Breaking down by a leopard, husband as bait and tree climbing lion

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Seeing a leopard in the wild is a blessing, having the vehicle you’re riding in breaking down adds to the excitement. Seeing your spouse getting out of the vehicle to push adds extra excitement, there’s not been a dull moment today.

Another early start meant that when we got to the gate of our fenced off area, we were still locked in. A young man came who out of the gate hut was still getting dressed, to unlock the padlock. Just outside our fenced area are dwellings where local families live, I guess they have a better idea on how to protect themselves from predators than we do. Today there were only waterbuck and a cat lining the path today.

It was still dark when we left. The drive took under an hour to Kalinzu Forest and we only broke down once! This is a privately owned area and home to 5 troops of chimps, around 320 in total. Two of the troops are habituated to humans, so only those are tracked, the others would run away or get aggressive. There’s also black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed, l’hoest and olive baboons. And lots of birds and butterflies.

This place is smaller than Kibale where we went on Tuesday. But it meant a small trekking group consisting of myself, Glyn and two Italian ladies. Our guide, Pathius was joined by Julius, a trainee guide. Before we even started, a troop of olive baboons walked by.

Now this was a proper trek, up and down a mountain, often off-path with Pathius swinging his machete. The guides were not armed here as there’s no need. Within 15 minutes we found a few chimps, high up in the trees. One was making a nest which Pathius said we were lucky to see. And then it peed, narrowly missing showering over one of the Italians. The alpha male decided to climb down a tree, but before we could get anywhere near, it scuttled off into the undergrowth, never to be seen again (by us).

Pathius suggested trekking further to see if we could find more and all were up for it. So uphill we went, at times on my hands and knees, over logs and through thickets, clinging onto trees to pull myself through. Some trees were very spiky, and some dead, so I needed to be careful. I did spot some black and white colobus monkeys so all good. The ground was covered in dead leaves and damp mud with lots of roots and stumps to trip over. Pathius was often on his phone, calling the some trackers and the other group to see if they’d spotted anything. He asked if we could up the pace as chimps were seen at ground level and were moving fast. I said “yes” before anyone could open their mouths.

On the flat areas, all was well, but some of the downhills were incredibly steep with loose leaves and mud. The younger of the Italians was the first one to fall over. After an hour or so, pushing through the thicket, balancing on logs to avoid being knee deep in mud and Pathius making many calls, we eventually met the other group, their female guide and a tracker.

This is where I lost half my leg down a hole. It was through tree roots where the rain had washed away the soil and fallen leaves had concealed it. I couldn’t get my foot out without leaving my boot behind and Pathius kindly dug it out for me.

Extremely high up, barely visible in the tree was a male chimp. I knew it’s gender because upon zooming in on the back of my camera, Pathius pointed out a foot, an arm and a testicle. He was asleep and alone, having gone looking for fruit on behalf of the troop and had been unsuccessful. Adult chimps get sent out in all directions to find food and when they do, they call to the rest of the group. We’d caught this one sleeping on the job!

We were close to the end of our allocated time, you’re only allowed four hours total in the forest and just one hour in the company of chimps. Heading back was no less difficult and the other Italian took a small tumble. Strangely, Glyn was the only one in the group not to have a mishap. Pathius told us chimp facts: they are babies from ages 0-4, juveniles from 5-12 and then adults. When they die, the local scientists check the cause of their death then bury them near the troop who will grieve for around 5 days.

Before we left the forest, another black and white colobus monkey was spotted. There was a red-tailed monkey directly behind it and we could only see its tail. The end of our journey took us through a tea plantation.

Zedius was napping in the jeep when we got back but was ready to set off. We stopped at some good view points across the park. The first one, some small kid was being a guide, pointing at things in the scenery. To be honest, I didn’t understand a word of it, but he got a tip. Further along, Zedius stopped as there was a small herd of bush elephants in the distance, under a tree in the long grass. We stopped for photos of course.

