Leopard and Cubs in Sabi Sands last week.

[Dinsdale]

Thought this might be interesting to some;going through some pics from a recent vacation/hunting trip.

 

Was fortunate enough to get a look into the life of a female Leopard and her 2 cubs this past week during a visit to the Sabi Sands game reserve in South Africa. Sabi is a associated private park ( termed "APNR" land)attached to Kruger National Park designed to expand the park and give the animals free movement. These private areas effectively double the park boundaries, but being private allow for off track use of vehicles to spot big 5 game in the bush. There are several lodges to stay at both in Kruger and on APNR land.....

 

This is this females second litter; she successfully raised two female cubs on her first litter ,very unusual for a young cat. These two male cubs are roughly 6 mos old and they lost a female sibling a short time ago, most likely to a Hyena. Being able to track the cats off road has the private rangers able to keep good tabs in her home range without the use of radio collars (collars are now hacked by poachers and extra precautions are taken on voice radio chatter not to pin point Rhino and other animals prized by illegal smugglers)

 

We came to the scene with cub 1 in the a tree gnawing on the leg of a Impala kill taken a full night prior, 24-30 hrs maybe.....

 

 

Mom was patiently calling to her second cub somewhere hidden in the thick bush;

 

 

Cub 2 pops up in the thick;

 

 

 

After sometime the second cub got a warm greeting from mom who was always glancing back to keep an eye on the first cub;

 

 

Roughly 1/2 hr later it was cub 2's turn to feed, so mom called cub 1 down and he waited by the base of the tree;

 

 

The female then escorted cub 2 up and returned to take a nap when we left them alone;

 

 

 

 

The beginnings of a top predator in Africa;

 

 

This was my 4th trip to Africa; I have baited Leopards for other hunters and seen countless feeding signs, kills, pugs marks, and trail cam pics.....never in my life would I have told you it was possible to see 4 different Leopard relaxed in daylight over several days, best i have done is a tail or a glimpse in poor light. To see a set of cubs was an unreal thrill.

[stoneam2006]

That's gotta be a sight to see animals hanging from trees getting eaten...very cool

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[wooly]

Wow- great shots and beautiful animals!

I'm not much of a cat person, but seeing those could change my mind!

[Lawdwaz]

Great pics and story Dan. I love the spots and coloring, talk about camouflage !

[wmig2]

That's a trip of a lifetime. Those are some amazing pictures.

[grampy]

The pictures and your description of them are simply awesome. Not sure if I'll make it to Africa myself. But I could settle for a campfire, a good beverage and listening to your stories and experiences. Thanks for sharing.

[Dinsdale]

 Not sure if I'll make it to Africa myself. But I could settle for a campfire, a good beverage and listening to your stories and experiences.

 

Ha....ask Lawdwaz, its getting me to shut up that's the hard part when Africa is the subject, best to leave that topic alone.

 

As I'm a bit of a species collector, the hunting often involves animals that are lesser known to most, there is a brief hunt report for that portion of my trip here for those inclined to see some additional pics. 

 

http://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-kmg-hunting-safaris-april-2016.28549/

 

 

[BizCT]

Cool stuff. Really like the Jackal!

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[Paula]

Amazing

[grampy]

Congratulations on those beautiful trophies Dinsdale! Superb pictures and narrative too. Perhaps if Larry gets tired of hearing the stories, tell em again for me!