Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Leopard

 


                                 

Leopard in the wild Serengeti



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The mother leopard had pulled the half eaten gazelle carcass high into the crotch of an acacia tree, where she could keep a watchful eye on her kill and her two teddy-leopard cubs.  Knowing the next day’s sustenance was in the larder, the mother was resting on a tree limb, calming eyeing the steady procession of vehicles full of photo snapping humans.  If we interested her, she did not allow it to show. 
I, on the other hand, was mesmerized by the leopard. Her glowing golden eyes, tea-tawny spotted velvet pelt, and powerful movements which flowed like shaped water were exquisitely beautiful.  It was an idyllic moment, and I could almost forget the fifty other tourists surrounding the tree.
Then a jeep swung itself out of line, pulled between two of the larger vans, and positioned itself near to the leopard in the untracked dirt off the beaten mud track.  This major breach in safari etiquette resulted in loud Swahili protests from the guides and an equally loud retort from the offender that left some drivers visibly angry, and others amused.  The mother leopard was not amused. 
The big cat tensed, sat up, and coughed a low harrumph ending in a puffing sound.  The kittens instantly slid down the trunk and disappeared into a thicket below the tree.  The leopard stared challengingly at us, as if to say, I’m ready if you are, then she too slipped into hiding.  One by one our vehicles moved on. The show was over. 
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