Leopard of Camp Moremi

Camp Moremi
Nov. 19, 2008

What licks its paws, sharpens its claws, rolls in the grass, scratches the ground, rubs its head against a log to relieve an itch and sips water from a puddle like milk from a bowl?

If you guessed a house cat, you could be right. But if you guessed a leopard in Moremi Game Reserve on this particular afternoon, you would be spot on.

Camp Moremi Guide Kagiso and I had a stroke of luck. Kagiso spotted tracks and followed them until we found this male leopard. We couldn’t believe it: He was relaxed and treated us as
fellow travelers. He would walk a bit, and we would ease along him behind the truck.

He would stop and strike a pose, and we would shoot his photo. At times, if I were brave enough or foolish enough to lean out of the truck, I would have been able to touch him; that’s how close he was. Neither Kagiso nor I could get over the fact that we had 45 minutes with this gorgeous creature, watching him do all of the cat-like activities I mentioned in the first paragraph. I had a chance to absorb the whole of the scene: not just watch the leopard in all his glory. I was able to observe the red-eyed francolins scatter about in a panic, squawking their warnings to other animals. I watched a giraffe stand frozen in the distance, craning its neck like a leaning Tower of Pisa. He wanted to know if the leopard was coming his way. Ditto the impala. They stood as if on ice.

Kagiso thought the leopard’s belly looked full, so at least for those moments the impalas need not have worried that they were on the dinner menu. This leopard was content to mark his territory and flaunt his fabulousness on the afternoon cat walk. Lucky for me I had a good seat for the show.

Volunteer, Maria Henson - Camp Moremi