Seeing leopards in the wild is a challenge. The leopard often climbs high into trees to rest or to eat their kill and also often travels alone. Even in a safari-rich destination like South Africa, a sighting is rare. On our recent trip to South Africa, we stayed at Sabi Sabi which is actually known as “home of the leopard.” With a reputation like that, it didn’t seem to surprise our ranger, Joe, much at all when we saw a female leopard walking along the road just minutes into our third game drive! I found it most humorous that the leopard was walking along the road. I suppose even animals can appreciate the advantages of a road in the middle of the bush.
She didn’t mind our Land Rover at all, and we were able to follow her as she was looking for her mate. She would often stop and perch on a mound of dirt, or even rub her head against the road to leave her scent for the male leopard to find her.
Occasionally, and this is the most remarkable, she would let out a sound that seemed somewhere between a bark and a roar. This was her auditory mark to try to find her male leopard friend. We stayed following and watching this leopard for over an hour – every minute was different and amazing.
The next morning, Joe told us that he had heard the sound of the male leopard also close by. We set out to find him. Very quickly Joe and Kenny, our tracker, we’re able to locate him in some tall grass by the side of the road. He was on the move, marking trees to leave his calling card for the female leopard.
He often would stop, too, just as the female had done, to let out a barking roar. About 10 minutes into our following him, the female leopard answered his call by leaping out of the grass straight towards him! Seriously it was the most amazing thing ever. They had found each other! Then began the leopard mating. The process takes about 3-4 days usually, during which they are going at it every 5-10 minutes on average. Before you think that’s insane (because it is) check out the action:
Yep, pretty violent and not at all what you’d imagine (unless you are watching this all on Animal Planet, you sickos). This female leopard has actually had cubs before, but they were killed by another male. Being a cat is pretty tough.
So while there are no guarantees when out on safari, I would really recommend South Africa, and Sabi Sabi in particular, for spotting a leopard in the wild! Not only did we stalk one leopard over the course of two game drives, we also got to see some hot leopard action in the end. Well played.
