The drought over most of southern Africa was really taking its toll on the larger grazing animals, especially the hippo. With grazing almost non-existent, the casualties were a common, but welcome sight for the predators.
We followed this female leopard late one afternoon as she patrolled along the Sand River and she came across an unusually large free meal…a hippo! Even the top predators, such as leopard, are not shy to scavenge when given the chance.
She now faced the problem of how to actually access this mass of free meat, because a hippo’s skin is nearly an inch thick! While we were watching her, all she could manage was to check the ears. The hyenas would no doubt open everything up later, but for now she was on her own.