It wasn’t “a dark and stormy night” but day four was a gray and overcast. The flat sky presents photographers with multiple challenges - low light… very flat light from all directions… a “white” sky that turns anything in front of it to a dark silhouette… and often too little light for good photographs of anything under tree foliage.
So the Idiots have to ask indulgence of their readers once again for the following sequence of photographs. The images are muddy and grainy due to the events occurring late in the afternoon with very poor light. Still – it was an exciting experience and the Idiots want to share it.
It was late enough in the afternoon that the Idiots were thinking fondly of the possibility of getting to camp in time to have showers and watch the sunset with gin-and-tonics in hand.
Musa pulled the vehicle to a quick stop. He said “There! In the tree!” The thrill of the hunt radiated from him. Like the predators they'd observed, he went from relative inaction… quietly driving the gravel of the Serengeti… to total focus and barely restrained energy. He stood and grabbed his binoculars.
With considerable less energy, the Idiots slowly rose from their seats and gazed out over the savannah. “Yes, Musa” they said patiently… “the tree… but which one?!” There were about 6 reasonable candidates. He finally narrowed it down for them to one. They looked. They peered. They studied.
Then they asked Musa to tell them what they were looking for and where they might find it. Now they had it - a sleeping leopard in the lowest large branch to the right.
The Idiots took photos of the sleeping leopard… but after about 30 of the same cat in the same pose they were once again dreaming of sunsets and gin-and-tonics. Musa, however, remained on point. “He’s becoming more active… he will hunt soon.”
The Idiots watched for activity. Sure enough… after a couple of minutes the leopard stirred a little. He raised his head. He yawned. He put his head back down and returned to his catnap. So much for his increased activity!
Sleeping leopard. Too far away and too little light for good photos. Hot showers just down the road. The Idiots were distracted. But Musa was not deterred. He explained that it was a young healthy male leopard… and there was no sign of a kill nearby… so he would likely seek prey before dark.
They maintained their vigilance. Soon they noticed that, though there was little movement, the leopard was quite alert.
After a couple of false starts, the leopard was up. Like any tabby waking up on a sofa, there were stretches and yawns and turning in circles. Then like a soldier receiving an order, the leopard went from lassitude to rigid attention in a moment. Before a finger could push the shutter button a second time, the cat was down the tree and into the tall grass.
Even when it is completely still, there is something about the view of a sitting cat from behind. Without seeing anything of its face or expression, there is tension in the muscles that tell one if the cat is lost in a daydream of naïve and tasty birds or if it is in full-on killing machine mode. This one was in Exterminator pose. The humans could not see anything other than what appeared to be a dense screen of bushes. They speculated there might be some kind of small animal sheltering in the bushes that the leopard might be considering as an appetizer.
The pose continued for many minutes. The humans wondered if they were mistaken. There was still no sight of anything that should keep the cat’s attention. Was it really just resting?
With not a hint of warning, the cat flew into the brush. A quick finger hit the shutter and captured a blur with a flying tail.
Beyond the screening bushes, a race began. Two hurtling forms raced to the right, came around in front of the line of trees and back towards the vehicle, parallel to the road. The grass was deep so only glimpses of the two animals appeared. Suddenly a collision turned the encounter from race to struggle. The action was not visible in the high grass, except for one lucky moment as a finger was pushing the shutter release. Only later would the Idiots know that the captured blur was actually the final moments of a reedbuck’s life.
For about 10 minutes there were long periods of watching grass grow punctuated by a few brief glimpses of the leopard. The Idiots assumed the leopard was eating but Musa assured them it was not so. A leopard would not eat its kill there in the open… too easy for lions or hyenas to come along and steal the prize. The leopard was getting its energy back, recovering from the hunt… and slowly working the kill to a safe spot.
Musa pointed to the nearest trees and assessed them for suitability. Though it was farther away, he said the leopard would choose a tree with more convenient branches. He counseled patience… hoping the leopard would take the reedbuck up the front side of the tree, but knowing the most convenient route up would be to drag it around and up the back.
The wait was long enough for the Idiots to have visions of ice cubes in sweat-beaded glasses dance in their sleepy heads. Then - again with no hint of a warning – the leopard was flying in a giant leap, carrying a good-sized reedbuck up into the lower branches of the tree.
Some rest, then the leopard made a mighty effort and placed the reedbuck in a secure crotch of the tree. The strength, agility, and energy required to move that corpse many meters through the grass, then carry it up the tree and along the branch far exceeded the actual hunt. A long rest period ensued.
(Note: that red patch that looks like it might be a wound, is not. It is a branch with a twisted, broken end that had developed red and brown patches…)
A Robert DeNiro look if ever there was one. “You lookin’ at me! You’d better not be lookin’ at me!” Or rather, “You’d better not be looking at my lunch!”
The Idiots assumed the show was over. It looked like the leopard would stay there all night… resting fo a while, then commencing its banquet. Once again, Musa disabused them of their assumptions. The spot, he said, was far too exposed. Lions could easily spot the leopard and chase it off its dinner. “He’s going to take it higher.”
The Idiots looked at the tree, the branches, the cat and its kill – and just couldn’t envision how that process would occur. They once again settled in and waited.
The next stage did not occur in a rush. The leopard very carefully rearranged the reedbuck, turning it 180 degrees to face the trunk of the tree.
There was a great deal of tugging and pushing and jockeying – then once again the observers were startled by the great cat leaping into the air, the hide of the reedbuck’s neck in its jaws, its powerful front quarters clutching the body to its chest like an NFL lineman wrapping up a rushing linebacker to protect his quarterback.
Like a missile, launched by the powerful hindquarters, the leopard and reedbuck hurtled upward.
A brief precarious rest to readjust…
Then a final leap into the tight nest of branches that provide shelter and camouflage for both predator and prey. Very sharp eyes and just the right perspective would be necessary to provide even a hint of its presence. (The glimpses of leopard in the closeup were enhanced by photo software.)
Thus ended another episode in the ongoing eat-and-be-eaten story that is life in the Serengeti, Very poetic to call it the Circle of Life… but there was no particular circling of life going on. The reedbuck had lunch. Then the reedbuck was lunch. But both animals were beautiful, and both played their role in the environment beautifully… and the Idiots were honored to have the privilege of witnessing this intimate encounter.
A few more pictures before sunset… and one after. The sunset itself? Well… the Idiots thought it deserved a better presentation than trying to follow a leopard hunt and kill. The sunset gets its own episode.
On safari, as in most episodes of Hell On Wheels, the best rule is shoot first and ask questions later. Sightings can be very brief, so if a photographer waits until the object is certain, many shots will be missed. Of course, this results in lots of throw-away pics. As his finger landed on the delete button for this photo – the object on the ground turned out to be a stump, not an animal, and there are no interesting birds in the branches – Idiot He realized the photo actually does a pretty good job of capturing one aspect of the beauty of the Serengeti.
Another hippo pool in the Serengeti, illustrating how many of these behemoths will gather together, next to and on top of each other, in a relatively small space. An added benefit was the opportunity to get out of the vehicle and stretch legs gone stiff from hours in a jouncing vehicle and standing watching, say, a leopard take a reedbuck.
A bathing beauty poses for her closeup…
Not even remotely interested in striking up a relationship…
TWO WILD AND CRAZY GUYS! Guide and driver par excellence Musa takes his boss, Brian for a ride.
After sunset, the dark settling in… almost to the Serengeti Wilderness Camp… glad to have traded the showers and cold drinks for an intimate encounter with a leopard and its prey…
but one more sighting – and it’s a good one! The picture is just a “memory shot” – a reminder they really did see a honey badger!
