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Daryl Dell has over 20 years of guiding experience and is an expert in the African bush, even discovering a new species of frog in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. It only seems fitting that Daryl, on safari with his guests, managed to film this incredibly rare encounter of a mother cheetah risking it all to protect her cub from a leopard.
The encounter happened at andBeyond’s Xaranna Okavango Delta Camp. It started off as all mornings do in the bush — before sun break and with good coffee. Daryl came to meet his guests from the United States, who also happened to be close friends of his.
Before long, they were on safari! The previous afternoon, they had a fantastic sighting of a mother cheetah and her older cub who had stolen the show during their sunset drive. The area where they had seen the cheetahs was nearby, so the plan was to return and try to find them again.
As they arrived, the cautious cheetah mother could be easily seen scanning the area on top of a termite mound. Daryl and his guests settled down to enjoy the special sighting, but at that point, no one realized what the bush had in store for them!
Unbeknownst to the cheetah scanning the grounds around her, settled in a Marula tree in the distance was a stealthy leopard watching her the entire time. Daryl’s assistant guide had brilliantly spotted the leopard while everyone was enjoying the cheetah sighting.
As soon as the cheetah mom felt comfortable with her surroundings, she hopped off the termite mound. The lurking leopard saw this as an opportunity, quickly jumping from the tree and beginning its stalk.
Taking full advantage of the thick vegetation, the leopard covered the distance between herself and the cheetahs quickly. Within no time, the leopard found herself just 20 metres away from her cheetah targets, who were still completely unaware, making everyone anxious while they watched the sighting play out!
Although the cheetah cub would no longer be considered a baby, it was still reaching the stages of being a sub-adult. Meaning that it would no doubt be an easy target for a leopard!
Instinct must have kicked in at this point as the mother cheetah climbed another mound to scan the area again. This time, the cheetah was looking right in the direction of the leopard, who was only a stone’s throw away!
The leopard was just there, but being dead still, was almost invisible to the cheetah. The tension seemed to freeze time for everyone watching. Would the cheetah spot her? Is the leopard going to pounce? These were the questions running through everyone’s minds.
In the end, the leopard’s impatience gave her away. The leopard moved slightly, and her camouflage was broken. However, the tension was still palpable. Yes, the cheetah was now aware of the threat, but was it too late for her cub?
Daryl describes what happened next as being a big surprise to the leopard and everyone watching. Daryl said: “Instead of the cheetah using her speed to get away, she started to move bravely and aggressively straight towards the leopard. Her cub behind her, not knowing what to do, watched from a distance.”
The situation then took on a more light-hearted, comical tone. It was as if Daryl and his guests were watching a live cartoon playing out, where two different species of cats took turns chasing each other around.
In reality, this was unbelievably rare, and it was made even more special by knowing the amount of courage it must have taken for the cheetah to stand up to the leopard in this way.
Eventually, the cheetah won the standoff and subsequently ended up escorting the leopard to the nearest tree. All the while, her cub followed safely behind.
