What a Leopard!

It’s not often you see a leopard that is confident and experienced enough to sneak between several hyena and feed on a fresh kill they thought they had commandeered for themselves.


This was one such day!

We stopped at Wild Dog Dam and my guests enjoyed a warm sunset afternoon with bright orange colours and meringue-like clouds. A glass of cabernet was complimented by relishes of cheese and paté, prepared by my wife Ronél. Our guests came from very far and I could see that they were in some way struck by a sense of disbelief and amazement at what they have experienced in the bush thus far.

The sun slipped away and we were off with the spotlight, zigzagging and intently searching.

It’s full moon and easy to make out large Bushwillow, Jackalberry and Monkey Thorn trees silhouetting in the bright moon light.


The radio crackled and it was good news. Leopard on a kill! We were literally a few hundred meters away and got to the area in a few short minutes. As we got there I was told the leopard had moved away. A large female kudu had been killed and was lying in the riverbed. Something had definitely been feeding on it.


We stayed for a good 15 minutes, as the other vehicle had left the area a long time ago. I decided to go for a bumble and see what else we might find. One hundred meters away four male elephant of a known group of twelve were drinking water from a recently formed pool forced open by floods a few months ago.

The moon was so bright we could see these elephant drinking in the pure natural light. I asked Simon to switch his light off. We just sat there in the dark and could literally see water dripping from their trunks and heard how they slurped gallons and gallons of water at a time.

We could see these elephant drinking without the spotlight that’s how bright the moon was. I asked Simon to switch his light off and we just sat there in the dark and could literally see water dripping from their trunks and heard how they slurped gallons and gallons of water at a time.


Driving slowly, we returned to the kill and within 30 seconds one, then two, then three hyenas appeared. Their noses revealed the way and led them to this very place. Four minutes later they discovered the spot. With as much caution as I would use entering a dragons cave, they slowly with quarter strides and sideway stepping, closed in on the kill.


Three Hyenas became four and then five. The hyenas must have come from far as most of the individuals first greeted each other with the classic “I’ll lift my leg and you lift your leg, let’s smell who you really are!”


The Hyenas started feeding and then suddenly the next moment a large male leopard appeared. He watched from a massive fallen Sycamore Fig tree barely 5 meters from the kill. He very casually lay down and with very little care and surprise rested on the log, head down, paws crossed.

I almost got the idea he knew these Hyena intimately from many a past confrontation and hunting sessions deep in the wilderness.

Suddenly all the hyena gave a classic alarm call and off they were galloping away! The leopard dropped down, looked to the front and back and strolled over to his kill. I then saw one hyena in the dark staring almost nervously. At that moment I could see that this was a leopard of high regard. These hyenas dare not take him on one-on-one.

The leopard took a chunk of meat and slowly walked back, leapt onto the Sycamore and ate. The Hyenas returned and ate as-well.

They carried some meat away. The leopard then strolled over towards and then past us. Where was he going? I then saw he was confidently approaching a hyena that carried some of the bounty away. Like a proud gladiator walking into the Coliseum to face his enemy, he walked over with head slightly dipped. The distance between them lessened slowly and at about 2 meters to go, the leopard suddenly charged the hyena. The leopard’s tail was swinging like a medieval bolas while thumping the ground in rapped succession.

The leopard reclaimed the small piece the hyena had and then very interestingly marked the spot as to make sure that the hyena knew who he was dealing with. The leopard left and climbed an old Jackalberry tree. He was content, confident and controlled the situation around him.

He commanded his space and demanded respect while old Hyena was all too happy to oblige.

Fritz Breytenbach