Dream come true

My Dream has Come True!

June 7, 2012

My dream of seeing leopards has come true!  For three days running from June 2nd to 4th, I have had the unparalleled experience of seeing Diamond Girl’s two leopard cubs playing, eating and even chasing game – or trying to, anyway.  The yet unnamed sister and brother can frequently be found in close proximity to one another. 

As Sister is bolder and more inquisitive, she was spotted first, by Dylan, as she was sitting up to see who was approaching with such a racket.  It was Tara, Dylan and me in Tallulah – the green vintage Land Cruiser.  Brother was close by and better concealed by the woodpile along the Big Dam.  We watched as they played in the gathering dusk and then began tracking a warthog.  We followed them as they went up the road, splitting up, reappearing and sauntering up the road.  Brother crossed the drainage line and rested in splendour while eyeing us before disappearing into the brush.  Once they decide to disappear, they blend so well into the grassy savannah that they cannot be seen and our search was futile.

The next day, while Tara and Dylan were on an errand to the Big Dam to refill the diesel generator which supplies our camp with water, they came  tearing back to fetch me as they spotted the cubs again.  This time it was Brother sunning himself by the water with sister was close by.  Lucky for me that they came back to get me so I could participate in the chase.  That evening we got lucky again as Sister was sitting under a tree by the dam to watch the impala.  She eventually gave chase when the impala ran past her hiding place.  She followed them up the dam run off and disappeared. 

The third day, Brother was sitting pretty under the same tree by the dam at dusk.  As we watched, he got up and sauntered off; disappearing into the savannah.  Tara drove in the direction that he was heading when we spotted Sister under a tree.  While we camped out in the truck to watch her movements, Brother arrived and pounced on her!  This is a game that they play.  Together they moved down the road, checking out the old kudu carcass and eventually ending up at the fresh impala kill stashed in the tree.  Sister curled up in some brush for a snooze while Brother climbed the tree for a meal. 

We had followed and ended up 10 meters from where Sister was snoozing.  The spotlight we used to see them did not faze them at all. 

Soon after Brother finished eating, he came down off the tree and was sniffing around when he heard a call, responded and ran off.  Sister who had been snoozing rose, answered and headed in the same direction.  Tara said that the alert response by both cubs meant Diamond Girl must have called them.  She must have deposited them by the dam while she went hunting. 

We continued to look for them and eventually spotted  the 3 leopards heading up the mountain.  We found them by the reflection of the spotlight off their eyes.