I Spot…The Cheetah and The Leopard

CHEETAHS

If Safaris were elegant establishments, cheetahs would be the hosts. Their grace and beauty overwhelm me. Their movements feel as though they are gliding through the bush on a cloud. On our first early morning Safari ride, we met momma cheetah and her four babies. It wasn’t our first animal adventure for the day as we had just left the lions who had appeared to settle in to their resting area.

While we were watching the lions, Scotty (our guide) was talking with another vehicle’s guide. They mentioned a mother cheetah and her four babies. Intrigued, Scotty decided to set off to find these animals. We drove around for about fifteen minutes then found another Safari vehicle stopped in front of a field. As we approached the vehicle, that driver silently pointed to the movement in the grass. I pulled out my binoculars, and there before me was a cheetah.

The grass was tall, so I had to linger longer on the field before I saw little bouncing bodies happily following behind their mom. There were four distinct and delightful cheetah cubs. One was right with mom while the others dawdled close behind. Mom, as graceful as she was, had her senses heightened. She had heard the birds’ calls of alarm, and she needed to keep her family safe. In addition, the elephants stampeded nearby as they too heard the lions.

All over this particular field were termite mounds. In fact, they were all over the bush. The mounds fascinated me, and they served as a lookout spot for animals. Mom knew not only her babies, but she, was no match for lions. This meant she needed to be vigilant in her approach. The family needed a place to stop, but mom needed to know it was safe. She would climb atop a mound, look around, and head to another. Repeating the process, she’d continue until she was satisfied the family was safe.

When the cheetah would move to another mound, we would take off to follow the family. Driving to the other side of the field let us discover mom and babies ready to rest. The termite mound they found had enough shade to keep them cool, and it provided enough shelter to help mom in case of an emergency.

Scotty shared his admiration for the mom. The babies were a few months old, and having four still alive in this turbulent environment was incredible. This mom had done an exceptional job keeping her kin alive. Female cheetahs are generally solitary animals. They find a mate, and stay with their babies until they are old enough to make it on their own. Then, they return to their life of solitude. On the other hand, male cheetahs form coalitions to help them when hunting for food. I find it so interesting that the genders have different ways they survive.

We spent a long time looking at the cheetahs, but eventually it was time for us to head on. I bid a fond adieu and waited for the next adventure.

LEOPARD

We witnessed the cheetahs on the first morning of our Safari in the Moremi Game Reserve. We admired the leopard toward the end of the Safari within Chobe National Forest. The leopard proved to be more elusive than any other animal. We spent hours looking for one. There would be a report, and Scotty would head that way. He would wave his hand outward and say, “Look here for the leopard.” Internally, I laughed. There was not a time on this trip that I was first at finding anything. It didn’t stop me though. I had the hope to be the spotter and the assurance I would not be.

I could sense a little frustration among the group. We knew others had seen the leopard; it was there–somewhere. Why hadn’t we found it?

Savuti, our current location, was home to many high dollar hotels. Each hotel had multiple vehicles out for adventure which was different than any other part of our trip. It felt more commercialized than before. With increased vehicles, however, we had more opportunities to talk to people and investigate the area. At one point, four vehicles followed each other on the quest for a leopard sighting. Eventually, we went our own way but continued to be unsuccessful.

Just as we were ready to finish the hunt, we saw them. There were at least twenty vehicles huddled together beside a rocky prominence. As we drove within the group, we started to look at the eyes and camera lenses of the passengers. They were all looking up, so we did too.

After some searching, we saw her laying lazily on the edge of the cliff. Her pose couldn’t have been more perfect–feet dangling over the edge as she sat atop the rock. We stayed for some time before she stood up and started making this obnoxious sound. Turns out that obnoxious sound was her call for a mate. Leopards tend to lead a solitary life, so she needed to make her presence known. If she didn’t make the call, then the chance for offspring would decrease significantly.

We stayed with her until she moved to a location where we could not see her anymore. Then we headed “home” for dinner.

Seeing a leopard was everything I hoped it would be. Knowing a leopard had infiltrated our campsite was not. Initially I thought the leopard we saw was the one whose tracks were found around the tents at our campsite. However, Jenny was sure she heard growling. Scotty and Annelies both agreed that we would have never heard a leopard sound unless it had a baby that needed some direction. The leopard we saw earlier that day was not toting around a cub, so we knew it had to be another leopard.

Fear surrounded me when I realized only a thin canvas separated me from a potential predator. Joy filled me when I knew I was safe and all was well.