The Zambezi's Elusive Leopard
Leopards! they said. So many leopards! More leopards than lions! they said.
Such is the reputation of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, about an hour by small plane south east of the capital, Lusaka.
Seeing that the leopard is my spirit animal I just had to go there. Again. Granted, the last time was over 25 years ago when I embarked on a five-day canoeing and camping trip down the Zambezi, where we spotted mostly elephants and birds from the river, as we dodged hippos and crocs.
This time I was travelling by motorboat and 4x4, and glamping in some rather bougee safari lodges. This time we had delicious cuisine, properly plumbed bathrooms and taking an outdoor shower was a choice :)
But I digress. We had spent the last five days searching for this elusive cat, and nary a leopard whisker to be seen!
Oh, we had some wonderful wildlife sightings - a family of elephants reveling in a mud bath, a clan of hyenas arguing over an Impala carcass, a Nile Monitor lizard slinking away, a committee of vultures devouring the leftovers of a kill, a large herd of buffalo coming down to the river to drink, leaving a cloud of dust.
Top cuteness award goes to four fearless lion cubs, who defiantly walked up to our vehicle, lay down in front of us and blocked the road. It’s as if they knew that their dad was the king of the jungle, and nobody was going to mess with them while he was around. The cubs were right, and so we waited until the lion family moved on.
But no leopard!
Other guests had seen leopards. Leopards mating (don’t tell me!), leopards crossing the road just outside of camp before cameras had even been unpacked (oh shush!), leopards up in a tree… I didn’t want to hear it anymore :) We kept missing them. Were we jinxed?
What I appreciate about the Lower Zambezi National Park are the various ways in which we could see wildlife (and search for leopards!). The mighty Zambezi River lends itself to canoeing and boat rides, sometimes with a surprise lunch or sundowner set up on a river bank, offering a whole new experience and perspective.
From the water we saw hippos galore, and crocodiles for Africa! plus many birds and the odd swimming elephant. As long as you have a competent guide (the only ones we work with!), you'll be totally safe on the river. For instance, we were approaching a rather large pod of hippos, who had made themselves at home in the river between us and camp. It seemed like there was no way around, but Luke, our guide gently directed our canoes along the river bank, always keeping a keen eye out for these humungous beasts.
I must admit that I got a little worried when they all started disappearing below the surface, wondering where they would pop up next. But thankfully Luke knew this as a sign that the hippos were relaxed and did not feel threatened by us. We arrived back at camp safe and sound, filled with adrenalin and another 100 photos for my memory bank.
Nile crocodile
African Elephant
Hippo family
Hippo running
Then, as dawn broke on day 6 of our safari, we started off with a scrumptious light breakfast around a campfire before heading out on our morning game drive. We spotted some elephants, zebras, waterbuck, and more lions lying around. And yet – you guessed it – no leopard!
Don’t get me wrong, I relish every game drive and will always learn something new, but I just really wanted to see a leopard…
We returned to camp in time for a delicious lunch before saying goodbye to our newfound friends, as they were heading back to Lusaka. That meant we had the guide and vehicle all to ourselves for the afternoon game drive.
As usual our guide asked what we would like to see and as usual, we answered ‘a leopard, please’. And so, we set out on yet another search for this elusive cat.
We’d been driving around for about an hour when we noticed a parked safari game-viewer. Curious, we approached, and then we saw him! A magnificent male leopard - about 100m away, on the other side of a dry river bed.
At last! I was in awe!!
Even though the leopard was sleeping and only occasionally swatting away a pesky fly, we were prepared to watch him for the rest of the afternoon and our guide, Elijah was happy to oblige.
We sat in silence as we enjoyed the scene, knowing how rare this sighting was. Soon, the other vehicle moved on, and it was just us and the sleeping leopard. I can’t quite explain the feeling, but I was totally ‘in the moment’.
After a while, the leopard yawned and stretched and moved a little closer to our side of the riverbank. There he laid down again in the lush green water hyacinths and took another nap. Usually I have the attention span of a gnat, but I was quite happy to watch this leopard sleep.
About an hour later another vehicle from our camp approached and pulled in behind us. They stayed completely silent and were out of our line of vision. It still felt like we had the sighting all to ourselves, which is very unusual and made it all the more special.
Suddenly, the leopard got up, stretched, and headed for a fallen tree. I couldn’t believe our luck as the tree trunk was positioned right in front of our vehicle. The leopard casually walked up towards us, then lay down not 10m away from the vehicle and promptly had another nap.
He was not at all phased by our presence, that was – until I moved my camera and disturbed the silhouette of the vehicle. That caught the leopard’s attention and his tail began to twitch. The guide noticed his agitation, asked me to pull back and the tail relaxed again!
Having a guide who can read nuances and respects wildlife, is what can take a sighting to the next level. Our guide, Elijah did exactly that. He was patient with us and with the leopard, always alert and reading the situation. Even though the leopard was the star, Elijah was definitely the most important supporting crew.
As the sun sank into the horizon and the crickets announced the day’s end, it was time for our leopard to search for his next meal. He yawned, stretched and slowly walked off into the African night, leaving me completely enraptured and replete.
This is an encounter I will not soon forget, and it was well worth waiting for!
