The Elusive Cat of the Kgalagadi

All of you Safari-goers out there can relate to that dreaded feeling as you roll out of bed on the last full day of your trip - it is like you want to start as early as possible to get the most out of the day but also not start at all so it cannot end!

This time was slightly different for us, it might be the memory card full of leopard photos captured over the past 6 days, but I feel it was more the overwhelming sense of awe for the African bush and for every creature that calls it their home.

Watching the rising sun turn the steam from our morning coffee into swirling golden clouds, we were once again reminded that the African bush is where we find peace, the cure to our sometimes hectic lives.

The time had arrived to head out on our morning drive, and upon entering the game viewing section we again boldly stated that any sighting would be a bonus, but secretly we were both hoping for another big cat sighting.

The morning was fairly quiet but as we were making our way back to camp for breakfast we spotted a car parked on the side of the road, what had they spotted? Pulling up I immediately spotted the familiar shape and coloration of a leopard, it was fast asleep in the fork of a tree. We got as comfortable as possible in the now 38’C hoping the cat would wake up, but after 45 minutes of no movement and with the light now being quite harsh for photography we decided to rather try and locate it again during our afternoon drive.

Afternoon drive

If I was to say that I did not think of the leopard during breakfast and our midday rest in our chalet to avoid the hottest time of day I would be telling lies, I simply could not wait to head out again. As we opened the door of our air conditioned chalet it felt as if we were stepping into an oven with the temperature turned up all the way! The temperature gauge on the dashboard of our car read 43’C and with very little wind we knew that we were in for a sweltering hot game drive.

There is never a guarantee that you will spot any big cats on a game drive, but you definitely have more chance than just sitting on the couch!

Whilst bouncing along on the gravel road I was already composing a National Geographic quality image of a leopard in a tree in my mind. Unfortunately when we arrived at the spot where we had spotted the leopard in the morning there was no sign of it, now what?

We decided to head further down the road as we would have spotted it already if it had moved closer to camp - the gamble paid off because just a few bends in the road later we spotted a few cars - this must be it.

We noticed the same car from the morning, and when we pulled up and said hi, the lady passenger said the leopard had woken not long after we had left and had moved to this spot - it looked a little more shady which was probably the reason for the cat moving.

We quickly found a good vantage spot and rolled down all the windows as we knew we were in for a lengthy wait. The first hour came and went and to say that we were practically melting would not be an overstatement. Eventually after about another 30 minutes the cat started twitching it’s tail, a sure sign that it was starting to wake up.

I did not know it then but in about 30 minutes I was to take an image of a leopard that I had been after for the past 10 years - a leopard in a tree without any branches restricting the field of view!

the moment

The leopard sat up, yawned and had a good stretch - my wife and I were ready and when the leopard looked up the trunk of the tree I instinctively knew that she was going to climb into the PERFECT spot - I applied a little more pressure to the shutter button with my index finger.

And just like that the image that had danced around in my dreams was captured forever on my memory card - MAGIC!

The leopard then descended the tree before walking across a fallen branch - we assumed that the heat had also taken a toll on her and that she was on her way to the waterhole to quench her thirst.

It is at this point that we decided to give the newcomers to the sighting a better vantage point so we slowly edged our way through the maze of parked cars. Back at camp with an ice cold beer in hand my wife and I replayed each minute of the amazing encounter we had just had with one of the most elusive cats of the Kgalagadi, the Leopard!

Thanks for joining me on this journey, till next time…