Leopards ambush their prey and rely on the element of surprise to capture their intended victim. These fearless big cats grapple and wrestle their prey after pouncing on their back. They tear their victim with their fore-claws and bite them around the throat in an attempt to break their neck, making it a swift death for their unsuspecting prey. This skillful method of attack is exactly what the Nottens leopard used when taking a down a baboon 2 days ago.
The Nottens female leopard, a dominant leopard around the Umkumbe Safari Lodge used her masterful hunting tactics to ambush an unsuspecting baboon. The hunt was a successful one and she managed to savour her meal for over two days. She did leave her kill for quite sometime which is unusual. She was quite lucky that hyenas and other predators didn’t utilize the window of the opportunity to steal her kill!
We are glad to see Nottens on the hunt. During the course of last week we had a rather hair raising scenario between the White Dam female and the Nottens female. They had a bit of showdown in an attempt to defend their territory. Their paths crossed and a display of dominance ensued. The aggression may also have been because White Dam has cubs and was protecting her brood. Since the fight, we’ve seen White Dam and Nottens; and both appear in good shape.
Umkumbe Safari Lodge continues to enjoy game drives through an area home to a leap of leopards.
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