Eating at the “McDonalds” of the Bush

Tonight was another incredible game drive.  We saw warthogs, kudus, impala, and zebras…then went looking for lions.  Instead of lions, we witnessed two leopards who had taken their “McDonalds” up into trees!  These leopards were sated, and protecting their kills.  One was nearly finished with her impala while the other in a nearby tree had a freshly killed impala hanging in the branches.  Under the tree was Wesley’s hyena, waiting to scavenge any pieces that might fall to the ground….and the organs were ready to fall.   Apparently, these two leopards are mother and daughter, and the daughter just recently went out on her own, obviously not too far as we pretty much sat between the two trees and could see both.  We were closest to the mother, though, as she had a very fresh kill.  To see something like this is truly like being in a documentary. I do have some video as we were very close, but mom only began to come down to warn the hyena after it was dark.  Leopards are nocturnal animals. We were all speechless with wonder, and felt incredibly fortunate to be able to see something like this, not on tv, but up close. We hung out for over an hour, perhaps more.   Coming upon two leopards with kills so near to one another is such a rare occurrence that Pieter, our ranger, sat back and told us to enjoy, there was really no reason to go looking for anything else.  The leopards stayed right there, and always kept their eyes on the kill.  The mother caught the scent of the hyena and growled down at it, warning it not to interfere with her kill.  I have to say, the poor impala looked pretty pathetic hanging from the tree. Pieter told us a story about a call he received at another lodge he used to work at.  Someone staying at the lodge called the front desk to let everyone know that an Impala was stuck in a tree outside their window and someone needed to come and help it get down. Impalas don’t exactly jump into trees on their own, so Pieter told them to be careful, that a leopard must be very close by.  He went to check, and yes, there was a leopard sitting at the base of the tree. The rangers just howl with laughter at that story!

Photos speak louder than words:

The four of us are completely amazed by everything we have seen, and we are sad to leave Sabi Sabi tomorrow.  This has been an incredible adventure … a wonderful stay at a quality establishment and in an unparalleled location.  We have one more game drive tomorrow, then we head to Joburg for one night before departing for Victoria Falls.  We know more adventure is ahead in Zimbabwe and Botswana…but we do love the Earth Lodge, Pieter, and Pat and we are sad to leave.