Leopards, an awesome sighting any day and almost a guarantee in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, nicknamed the Valley of the Leopard.  Sleeping in trees, wandering about, on the hunt, mating and fighting, we thought we had seen it all this year.

But the South Luangwa delivered again for this Norman Carr Safaris repeat guest from Germany, Meike.  After tea and biscuits on her morning drive, she and her guide Charles were heading back to Kapani when they stumbled across the most remarkable of sightings. 15 crocodiles lying on the bank of the river, amongst them two enormous dominant crocodiles enjoying their snack of fresh puku. Nothing too remarkable about that, we admit….

 

But then one of our well known male leopards changed the game……this big male only has one eye and is often seen mating with various females in the area (a few years ago we saw him with two different females in consecutive days!!). One-eye decided he fancied a bit of the crocodile’s mid-morning feast……he slowly crept towards the crocodiles and tried to steal the food out of their very jaws. Alas he failed and snuck off to sit under the shade while he worked on his tactics. Another three attempts were made to sneak up on the crocs and steal the food – each attack from a different angle and but he was never quite fast enough. Finally he had to give up…all the food had gone.

Just another reminder why safari gets in your blood – every day is different; you can never really get enough!

–       Vicky Austin, Norman Carr Safaris (photos Meike Kern)