ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS: LEOPARD LOVE

CAUTION: Explicit Content Included!

Photo Credit: (c) T J Allen Art

Leopard Love

A male voice crackled over the radio speaking vigorously in an unknown tongue.  Shangaan may have been a foreign language to me, but my ear was highly attuned to listen out for the magic word ‘Ingwe’, or ‘leopard’ to you and me. I had no idea of the context of the brief conversation, but that enchanting word had definitely come across the airwaves and set my ears flapping like a cartoon character.
 
Craig, our young but phenomenally knowledgeable ranger, swivelled round in his seat to address me and the other couple of guests in the Landcruiser. He was a bit like an excitable puppy; trying to keep it together but ultimately fizzing and wriggling with uncontained anticipation as what we were about to witness was new to him too.
 
‘Ok, there’s been an amazing sighting of leopards and we need to get there as quickly as we safely can. This is going to be what we call a ‘Ferrari Safari’ so please hold on tight’.
 
As the jeep zoomed and bumped along the bush tracks, we burst through clouds of fragrance from the scented grasses we passed. The increase of speed amplified the coolness of the wind that whipped through the open-air vehicle. In a land where the sun blazes on the horizon it’s strange to imagine that I would be suffering from chattering teeth and goosebumps.
 
Jaw-Dropping Sights

The sighting location was an area of grass next to the dirt track and sheltered by patches of bushveld. My eyes were on stalks. My first experience ever seeing a leopard in the wild . . . . and there was not just one . . . . but two . . . . and they were mating! Talk about hitting the jackpot; it was like stepping into my tv screen and living a David Attenborough BBC documentary!
 
Seeing a male and female next to each other was a true privilege to fully appreciate their differences. The male was big and stocky in stature; his brawn, dominance and power ever-enhancing the more delicate and subtle strength of the female. She was beautifully sleek and mesmerising in her exotic femininity. Both of them possessed a stunning spotted cloak of fur; the definition of nature’s beauty in all its glory.
 
And so we move onto the real action!
 
You may think it was vulgarly voyeuristic but when you put your naturalist (yes, naturalist not naturist – BIG difference between those two terms and not to be mixed up!) head on and see it as a fact of life, it actually becomes quite fascinating. Just watching animal body language was a psychology lesson in itself!
 
So what can I tell you about mating leopards?
It is noisy.
It is violent.
It is relentless.
 
Quiz Team Fact: on average, leopards mate every 15 minutes for up to 5 days. That’s potentially more than 250 times! I bet you feel exhausted just comprehending that fact.
 
The female provided an unusual lesson in the art of flirtation. While the male was wiped out on the grass gathering his strength, she was forcefully tactile; seductively trailing her tail over his prone outline before heavily sitting down half on top of him, then repeatedly getting up to circle him and perform the same manoeuvre. Her rattle-y motorbike purr may as well have been accompanied by a flashing neon sign to state her intentions.
 
Unfortunately, the situation then began to fill with unease and aggression. In order to stimulate ovulation and permit fertilisation, the male’s penis is barbed which hurts the female when withdrawn. This provoked uproar in vocal growling and lashing out of teeth and claws. Unbelievably, it was barely five minutes after the shock waves of the drama had subsided before the flirtation performance began again. It was quite remarkable.
 
Ingrained Memories

Aside from the witnessed spectacle, the finest memory etched in my mind in high definition from that game drive was a shared instance between myself and the female. She had moved closer to the vehicle and was barely more than a metre away from my elevated jeep seat view. As I looked down at her, she paused and looked up straight into my gaze.

It was a moment where the earth stood still.

A connected moment. Just me and her.

Her gorgeous eyes drinking me in as I was drawn in to the allure of hers.
 
That was a truly special experience and something I will never forget.
 
These encounters make my heart beam with happiness and further ignite my passion for safari. I sincerely hope that one day you too can witness the beauty and simplicity of nature in similar circumstances. I can guarantee you'll gain memories that will last a lifetime.

Photo Credit: (c) T J Allen Art