Battle of leopards

It was just after my guests (James, Jeffrie, Shelby & Parker Dixon) and I finished our morning, when we came across tracks of a male leopard, as well as female. We started following the tracks and shortly after we found a big male leopard. When we approached him, we saw that a female was in the same position. She was slowly circling around him, getting closer slowly. All the sudden he growled and darted towards her. She hardly managed to escape, but just managed to get up a tree. The male leopard lay under the tree for a few minutes, than got up and walked twenty meters before lying down under a shady tree. A few minutes later the female came down the tree and slowly started circling the male again. She got down and rolled on the ground, about ten meters away, than she got up and approached him again. She stopped about 4 meters away from him. All the sudden he got up and pounced on to her in a split second. The leopards rolled on the ground fighting and again the female managed to make a very narrow escape, and up a tree. What a sight. It showed us the sheer power, as well as speed of leopards. Thanks to Shelby Dixon for the amazing photographs she managed to snap of the leopards!

Posted: Kirkman's Kamp by Markus Schroeder, Date: 28 March 2008

 
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