Four leopards, one sighting

This afternoon turned out to be one of the highlights of our year, so far!

As we turned a corner, we came across Hanyile - the dominant male leopard of the area. Within a minute, he emitted the characteristic rasping call of leopard announcing his presence in his territory.

His trajectory was heading straight towards where the Rocky Ridge female and her two cubs were. We instantly knew that we were in for a very special encounter, but couldn't have anticipated exactly how special it would turn out to be!

As Hanyile approached the Rocky Ridge female, there was some growling and "chuffing" - a sound leopards make to communicate, especially between a female with her cubs.

Hanyile went to lie down, watching Rocky Ridge and her cubs. We assume that he is the father of the cubs, and therefore he showed no aggression towards them.

Rocky Ridge then climbed into a fallen tree, and was joined by one of her cubs. The rest, as they say, is history.

We invite you to share one of the most special moments we've ever had on safari...

Head over to our YouTube channel to watch the full video.

Words by: Francois Fourie
Images by: Francois Fourie, guests Derek and Angela, and guest Esther Boshoff