Dinner for two: The crocodile & the leopard

To say that it started like any other drive would be untrue...there was a vibe amongst the team and the guests, an excited feel, but of something else as well. The buzz soon lead to success - upon following up on reports of lions in the area, we trailed an Ottawa female lioness and two of her cubs for some 45 minutes. They seemed excited, on a mission of some kind. Our patience paid off as we watched her lead the two youngsters to a huge male waterbuck kill and a second waiting female keeping watch over the prides dinner. Watching the youngsters tuck in was a raw, but  awesome sight, and the rustle of hyenas sneaking through bushes surrounding us added further atmosphere to the sighting. 

That alone was a special sighting but it was what happened after drinks stop that blew our minds. Spotlighting and looking for nocturnal game, tracker Donald suddenly spotted a leopard, right out in the open, tucking into a fresh impala kill. As we neared, something next to the leopard stirred and we came to see that she was not alone. A massive crocodile was in on the action, jaws clamped firmly on the impala's front leg! A croc and a leopard feeding side by side?!  

We didn't manage to get the pic of both croc and leopard feeding at the same time - this was seconds after the leopard scarpered - here the crocodile still firmly clamped onto the impala's leg!....picture courtesy of my guest Zach Koenig

First that I've ever seen or heard of such a thing! So unlikely was the occurrence that when I called it in on the radio, my report was met with comments like "haha, good one/ I almost turned around". The joke was on me however, because it is no doubt going to go down in 'sighting of the year' history. As we neared the action, the female leopard skulked off ( we presume it was Dam 3, a famously skittish female) and the croc turned and charged at us in the vehicle. Mouth open and thundering towards us, I didn't feel much like losing a leg that evening, so I pushed the vehicle into reverse and we moved out of chomping distance. He changed course and darted into the bushes, where he sat and eyed us cautiously. The leopard, not one to miss out on a chance of moving the carcass out of the grasp of the crocodile (who no doubt saw the kill and fancied his chances), came jogging back out of the thicket, took the impala by the neck, and dragged it off between her legs to the relative safety of some denser bushveld. Deciding to leave her in peace with her quarry, we sat for a while longer watching the croc zig zag his way back to the dam, then headed home in high spirits to celebrate our day with a drink around the bar. 

After the croc's departure, Dam 3 female came straight back to re-claim her kill...just a quick glance around for the competition! Picture courtesy of my guest Zach Koenig

Dam 3 female getting a solid grip on the impala's neck ready to drag the carcass to safety.
Picture courtesy of my guest Zach Koenig

Off she goes....incredible strength!
Picture courtesy of my guest Zach Koenig

Who would win in a chase between warthog and cheetah?

A cheetah chase... one of those incredible safari moments one always hopes for. This morning we were sitting with a young male and female cheetah in some clearings in the south, watching them soaking up some early morning sunrays in that classic upright cheetah pose. Out of the corner of my eye, some movement caught my attention, and three warthogs came trotting out of the thicket into the clearings, straight into the field of vision of the cheetahs. The warthog failed to see them, they kept coming and coming, and I wondered at what point they'd pick them up, turn heal and run. Well they didn't turn, and to my astonishment came within 50m of the cheetahs. It was too good an opportunity to miss, the cheetahs were suddenly up and tearing after them, straight across the clearings, those little warthogs running for their lives! What happened next went against everything I've ever been taught! All of a sudden, the warthogs stopped, turned and faced the cheetahs, and suddenly the chasers became the chased. I don't think the cheetahs knew what to do they were so shocked, and they dashed up a termite mound to take cover. It was a hilarious turn of events - my respect for warthogs increased 10-fold. 

The young female cheetah enjoying the morning sunshine. 

Female in the foreground, male lying down behind.

The chase is on! Run piggies, run!

Getting closer.....

Uh oh! Bit of a turn around! Cheetah chased up a termite mound by the warhogs!

Taking refuge at the top of the termite mound after an embarrassing defeat!