When we pulled into Kadizora Camp in the Okavanga Delta of Botswana our guide, K.T., let us know that a red lechwe kill had been found with a mother and her two year old cubs feeding on it. We stashed our bags in our tent and hopped in our modified Toyota Land Cruiser to go find them.
When we arrived there were two other Land Cruisers sitting there and we joined them, but I couldn't see the leopards. K.T. and Judy finally pointed a leopard out to me laying in the grass.
After watching awhile I asked where the other one was. They looked at me incredulously, "right next to it."
Eventually the young female got up and ventured toward the red lechwe kill sitting under a low tree and we watched the young male for awhile.
Then we drove over near the tree to watch the young female eat. She bit into the lechwe and tugged pieces of meat off. My pictures of that did not turn out well because it was dim light and my shutter setting was longer. The movement of ripping off the flesh cause blurriness in those photos.
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| Leopard chewing on the red lechwe. |
We came back the next morning and K.T. saw the mother run off. We watched just for a short period of time and left. K.T. did not want the young leopards to think that vehicles are something to be afraid of.
These leopards were one of the highlights of our trip to Southern Africa.
Pretty incredible. And you would think that a spotted coat would make the leopard stand out in the grass, but somehow it acts as really effective camouflage.
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