Warning

Female leopard growling at four cheetah males, Craig Lockard watering hole, Auob riverbed, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

 

After having found this leopard and her prey of a couple of days old in the big tree at Craig Lockard the evening before, we returned early the next morning. She was not there, but we decided to wait and shortly four cheetahs approached to drink from rain puddles that had formed from rain the night before. We watched and photographed them and to our surprise the leopard came running from the dune side. Intimidated by the cheetahs she went into a thick bush and then up a smallish tree in the middle of it. When the cheetahs retreated slightly she came down, and using the vehicles parked there as cover she made her way back to her tree. In an attempt to pull her prey higher up the tree she accidentally dropped it. The cheetahs were still close, but she was not fazed and swiftly retrieved it. Here she growls at the four males. What a cool cat!

 

(Ikhaya, mother and father unknown)

 

Copyright Gerda van Schalkwyk. All rights reserved.

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