After lunch and a short break, it was time for a late afternoon safari. It was getting cloudy which is a good sign as it mean the animals could get active. I saw a Maribou stork before we even entered the park! And within minutes of entering, we came across a family of elephants right by the road.

Now if an elephant flaps its ear at you, it’s a warning it may charge. They didn’t have a problem with me, but one look at Glyn and they were flapping like mad. We pulled forward as they crossed the track behind us. Still some flapping going on, but they settled down. I’ve no idea what Glyn did to upset them.

Further along we saw some bush pigs with babies in the road. They shot off pretty sharpish, so no photos of them. We got the usual warthogs, kops and waterbuck. The track followed the Kazinger channel, just a bit higher up, and is where the animals cross after having a drink. There was also a lot of poo around. Our jeep has an open top and I stood on a seat, looking out as Zedius drove. Sometimes I have to cling on, but mostly it is safe.

At the end of the track was a junction that took us along Edward Lake. And there I saw a leopard, curled up by the track. I refused to believe it at first as it’s extremely rare to see them and if you do, not in the open like this. It stayed long enough to get photos then moved behind a dead bush still visible. Now if you’ve been reading my blogs, you’ll know that our jeep breaks down a lot and getting it started can be troublesome. However, Zedius suggested switching off the engine, because it’s so much nicer to look at animals without engine noise. I said “yes“ of course.

We enjoyed the sounds of nature as the leopard slinked off having made me very happy just by being there. Predictably the engine wouldn’t start. Zedius tried many times and waited and tried again. The leopard appeared to have left, so he got a piece of cable and went under the bonnet. Whatever he did, it didn’t help. We offered to push. He didn’t like the idea but what eles could be done? We were on flat ground and not rolling anywhere. Zedius said I must stay on lookout, while Glyn pushed.

It’s not like leopards are the only big cats in the neighbourhood, so I was looking in all directions as I didn’t want either him or Zedius mauled - the latter was stood outside the jeep and also trying to push whilst turning on the engine. I love lions but I love my husband more and didn’t mean for him to be bait. Luckily, the engine revved, we all cheered and the others dashed back inside of the vehicle. Not a predator in site…

Until about 100 metres away, a lioness chilling in a tree. Another huge stroke of luck as people don’t often get to see tree climbing lions. Zedius said that if she’d recently eaten, she could stay up that tree all night. However, lions aren’t usually on their own, where were the rest? I can’t answer that. But speculating was part of the fun. But Zedius left the engine running. The lioness could be upon us in seconds if she chose and getting out of the vehicle here would be insane. I watched her for ages and she looked right back at me, smiling. Don’t mock! Cats do smile, and this was a very happy cat.

Eventually we left and exited the park after Zedius told the gate keeper his story. We drove to another section of the park, despite the sun beginning to set. About 6 jeeps passed the other way and Zedius stopped each one to tell them what had happened. They would want to know the location of the lion because even if it was too late now, they could go in the morning. She’ll probably still be there.

I wasn’t expecting so see much more, but it was idyllic driving through the beautiful landscape in the golden light of the evening. There was a cool breeze and it was perfect. However, we did see more elephants, warthogs and kops, including babies hopping about.

We came upon rather a lot of jeeps surrounding a large bush area and there may have been a leopard inside. I couldn’t see it and I don’t think anyone else could, but tourists were desperately staring into the foliage, losers. Meanwhile, Zedius was busy telling all the other guides our leopard breakdown tale. In one jeep, there was a tourist on his phone, not looking up for even a fraction of a second. This annoyed Glyn; why had this man come here if he wasn’t even going to look?

It was getting close to 7pm and we decided to leave the park on time today, we’d already done enough risky stuff. It started to rain and was getting dark.

Not far from the turning to our lodge, an elephant was crossing the main road stopping lorries and other traffic. Half way across, it changed it’s mind and meandered for a bit before going back. I wanted to film it but it was too dark.

When we got back Zedius told some of the staff our story, but he’s not going to tell his boss!

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