The Mxabene male leopard was a bit of an enigma to us. He really only had a few hectares of territory on our concession, and so we very rarely came face-to-face with this stocky male leopard. He was an impressive specimen, with intense eyes and an interesting coat which was a little more yellow than usual, without the normal balance of white.
Mxabene
Country Roads
All of the images detail the story from one morning on safari.
We were following the tracks of a male leopard, which indicated that he had been scent marking through his territory a few hours prior. Jerry decided to climb off the vehicle and follow the tracks on foot, confidently stating that we were closing in on the leopard and it may be time to do some fine-scale tracking as opposed to simply driving the car around.
Tracking is a difficult art to master; made even more tricky by the obstacles which other animals present. A herd of wildebeest, for example, may snort at you; giving away your position, and spooking whatever animal you may be attempting to track.
Tracking is a difficult art to master; made even more tricky by the obstacles which other animals present. A herd of wildebeest, for example, may snort at you; giving away your position, and spooking whatever animal you may be attempting to track.
After a short while, Jerry called us to meet him up ahead on the road. He mentioned the tracks of the leopard were back on the main path which probably meant he was picking up his pace again.
At the precise moment that Jerry swung his legs back onto the vehicle, a low shape emerged from a bend 30 yards up the road: it was the Mxabene male leopard, loping straight toward us.
Admittedly, the Mxabene male was not the leopard we were looking for, but he was following the scent of the other leopard and marking his territory along their territorial boundary. This was another beautiful example of how pursuing a lead in the African wild can always lead to success in some way, shape or form.
At the precise moment that Jerry swung his legs back onto the vehicle, a low shape emerged from a bend 30 yards up the road: it was the Mxabene male leopard, loping straight toward us.
Admittedly, the Mxabene male was not the leopard we were looking for, but he was following the scent of the other leopard and marking his territory along their territorial boundary. This was another beautiful example of how pursuing a lead in the African wild can always lead to success in some way, shape or form.