There are times when you’re navigating the arid landscape and there’s nothing in sight except the flurry of turquoise wings from lilac-breasted rollers and the nervous scuttle of impala. As the vehicle twists and turns on the network of sandy roads with not a predator in sight, you wonder if all that’s on the horizon is empty promises and broken dreams. Welcome to the world of safari splendour, when you don’t know what awaits around the next mopane tree. When all is quiet and you let your guard down, something mind-blowing happens. You become a witness and participant in THAT safari moment that rangers talk about in months to come. This much-talked about moment happened on 20 June in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and will be remembered for quite sometime.
A small voice snuck through the airwaves and crackle of the radio to report a sighting of the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses. If you don’t already know, these two sisters are notorious for their non-stop attempts at mating with any available male and for not possessing admirable maternal skills! They’re often spotted on Klaserie turf , either conducting kills or lazing around – as lions do. This occasion was no different – the Ross girls let us observe them for a while and that’s when things took a dynamic turn. A neighbouring camp alerted us to the presence of a leopard a mere 40 metre’s away from the lions. Vehicles were turned around to head into the sighting and lo and behold, there was the magnificent Cleo with a fresh kill straddling the branches of a tall tree.
Before Cleo could tuck into her kill, we heard the familiar throaty calls of a lion and a rustle in the thickets. The Sumatra male lion, who was mating with the Ross females a few days back, caught wind of their scent and made a beeline for the ladies. Shortly before approaching the lionesses tis brazen male decided to take down prey – to impress his lionesses perhaps? He stealthily and powerfully charged a small duiker and smashed it against the SAME tree where Cleo was hiding out. The cheek of interrupting her dining experience! The Ross lionesses sauntered over after hearing the unmistakeable cries of a wounded animal and joined their male king for dinner !
It seems the big cats of the Klaserie congregated at the same time and same place. At least this time we got the memo! And if that wasn’t enough, when we left the scene we heard reports that another male leopard headed into Cleo’s tree to try take her kill. The theft was unsuccessful, and with all the commotion and fresh scent of a kill in the air, the hyenas arrived. The branch broke, the kill fell and the leopards scattered. The hyenas hurried forth like a hurricane and tried to make off with the full carcass, but the male leopard fought back with a vengeance. The leopards retrieved the kill, but subsequent to that we don’t know what happened. What we do know is that we witnessed an unusual sequence of events, one that will forever remain etched in the books!
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