Near Miss

Lambing season has just begun. There have been a number of early Impala lambs already seen this season, which is great news for the predators. Normally most of the impala births peak in January, with that there is safety in numbers and with the “flooding of the market” there is a higher survival rate. The early lambs are mostly picked off pretty quick and don’t stand much of a chance; unless of course you have a crazy mother by your side. A couple of days ago we were watching the Makhubela Female leopard proudly posing on top of a termite mound watching over a clearing surrounding a nearby water hole, when all of a sudden her eyes and ears were fixed in one direction. We all sat and scanned with our binoculars to see what she was looking at when we all spotted the single female impala and her lamb. They ran across the clearing to nearby cover oblivious to the fact that one of the bushes master predators was eagerly watching them both. Our hearts sank as the Makhubela Female made her move. She sleeked down the side of the mound a hastily made her approach using every bit of cover available. As she got closer she went down into the famous leopard crawl, flat on the ground, stomach touching the floor and ears flat on her head. As she stalked to behind a small mound, she sat up to take a quick look at where the impala were, that’s when they spotted her. At this point the leopardess was approximately 25 feet from the both of them, suddenly they were all running, we watched as the Makhubela Female skillfully put herself between the female Impala and her lamb, she chased the lamb out onto the clearings in front of us, lamb bleating with desperation, darting and zig-zagging from side to side with the leopardess millimeters from it; out of no where, just when we all thought it was over, the brave female Impala came charging out towards the leopard and right in between the leopard and the lamb. The leopardess hesitated in all the confusion which gave both Impala and the lamb the vital few extra seconds needed for a quick escape. The Makhubela Female sat down and stared in the direction that the Impala escaped to, with a look of disgust on her face. We all agreed that even though early lambs don’t have a high survival rate, with a mother like that, that Impala lamb will die of old age before it ever gets eaten.

Posted: Exeter Lodges by Craig Paulsen, Date: 12 November 2009