Finding a leopard in the bush is always a treat but can be tricky! So, when Pieter and his guests found three together in a tree, it was already a special sighting.
Even more exciting, the leopard family was all in one tree, feeding on an impala catch. The smells from the kill also attracted some unwanted attention from hyenas!
Hyenas aren’t designed for climbing, and they wouldn’t be a threat to the cats in the tree. But, lodging a carcass on a branch is a skill, and it takes experience not to drop anything while eating. Hyenas are fully aware of this, so they linger hoping the leopard makes a mistake.
The hyenas waited and waited without reward, so they eventually moved off into the nearby bushes, where they did some more waiting. With the hyenas out of direct sight, one of the inexperienced leopard cubs felt comfortable enough to start eating again.
A good chunk of the impala had already been eaten, making the carcass lighter. With less weight and an uneven proportion, it became even harder to keep the carcass lodged in the tree. All it took was one misplaced bite from the cub, and the impala slipped off.
The impala’s head wedged between two branches on the way down, so it ended up dangling from its neck. The young leopard was still hungry and, with no real way of pulling the impala back up, it tried eating it where it hung. That’s when it came crashing to the ground.
The thud instantly attracted the hyenas, who came running from the bush, but the leopard mom’s reaction was out of this world. Just a split second after the carcass hit the ground, the leopard was there to grab it, and before the hyenas even reached the tree, she was halfway back up.
The leopard carefully placed the food back in the tree and started eating again. The thought of losing everything might have pushed her to make the most of the food. The hyenas were outplayed and cut their losses once more.
This time the mother leopard was higher up than the youngster, and the dangling impala head was just too much of a temptation for the curious cub. It poked at it like it was a toy, and before anyone knew it, the carcass came flying to the ground again.
The second time was less surprising for the mom, maybe just a bit of an annoyance. She quickly grabbed the carcass again and hopped back into the tree. This time, she took the meal all the way to the top of the tree, where it was thicker and less likely to fall.
