WWF Travel Blog

The stealthy leopard, resting by day, hunting at night © Gerry Ellis/GLOBIO.org

Moving through the bush in complete darkness, a leopard’s hunting success depends on utter silence – something that John Chibwantu learned first-hand one cool August night after dinner. 

Chibwantu is one of the top safari leaders in Zambia’s Kafue National Park. Having led tours there for more than a quarter-century, he shared an excerpt from his journal describing the first time he ever saw a leopard make a kill: 

We embarked on a nighttime drive near the Lupfunga Tented Camp in Zambia’s Kafue National Park, quickly coming upon a set of fresh tracks. After following them for 10 minutes or so, a spotlight illuminated a moving object: an adult male, fully grown but quite a small specimen, lying on the side of a termite mound. 

The animal was relaxed in our presence – but like so many aspects of animal life on the bush, that was short lived. Nearby, an elephant bull was feeding, his intended pathway moving straight through where the leopard was lying. A shake of the ears and a loud trumpet was enough to scare the leopard away. I wasn’t intent on getting in the way of a fully grown adult elephant either! 

The route the cat had taken was impassable for our vehicle, so the only choice was to carry on up the road until a suitable spot was found. In the spotlight, I saw some eyes reflecting back at me, so I stopped and turned off the engine. 

The eyes were coming closer and closer. I soon identified the being as a rather skittish puku. “He would be a prime target for a leopard,” I told the travelers. “A leopard could feed for days on such an animal.” 

The skittish puku, an easy target © Graham Johansson/wildguides.co.za

With all eyes focused on the antelope, I was suddenly silenced mid-sentence by the small male leopard, which launched himself at the hind flank of the puku. Chaos erupted, and in a few seconds, once the dust that had been kicked up started to settle, we saw the leopard in the throes of suffocating its victim. 

For a leopard of his size, an adult female puku was a triumphant kill. He started feeding almost immediately and the guests, adrenaline still rife, were watching in silent amazement. After spending 25 years in the bush, I had finally seen my first leopard kill! 

With all watching the leopard feed, a sudden deep growl was heard out of the darkness. Another male leopard had arrived on the scene, and hearing the commotion he had come to investigate.  Realizing his adversary was smaller than him (and possibly encroaching on his territory), he lunged forward and succeeded in scaring the smaller male away. 

This is survival of the fittest at its peak; with the area drying out in the winter months, the prime territories for predators are along the river frontage and are held aggressively. For the smaller male, his search will continue. 

Join WWF’s Wild Zambia tour, scheduled August 9-20, 2010. 

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