaviour and can start to predict with a fair degree of confidence what they may do next, the reality is we aren’t in a studio, there are going to be bushes and grass in the way, the leopard might come the other way down the tree that logic would have suggested…
And one-year-old leopard cubs, still in the exploratory phase in which they chase every bird they see, and sniff under every bush, can be the toughest to predict.
We were sitting with the Nhlanguleni cubs recently, very close to Pioneer Camp, and the local monkey troop was kicking up a huge fuss from the treetops. Unperturbed by the incessant simian alarm calling, the two leopard sisters were walking slowly across a sodic sight, right in the open, and looked likely to settle down in the Gwarrie thicket as the temperature started to rise.
If the cubs were male and female, there would already be a marked difference in size between them.
The cubs are very similar in appearance (sounds a bit obvious, both being young female leopards) and each have 3:3 spot patterns, but the spots on their right cheeks are spaced slightly differently. One cub (who we’ll call Cub A) has the rear two spots slightly closer together, while the other (Cub B, pictured) has even spacing between the 3 spots on its right cheek.
One cub stopped to groom itself while the second suddenly spun with its ears up, staring intently back into the thicket line. It scampered off and its sister settled down to wait.
Cubs of this age investigate everything under the sun, so we expected the cub to be back after it lost interest in whatever it had heard; probably a nyala, which would be a bit too big for the small leopard to tackle.
What we weren’t expecting was that the cub would come hurtling out within two minutes, on the tail of something small and furry that was running for its life, spurts of dust kicking up under its feet. It was a scrub hare, fleeing full tilt, right past the second cub who was still waiting patiently. I think the waiting cub got just as much of a fright as us, as it spun on a dime to instinctively try and take up the chase itself.
The second cub got as big of a surprise as us as her sister came tearing out of the thickets on the tail of a scrub hare, but by the time she’d turned, the hare had already been caught.
My camera was down, and I just managed to scramble to get a photo of the waiting cub turning; by the time I’d swung onto the cub that was doing the chasing, I’d messed up my focus, and by then she’d already pounced on the hare just behind a Gwarrie bush.
The only salvageable photo, about half a heartbeat before the hare sadly met its maker.
Immediately upon making the kill, the cub snapped up the carcass and trotted into the thick bush. Instinctive leopard behaviour at its best; get your kill under cover.
The second cub could only watch as her sister started practicing killing the hare all over again, tossing it in the air and pouncing on it in an endless pantomime.
To the victor go the spoils. The succesful hunter carries her kill into the Gwarrie thickets while her sister stands and watches.
A macabre dance. The cub kept tossing the hare around and practicing pouncing on it for the next 15 minutes.
Lethally sharp claws grip into flesh and fur of prey species perfectly.
If this had been a young lion making the kill, the rest of her pride – and certainly her sister – would have gone rushing in to share the meat. But leopards feed alone, and when the second cub made an attempt to sneak in and grab some of the hare, she was met with swift retribution; snarls and slashing claws from her sister that sounded like they should have come from a much larger leopard! The hungry cub was lucky to get away with only a minor scratch or two.
We left the two in the thickets, heading back to camp extremely encouraged by the hunting prowess that is being displayed by at least one of these young leopards. I’m sure it’s simply a matter of opportunity, and if she gets the chance, the second cub will be equally adept at the chase and takedown.
We’ve mentioned it before, but should these two sisters make it to independence (which seems likely), they will be the first intact litter to be raised on Londolozi since the Nhlanguleni female and her brother were forced into solitary life by their mother, about 7 years ago.
We’ll probably know in 6 months…
When they become indepent they will probably not stay together as leopards are solitary? Will they have territories close together or is nature too unpredictable to speculate?
Hi Marinda,
Yes they will separate.
It often happens that female leopards establish territories next to their mothers, but it’s definitely too soon to tell…
A scrub hare is like an appetizer for one only. Nice story about the lack of predictability
Great story, James. I hope they make it to adulthood.
The bush never ceases to amaze and catch us off guard! I can see you grabbing your camera and hoping to capture this unexpected adventure. Well done, James. As to the 15 minute of playing with the poor hare …. cubs will be cubs. Lol.
So what happened to the Nhlanguleni female’s brother from that litter? – and did Tutlwa bring any other cubs to independence?
Hi Suzanne,
The brother was quite skittish and seen a few times after independence, then he dispersed, most likely into another reserve. Maybe the Kruger Park.
Sadly the Tutlwa female didn’t raise any other cubs to independence.
I feel your frustration! Predicting behavior, positioning as well as having correct camera settings and focus is tricky.
The sisters are looking quite healthy so it would seem they’re eating well. Is their mother still providing the bulk of their food? When she’s ready to cut them loose, does she just use leopard words to let them know they’re on their own? That’s always been fascinating to me –
Hi Denise, yes their mother is still bringing them to kills regularly.
When it’s time for them to move on, the mother simply stops going back to fetch them, and after a while they realise they had better start providing for themselves.
It’s a gradual process though, with the mother leaving them alone for longer and longer, anbd like in the sighting above they will be catching more and more of their own food between kills from her.
She will also gradually start acting more aggressively towards them at a kill site.
Since hare’s are so small, is it likely the leopard snapped it’s neck quickly as opposed to the typical slower suffocation of larger prey species? Not that you ever want any animal to be killed, but it seems there would be less suffering involved with such a small animal.
Hi Chelsea,
Yes it was over very quickly- from what I saw in the puff of dust and the speed at which it happend, it was imply a crushing bite to the neck or head and it was all over.
It’s enjoyable listening to the ranger “god parents” stories as they talk about the exploits of our growing family of leopard cubs and so enjoyable to hear when we can remember watching their early days. Although sadly not their to watch, but so thoroughly invoked in their growth.
Amazing sighting!!!