Luangwa leopard

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After a few days of rest and relaxation at Lake Malawi, we pass through Lilongwe and on to our next country - Zambia. Our time in Zambia will be divided in two, the first stay being at the South Luangwa National Park, and our second at Livingstone, separated by a brief visit to Zimbabwe.

Our camp site at South Luangwa is in the best tradition of national park camp sites - next to a crocodile and hippo infested river, plagued by mischeveous monkeys and prone to the odd elephant wandering between the tents, or leopard drinking from the pool (which is designed so that a hippo can get out if it falls in...).

We drive into the park early in the morning, and after a fairly fruitless few hours spotting nothing but kudu (a type of antelope), we chance upon something none of us ever hoped to see - a leopard making a kill (the rarity of seeing this explains the number of photos I'm posting!). Our driver speeds over to a grassy area beside a shallow ditch, where we can see a few eagles circling overhead, and a gaggle of impala staring intently at a space behind some long grass. As we move closer, we see a leopard straddling an impala, which is struggling to free itself from the cat’s grip. It struggles for several minutes, as the leopard keeps it’s jaws clamped on the creature’s neck. Eventually, the impala stops kicking and the leopard raises it’s head, staring anxiously at the present throng of vehicles (we arrive first but are joined in the space of 10 minutes by another half a dozen jeeps). We then watch as the leopard drags it’s kill towards a nearby tree, struggling with the weight of an animal larger than itself.

Compared to the leopards we saw at the Serengeti, this one is so close we can see the white’s of it’s eyes - a beautiful sight through binocluars. We follow the leopard into the evening, when it rests in the nearby grass, then do a night drive in the park, watching with morbid fascination as a pack of hyena and numerous vultures pick at an elephant carcass. A fascinating sight, but the smell of carion is overwhelming, and we only stick it out for a few minutes before going in search of something more pleasant!

I promised a few people I wouldn’t use this blog to tell them what I was having for dinner, but hippo steaks are pretty novel - even though they’re tough as old boots and not particularly tasty! Worth trying anything once though, I suppose.

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Photos

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In for the kill

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Keeping a close eye on the watching crowd

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Carrying off the prize

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Taking a much deserved rest

Comments

[El Eterno Caminante]

awesome!!
Wow what a picture!!