Patience often pays off in the bush. Those of you that have been on safari before will know that in order to see some of the more spectacular things on offer, one might have to be prepared to wait a while for things to play to out. This is exactly what we did a few days ago. After finding the Three Rivers Female with half an impala hoisted in a beautiful jackelberry tree on the banks of a dry river bed. We decided to set ourselves up under its shade and wait for her to hop back up into the tree and start feeding again. Having along with me some guests that were keen to get a photograph of a leopard in a tree, it only made sense to stick around as she was inevitably going to climb the tree again; it was just a matter of time.
The majority of slender mongoose sightings are but a fleeting glimpse as they dart across the road in front of you.
My story though is not actually about the leopard going up the tree but rather what kept us entertained during the time that we were parked there and waiting. Sometimes these waiting periods can last for hours and on this particular morning, we sat for nearly three hours until she eventually ascended the tree and started to feed. During these times I try to keep myself entertained by watching the other smaller creatures that wander on by. Birds usually take up a lot of that time but on this morning it was a sneaky slender mongoose that caught our attention.
Slender mongoose are one of the smaller carnivores around these parts and and are generally known to feed on insects and occasionally smaller mammals and birds. However, they are rather opportunistic…
On this morning, the Three Rivers Female had been lying in some long grass on a termite mound adjacent to a large jackelberry tree in which she had the hoisted impala yearling. After quite some time sitting and waiting for her to rise from her slumber we noticed a rustle in the grass not long before a slender mongoose inquisitively poked his nose out. It scanned around, paying careful attention to the leopard who was still fast asleep just a couple of feet away. Quietly but swiftly, the mongoose scampered over towards the area directly beneath where the impala was hanging. It was here that a few of the tiny scraps of the impala were spread out, having fallen from the tree during the leopard’s last feeding session.
The mongoose gazes up into the tree towards where the impala was hoisted.
After scooping up these tasty morsels, the mongoose turned his attention to bigger things and began to plot his plan to get closer to the kill itself. He gazed up into the branches and quickly plan his route up the tree, still as careful as ever not to disturb the leopard.
After plucking up the courage, he ascended the tree!
He ran over to the base of the tree, up the trunk, and onto the first forked branch. Here he paused for a moment, making sure that the leopard was still asleep, which she was. Next, he slowly moved along the branch towards where the impala was hanging.
And in he went to feed off the kill that the leopard had hoisted.
As he arrived alongside the kill and began to feed, a tiny piece of the impala dropped to the ground below. This landing on the soft grass roused to leopard who shot her head up and looked up towards the hard-earned meal.
One last look to see if the leopard was still sleeping…
The mongoose froze with fear as both animals paused to plan their next move. The leopard jumped to her feet ran down the small mound that she had been sleeping on and towards the base of the jackelberry tree. The mongoose, evidently feeling cornered threw itself off the branch. For a moment he flew through the sky like a flying squirrel, landing on the ground below and making a hasty retreat into a fallen log that lay a few meters away.
We finally got what we came for; the three rivers female climbing into the large jackelberry tree that she had her kill in.
We all found this skill of acrobatics rather amusing and quite impressive. And, in addition to that, it had woken up the leopard who now sat at the base of the tree and began to groom. It wasn’t long before she herself decided to climb the tree and continue feeding on the impala; which was what we had been waiting for in the first place!
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Great story Chris, thanks.
Chris this is a good story about the mongoose, this is the first time I have seen them up a tree eating the flesh of a impala, while the leopard is nearby. What a close call for the mongoose.
Those of us brought up on Kiplings takes love the feisty mongoose in the story of his fight with the cobras. I think this mongoose is not only cute but incredibly brave just like Rikki Tikki Tavi! Victoria
Chris, your story proves the point that patience does bring rewards. You and your guests received a free ticket to the mongoose vs leopard’s feast and enjoyed its conclusion- the prized leopard going up the tree photo! I suppose the moral of this story is, if you dare to steal from a sleeping leopard with a kill, you best move quickly and eat carefully.
Bold little guy! It seems once he got a taste from those few morsels he decided to go for the jackpot 😂.
Love this story! Well-told, I could imagine myself sitting in your vehicle watching the scene evolve! Thanks for sharing it!
When a child I read about mongoose fight against snakes I thought they were very brave. They are small but very tough little critters!
Very cool sighting! A real Two For One, and entertaining!
What a fortunate plus to your afternoon Chris, that must have been a remarkable sight to see ❤️ Certainly paid off sitting patiently waiting for the leopard to move and ascend the tree. Had it not been for your cheeky mongoose your guests may have waited in vain. What super end to their day ‼️
That’s a combination of animals and behavior I never would have suspected. Great story!
What a great story, Chris! Patience pays off, indeed. Wonderful photos as well.
Very daring Mongoose if we do say so! You never know what will happen while waiting for something else!
Great read! I could see it with your telling of the tale! What an awesome sighting!
Hello Chris, What a fantastic story! What a brave mongoose! That must have been a spectacular sighting! Lucky you and the guests!
Was this mongoose an Sebramongoose?
Do you also see African civet sometimes?
Thank you for sharing!
A nice blog Chris. Some really good pics also of the cat and the mongoose. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely story Chris, thank you for it and the super pics. Who would have thought ? We’ve experienced that patience is always rewarded, sometimes most unexpectedly !
Absolutely loved this story! What a brazen little mongoose! And cagey too! When Three Rivers woke up, alert to that slight sound, the mongoose was smart to ‘fly outta there!” 😂🤣😂
What a brave little guy! Glad it had a happy ending. Thanks for the great story Chris.
Chris, What a fun encounter! Very impressive moves by the Mongoose – lucky it got out of their alive!
Fascinating. I’ve never seen one of these in the bush. I’ll have to pay more attention the next time I’m in Africa. It’s fascinating that varieties of mongoose inhabit both Africa and India. I wonder how they are related.