On the afternoon of 13 June 2008, my guests and I had been watching a male lion from the Selinda Coalition feeding on a kill and decided to leave him to his meal and meander along the Savute Channel towards the raised platform overlooking the Zibadianja Lagoon.
As we moved along the edge of the flowing Savute Channel we were surprised by a female leopard, spotted by one of my guests as she pounced at a francolin in the lush vegetation. Even though she was a little nervous we began to follow her as she hunted in the undergrowth, keeping a respectful distance and allowing her to relax. After a while we managed to get a good look at her and realised that she was a new leopard to the area, one we did not recognise. Nonetheless she allowed us to keep following her and led us all the way to the riverine woodland adjacent to the Zibadianja Lagoon.
Here she cautiously approached a tree with a Hamerkop nest in its fork. She hid behind a fallen log and spent a couple of minutes cautiously peering at the viewers. We waited patiently whilst she was hiding. She gained confidence and vigilantly ascended the tree towards the Hamerkop nest. We then realised that she was heading straight for the nest.
At this point we thought she must be targeting the nest for whatever avian fledglings lay within, whether the Hamerkops themselves or other species such as Egyptian Goose or Barn Owl which often displace the original occupants. The nest had two entrances and she climbed into the second. It was apparent that she was looking for something inside the nest. She then settled and lay down within the nest as can be seen in the adjacent photographs taken by Victor Horatius.
We thought that she had simply chosen an unusual resting place. The next day, however, another guide (Mr T) reported with great excitement that he had observed two 3-4 month old cubs in the nest. Now, this is an interesting spot for a female leopard to be leaving her cubs whilst she is away hunting. Who knows how often she has peered out at us as we've driven by oblivious?
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