))Leopards are one of the Big 5, and are the most prolific cats in the world, being found in the highest peaks in the Himalayas to the Southern African coastline of St Lucia, Isimangaliso Wetland Park.
Leopards have one of the most varied diets of any predator in the world which is why they can survive is the harshest environments in the world, like the steep dangerous slopes of the Himalayan mountains.
These solitary Cats only come together for mating or are seen when young with their mothers.
Leopards can hoist their food let’s say an antelope that is twice its own body weight up a straight vertical incline ie: up a Marula tree (Sclerocarya Birrea) Southern Africa.
Each individual Leopard is Unique; there are no two Leopards that have the same spot or rosette pattern. Just like humans, our fingerprints are all different.
When I began this five-part series on the Big 5 which are so called because they are the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt on foot, I started to think about what I would write.
I realised I had only done a few posts with information on the Big 5, what the Big 5 are and how they got the named “The Big 5”.
I had to think of it as if I was visiting South Africa for the first time or Africa and wanted to join a South Africa Safari tour. I know I would really want to know what on earth this term Big 5 is all about.
A final summary of the term “Big 5” originates from hunters. If you were living as a hunter gatherer you were going to have to hunt animals for food. There would be no real point in hunting a Leopard or a Lion, unless to show your bravery.
As you know don’t generally eat other predators for food. One they are too small, difficult and dangerous to hunt. There would be no point in taking the risk when you can hunt something easier like a bird or a small mammal like an Antelope.
None of these animals are difficult or dangerous especially in today’s times when we have access firearms.
This is where the term “the Big 5” originated, it was the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot!
Who are these animals? Why would people hunt them? and why are they so dangerous to hunt on foot?
Well from my previous 4 blog posts on the Big 5 you will now know that they are: The Lion, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant and now lastly the Leopard.
So why would anyone want to hunt a Leopard in the first place?
There are a couple reasons:
- Historically and culturally people would hunt them as a sign of their strength to others in the community. So, for example if you wanted to prove to your piers that you were the strongest man amongst them, you would attempt to hunt the elusive Leopard. Kings have been known to do the same, and the skin has been worn as a status symbol in many cultures, including our very own Zulu culture.
- In today’s times, hunters will hunt Leopard as a trophy to mount the head on the wall in the home, bar or use the skin as a carpet.
So why is a Leopard so dangerous to hunt on foot?
Well Leopards can be dangerous like with any animal when cornered or particularly if a mother is protecting her cubs.
Hell, hath no fury like a “women” scorned, we all know that one. Leopards are elusive, solitary and secretive so they avoid being seen so that they can be successful hunting their prey.
This also means they are not used to human contact and if they feel scared and to not have an escape route they will attack.
I have been very fortunate over the years of working in the field and spending time with nature to have seen some amazing sightings of Leopards.
Prior to started my tour company “Tim Brown Tours” in 2010 I spend several years living in the bush working as a Safari Tour guide conducting open vehicle safari drives and bush walks in Big 5 game reserves in South Africa.
Some of my greatest spiritual moments have been with Leopards, I have seen them mating, climbing tree’s, fighting, walking under my vehicle, making kills and even being chased up trees by Lions and African Wild Dogs.
Leopard stories from the African Bush with Tim Brown
One of my most difficult moments with Leopard came in 2008 when we were watching a Leopard mother with her last cub. They were feeding on a Bush buck in a tree; I am pretty sure it was a Weeping Boer bean tree. (I checked the pictures it was a Weeping Boer bean tree). We enjoyed watching the cub playing on the ground and in the tree and suddenly noticed the female Leopard (Mother) was in the tree but staring in a crouched position in one direction.
Keep in mind as Safari guides, we are unable to interfere with nature, this was now a worrying moment. The mother Leopard came down from the tree with her cub, and the cub lay low behind a small branch a couple feet away from its mother.
We then got an update over the “Bush Radio” that one of our colleagues had located a large male Leopard making his way purposefully towards the location on this Mother Leopard and her Cub which was only a few months old.
Our two sightings of Leopard now became one as three of us in our Land cruisers looked on anxiously. The male Leopard did not go up the tree to “steal” the food stashed by the female Leopard.
He went straight for the cub, grabbed it around the back on the neck and gave it three quick shakes! It was over in a flash, the Cub was dead, and the mother did not fight off the male in any way. I think she knew what was coming and could not risk her life too.
We were all dead quiet and as the guide this was not a situation I had ever been in before, but I understood that we would not be speaking much.
Without a word being spoken I reversed the vehicle and began to drive back towards the road, it was dead silent as if the sound of the engine and crunching grass beneath the wheels were not there.
We made our way out onto the road, and it was only a few hundred meters down the road where there was a T-Junction where I pulled over the vehicle to face my guests.
I turned around in my seat and looked to my guests, they were all as white as sheets and I realised I had to now speak. I simply said, would you like to return to the lodge for breakfast? Everyone’s head just nodded, and we began a quiet drive back to the lodge it was only 15 minutes later that some asked me “Why?”.
I pulled over the vehicle and explained the truth of the situation.
When a male Leopard smells or sees a female Leopard in his territory he will want to mate with her. In this situation her already having a Cub which more than likely was not sired by him, he will kill the Cub to prevent future competition to him. He also will do this because it begins a hormonal change in the female, and she will come into “season” and be ready to mate. So, the male will stay with her during this time to mate with her and sire his own offspring.
Now that everyone understood we continued back to the lodge where I think not many of us where able to stomach our breakfast. I don’t recall any of my guests wanting to do a bush walk later that morning, still struggling to process the sighting.
For me it was from this point on I stopped naming animals or if they already had names and I avoided saying them unless I had to. I realised by giving these majestic creatures names that we were building a strong emotional relationship with them and when they were no longer it was a little emotional.
I know even today I do not like to revisit this memory, but it is a normal behaviour, and it taught me a lot about life, and I hope hearing it will help others to look at life differently.
The End!
Moving on… I have been very privileged and once I returned to Durban my hometown, I began my own Safari Tour company to share the magical things I have experienced in my life with others. After a few more qualifications achieved I was able to introduce Historical and Cultural tours to our offerings.
Moving from just wildlife into sharing South African and mostly Zulu culture and historical Anglo-Zulu Battlefields tours.
My focus has been to showcase KwaZulu Natal here on the Southeastern part of South Africa meaning we have become specialists in the area being now regarded as a highly ranked Safari Tour company through client’s reviews on the Tim Brown Tours Tripadvisor page.
If you are interested in travelling to South Africa, Durban is one of the best places to be for several reasons:
- Durban has a very moderate climate and beautiful beaches.
- Durban is within 3-hour drive to the world renowned and oldest game reserve in Africa “Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 game reserve”
- Durban is also within 3 hours of the majestic Drakensberg mountains and Lesotho the mountain kingdom, the highest country in the world.
- Durban is also within a 3-hour drive of the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer battlefield sites.
- Durban is again within 3-hours drive of KwaZulu Natal’s two world heritage sites: Isimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve.
As you can see Durban, KwaZulu Natal is the best place to visit in South Africa with some much to offer.
If you are interested in visiting South Africa, drop us an email or WhatsApp and we will ensure your time touring with us is magical!
