Leopards are slick killing machines that have mastered the art of the ambush. Death comes to their unlucky victims quickly and suddenly. A leopard’s quarry doesn’t suffer like many of its counterparts that have fallen victim to other predator kills. Swift, graceful and powerful – that is how the panthera pardus conducts their kills. Rangers at Umkumbe Safari Lodge were taken by surprise when local legend, Mxabene, executed an attack on an impala….
Nadia Bester took guests out on morning game drive and had zero idea of what lay ahead in terms of sightings. While the game viewer was trundling along the road, navigating its way over the fresh spears of grass and crunching through fallen branches, guests spotted Mxabene. There he was, just casually strolling down the road, marking his territory.
Max wasn’t out on an intentional hunt but leopards, being the ultimate opportunists, will grab any occasion to take down prey. In this case, the impala herd started moving into Max’s personal space and then his killer instinct kicked into play.
What happened next was remarkable. While the cameras were snapping away Mxabene crouched down into stealth mode. He’d sensed the presence of potential prey and wasn’t about to let his meal escape.
Almost immediately, Max dropped down into sort of a squat like position and started crawling along the road with his eye on the prize. In an instant, Max pounced and with a swift smash of the paw and pierce of the jugular, Max took down the impala.
Umkumbe has plenty of hyena clans crawling in the long grass and waiting in the wings for a free meal ticket. Mxabene is very much an institution in these parts and certainly knows how to avoid the theft of his prey. Let’s hope that he hoisted his impala kill into a tree for safekeeping.
The beauty about this Sabi Sand leopard kill sighting? It was all out in the open! This marks another sighting that is “one for the books”.
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