Having lived at Mombo during the time when Legadema was the ‘Legend Leopardess’ of the area, it was great seeing Pula, her daughter, with her own young cub in such an incredible, picture perfect setting.
We knew Pula had been found with the remains of an impala kill in a nearby tree. As we approached the area she was slightly elevated from the surrounds on the top of a low mound. Her six month old cub was nearby, still playing with the remains of the kill. Totally undisturbed by us, the cub would move between the kill and the mother, allowing us the chance to enjoy the interaction between them.
The mother spotted another impala and was quickly up and totally focused on her next potential meal. She chose not to follow through with that chase and ended up right on top of a perfectly positioned fallen tree. In the meantime her cub had climbed a nearby sausage tree and upon seeing her mother lying on the tree, it came down, stalked mom’s tail, posing beautifully with Pula in the late afternoon light…a classic leopard sighting.
It is sightings such as these where you realize the value of being in these private concessions. They do cost more, but the quality of the sightings and the ability to be, at many times, the only vehicle around, is hard to beat!