Territorial Clash of Leopards!

The Mid-day sun was baking and the call of a male Leopard close to Mvubu Pan could not be mistaken for anything else. As we neared the pan we realized that it had moved off into jungle like bush, so we decided to return a little later. The starry sky was cool and the voice of nightjars was warm, we were patiently waiting for the Leopard to give us a clue as to where he was, it was like a game of hide and seek. The timing was perfect and not far away we heard the deep grating call, the spotlight cut through the air and there it was, a large male, marking his territory. This male strolled down this overgrown road confident and secure but he was after a female who hours earlier had walked down to the riverbed. This male slinked unperturbed into some thick bush, when we found him again he was not alone, there was a lot of hostility as the growls and hissing of not just two but four Leopards rang out from the riverbed below. We were on the border of two different male’s territory and both of these males were there, a third male had joined the party and the female who was far from her territory was in the middle of the stand off, she did not seem to mind the attention and friction that she was creating. After a couple of minutes they all moved into the dense bush and continued their squabbling there. The next day there where not injuries and thankfully they had sorted there territorial bouts amicably, undoubtedly the third male was chased off and the other two males had moved back into there own territories.

Posted: Phinda by Daryl Dell, Date: 18 April 2008