Watch the moment a leopard cub makes its first successful attempt at catching its own food. The following footage was sent to us by Brent Schnupp, a safari visitor from the United States. He took this video just south of Olifants Rest Camp near the S147 on the Main tar road.Brent describes his experience in impeccable detail and we were extremely excited that he shared this sighting with us.
“We took the main tar road south from Olifants. We checked this area daily as Moya, a well known leopard, and her sub-adult female cub are often seen in this area.”
“We got to the spot where they are seen, and, sure enough, Moya and her sub adult cub were resting in the fig tree. Moya climbed down from the tree and went for a walk into the bushes. We sat there for 3.5 hours and watched them. After 2 hours, the cub spotted a steenbok across the road and decided to come down the tree.
She crouched down low into the tall grass and stalked for a while before finally going in for the hunt.”
“I could not believe what was playing out right in front of us. A sub adult, 1.5 year old female leopard, hunting like she was a 20 year old veteran of the bush! We were all blown away when she made the kill and totally shaken by our emotions. What an exciting experience!”
“At all times during the sighting there were no more than 10 cars, even while the kill was being made. Most visitors also only stayed for a maximum of 5 – 10 minutes and then left the scene. We were there for almost four hours and used extreme patience, and it paid off big time. After the kill was made, she took the kill to a tree but did not eat it, she was keeping her meal for later. She then proceeded to climb up and down 5 different trees, putting on a show for all the visitors. Her pride reflected so brightly from the inside because she couldn’t wait to show mom later that day, what she had accomplished all by herself!”
“Later on we saw the male leopard (probably Moyas’ man) just finish chewing on his share of the kill while Moya and her young daughter were waiting patiently for their turn. He was a perfect gentleman when Moya and her young adult cub arrived to eat, allowing them to have their turn at feasting. They looked like such a happy family.”
—WATCH—
“My advice to safari visitors is to always remain patient, put in the hours and you can be sure to be rewarded by nature, every time. This was definitely a 10 out of 10 and once in a lifetime sighting. To see a young leopard make what may have been her first kill, will forever be imaged into my mind. I will forever be in awe of the beauty and magic of leopards which are now officially my favourite cat.”
