Daniel Bailey, a Safari Guide at Mala Mala caught this intense display of male competition on camera, telling Latest Sightings that the conditions that morning were “ideal for a sighting of one of the big cats”.
Soon after starting the morning drive, Daniel “found fresh tracks of a male leopard on the road”, and quickly “found him in a drainage line just a few feet off the road”.
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Spotting a single leopard can be difficult, due to their stealthy habits, but Daniel saw not just one leopard, but three adults, meaning this would have been a truly remarkable sighting regardless of what they were up to.
Solitary Cats
Adult leopard’s typically don’t interact very often, except for when it’s time to breed. Both males and females are extremely territorial, with male territories often overlapping several female territories at a time.
This overlap allows them easier access to females during breeding periods, although it doesn’t mean they’re free from intruders as Daniel’s sighting shows.
Aggressive encounters like this can happen when competing for breeding rights, or food, although even then they are usually limited to posturing and intimidation, as an injury now could result in an inability to hunt later.
Aggressive Encounters Of The Leopard Kind
Due to his experience, Daniel could tell from observing the first leopard that another was in the area. It wasn’t long until the second leopard, another male, appeared.
Two leopards made the moment special, but Daniel said as “soon as he became visible an audible low growl commenced and then a female appeared!”
Not only had Daniel caught the jackpot of leopard sightings, he knew that with two males directly competing for the female, it was only a matter of time before they came to blows.
The Clash
After spending a few moments sizing each other up, the two male leopard’s began the fight, quickly leaving the female behind. Daniel also had to maneuver his vehicle to keep the altercation in sight.
One of the leopard’s quickly gained an advantage over the other, holding it pinned with its mouth while the other tried using its hind legs to gain some room to climb to its feet.
Despite struggling desperately, the winning leopard, which Daniel identified as a younger male, maintained the advantage and dominated the older cat by holding it to the ground. The two remained in this position until the female caught up to see what was going on.
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The Choice Is Made
The female watched for a few moments as the older leopard continued to struggle, digging its hind claws into the face of its assailant, but failed to free itself from the younger leopard’s hold.
Apparently growing bored of the fight, the female then stepped in and broke it up, its involvement shocking the two males so much that all three jumped into the air and sped off in different directions.
The older male appeared to have come off the worse in the fierce battle, and Daniel said the female “disappeared into the river bed” in pursuit of the younger male who had won the right to breed.
Spectacular Sightings
Observing animals, especially rare and powerful predators like these, in their natural habitats can be an intense experience. Daniel has had experience with these encounters, and advises safari goers to “take a deep breath and enjoy the moment”.
Filming these sightings adds further complication, and here Daniel said “ensure you have a beanbag or something to support your camera body and a larger lens to prevent camera shake”. He also said it’s important to stat zoomed out, as “if you’re zoomed in too close you’ll miss a lot”.
Most importantly, safari goers should remember that leaving these animals as undisturbed as possible is paramount to the experience. It’s for this reason that the Mala Mala Game Reserve limits the amount of vehicles at leopard sightings.