Safari Notes: Leopard kill - Little Vumbura

By: Mark Levy, 24th May 2006

One morning, we took a boat from the Little Vumbura camp in the Okavango Delta to our Landrover and set off for an exciting early morning game drive. During our four day stay, we hadn't seen a leopard yet and had our eyes peeled for 'spoor' (tracks) in the road. Sure enough we saw signs of a leopard, being tracked by lions.After searching in vain we crossed a floodplain and found another set of leopard tracks - a big male - and after a mile these seemed to disappear. The leopard had left the road.

A francolin calling deep in the bush caught our attention, and sure enough, when we went to investigate, there was a beautiful mature male leopard patiently sitting next to a hole in the ground which we assumed housed a warthog family.

We waited with him and our patience was rewarded when a large female warthog came hurtling out of the hole with the leopard in hot pursuit.

Initially underneath the warthog, the leopard then flipped her over onto her back, and with his left front paw, held the front right leg of the warthog and sank his teeth into the warthog's epigastrium - that is into the flesh just below the breastbone and into the heart.

This leopard was clearly avoiding the warthogs sharp tusks and hooves by using this particular method. We later learned that he had perfected this particular method.

The warthog struggled valiantly but to no avail. The leopard grimly hung on and eventually prevailed and then dragged the body into thick bushes.

The killing was gruesome but also fascinating to witness at such close quarters. After working so hard and risking so much, we felt the leopard deserved to eat.