In area as dominated by leopards as the Sabi Sabi sands there is bound to be some interaction sooner or later. In a previous post I explained how a new male leopard has started moving onto the eastern part of our property and in the process killed and ate one of our leopard cubs.
While on drive last night we went to find this big male who we had spotted that morning but didn't get a chance to see him properly because he had holed himself up in some seriously thick bush. Now due to the fact that we have had none stop rain for 3 days, off roading is not possible because of the damage it will cause to the bush.
When we found the leopard he appeared half drunk as he kept walking in circles but his nose was firmly placed on the ground following the smell of something. We watched as he moved backwards and forwards between places just analysing. Now we know that it wasn't a females scent that he was following because he would have been flehmen. Flehmen is done by inhaling the scent where the female urinated, the male then pulls his lips back exposing his teeth which opens an organ called the organ of Jacobson. This organ is used like a pregnancy test to analyse hormones in the urine to tell the age, status and sexual condition of the female i.e. if she is in oestrus.
Instead he just kept sniffing with no real end point. My only deduction could be that he could smell our young male in the area and was trying to ascertain whether he was a threat or not. It was an amazing sighting as he walked all around our vehicle. The guests kept asking if this was safe...I obviously told them that he was going to jump into the car any second and could smell their fear...but then told them the truth that they were completely safe.
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| Young Male |
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