Another battle at Kirkman's

Two Leopards were mating along the Sand River. What a sighting. The male leopard was the same male some of us know from the battle of Kirkman’s. He had some unforgettable experiences a few months ago. The leopard got attacked by four lionesses as he tried to eat of their kill (see sighting of Malcom Bowling) and also fought two other male leopards and chased them out of his territory. Everything seemed to be perfect for the lovers as we approached them. They were mating regularly about every 5 minutes. We followed them for a while until we lost sight of the leopards moving along the reeds of the river. We drove through the riverbed and waited on the other side for them to come out. The female came out of the reeds as the head of a lioness popped up right next to us. We were in between the competitors. The lioness got up and ran at the loving leopards. Then we only heard screaming and running. But this time the lions didn’t get hold of our brave leopards. Both went straight up a tree that was nearby. We found the female shaking of fear. Fortunately the lioness lost interest. The dominant male leopard quickly climbed down the tree and approached the female’s hide. He started scent marking underneath the tree and started calling. After a couple of minutes she also climbed down her tree and the couple immediately started mating again. We went back to look for the lioness and found another two, lying next to the one that attacked in the reeds. We could still hear the mating sounds of the leopard pair, only about a hundred meters away, as we enjoyed the lion sighting.

Posted: Kirkman's Kamp by Stephanie Mast, Date: 28 February 2008