The memorable moment was filmed by safari guide Donovan Cross by Kirkmans Kamp, in the Sabi Sands Nature Reserve.
Donovan related to Latest Sightings how their adventure began: “Our plan for the afternoon game drive was to go to the last area a specific male leopard was seen and to go and try our luck in finding him again,” he said.
He said he dropped his tracker, Eckson, off on foot to see if he could find any tracks.
“Eventually he spotted a male leopard while still on foot and told me where to meet him so we could view this leopard.”
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Leopard sighted during bushveld excursion
Donovan related to Latest Sightings how they had come across the leopard: “When we got there he was nervous and kept on running away from the vehicle, which is unusual as we see this specific male quite often. We then decided to leave him as we didn’t want to make him more nervous.”
They decided to go and enjoy the sunset at a viewpoint a safe distance away from where they had last seen this particular leopard.
This was when things got interesting: “As we were having a drink we suddenly heard leopards fighting in the distance. I told the guests to get into the vehicle so that they could head straight to where the sound was coming from.
As they got closer, they found multiple hyenas running the same direction the sound was coming from. “We decided to follow these hyenas as they should take us straight to where the action might be,” said Donovan.
Hyenas gather around cub carcass
What they discovered was a heartbreaking sighting. A young female leopard cub had been killed and the hyenas were started to feed on it.
Male leopard reveaaled as killer of cub
Donovan described the grissly moment: “It was a truly sad sight.”
After they had been there for about 10 minutes, the male leopard appeared.
“This was the same male leopard we had seen earlier, still with blood on his face.”
They knew then that this leopard was the one which had killed the cub.
The hyenas continued to feed on the cub.
Donovan explained that it was more than likely that the male leopard responsible for the act had not been the father of the cubs, which would explain why he had killed the young animal.
“Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get footage of the male leopard as the hyenas just took over and the male leopard never got a chance to get to the carcass.”
Hyenas continue relentless feeding on leopard carcass
Donovan explained that he and Eckson eventually left the sighting with the male leopard still in the same area and the hyenas finishing of the remains.
The sighting was extremely rare and a reminder of the brutal power dynamics which can play out between members of the same species.
The sighting was nonetheless extremely rare and one Donovan won’t easily forget.
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