Leopard surprise at Etendeka

During one of our game drives around our Expedition camp at Etendeka, in the mountain desert known as Damaraland, we passed a relatively strong fresh water spring. I stopped the vehicle and climbed out together with my guests. I told them to stay together because on a previous tour we had found lion tracks there. As we got closer and I was scanning the surrounding area, my eye caught a movement…a Leopard, only 60 meters away! The Leopard climbed onto the rock, exposing its coat to the desert sun. Then it lowered itself and lied down in the grass at the bottom where it was before. We returned to the place where we saw it first. There we saw it lying in the grass starting to fall asleep. Astonishingly, the leopard did not seem to be disturnbed at all. What made this sighting even more remarkable, is that this was not in a National Park or even a private game reserve – this was in a conservation area, bordering onto communial land where Damara farmers and Ovahimba nomads make a living. Also it was broad daylight, and the animal was astonishingly relaxed in our presence! We saw tracks of prey species, but still could not help to be amazed at how any large predator could survive in this dry landscape of the Pro-Namib. Jan Mohrdieck

Posted: Namibia Expeditions by Hazel Milne, Date: 10 November 2007