There she was, at the base of a large acacia tree laying there with her jaws clamped around the impala’s throat. We sat there watching and waiting for the impala to succumb to the suffocating vise like grip this leopard had on him. In the tall grass she was difficult to see. Even with two or three spotlights on her she was almost invisible. Her golden yellow coat spotted with solid and rosette style black markings melted her into the landscape perfectly. She was a large female, and later I was to discover she had cubs not far off. Even with four vehicles and about a dozen and a half people watching her there was total silence. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the scene in the spotlights glare, watching this magnificent animal at her most primal, or so I thought.
About 20 minutes had passed and our leopard, after opening up her kill decided to take it into hiding. We all thought that she was going to slip past the land-rovers at the widest point and be off into the bush. The next 10 to 15 minutes would prove that assumption wrong and start an incredible scenario. I, of course, packed down with two cameras several lenses and other “gear” had been photographing everything since we arrived, and of course hanging out of the confines of the land rover. The rules, designed for safety and the animals’ protection dictate that we do not leave our vehicles. I am hanging out of this vehicle so far that if a grasshopper would have landed on my arm I’d have tipped completely out.
With the impala’s neck clamped firmly in her jaws and the body dragging between her legs she started her move towards our vehicle. I’m completely immersed in photographing this beautiful animal when I suddenly realize that she is not turning away! She is now only 12 or 15 feet away and I’m out of film! Years of working with wildlife have taught me that there are times you just freeze and watch. This becomes instinct after a while. For the next segment of time I’m frozen where I hang.
There are times when you have to put the camera down and actually watch what is unfolding in front of you. You can miss so much watching only through the lens of a camera. In some way I was glad I had run out of film.
Her she comes, getting closer and closer. She is almost close enough to reach out and touch. She is beautiful, tall and muscular. The impala has got to be close to her own weight and she is effortlessly dragging him towards us. I can now see the muscles on her in use, pulled taught and holding her head and body upright walking towards us with the impala in her grip. Instinct is kicking in. Do Nothing! Be as still and quiet as possible until she walks on by. The only odd thing was that she didn’t walk on by. She stopped directly under me! Wow! I wish I had a better word than wow. For someone like me, this just couldn’t get any better. I also knew that this could be a very dangerous situation. This leopard lay down and dropped her kill. She looked up directly into my eyes.
At this point she pinned her ears back, started hissing and snarling. I could count every tooth in her mouth. I could smell her breath and feel the saliva on my face. I’m thinking, yup, those “are” large canines. The blood from the impala still covering her cheeks and muzzle. I couldn’t have been more excited! This is the moment that dreams are made of, because at this point she is only three feet from my face! Let me say this again. She is only three feet from my face. This moment seemed to last forever. She, staring into my eyes and me, staring into her eyes. They were these huge beautiful yellow discs so full of primitive life. If I had thought about it I could have counted her whiskers she was so close. For a brief time there was only myself and this leopard. Nothing else existed but the two of us in our own personal drama.
There are times when you have to put the camera down and actually watch what is unfolding in front of you. You can miss so much watching only through the lens of a camera. In some way I was glad I had run out of film.