Makeppies female

Since the loss of our dominant female leopard, Twinspots, it has been interesting to follow the movements of the Makeppies female from the north of Thornybush. We have lately been finding more and more evidence of her around the lodge, usually during the night (when we find her tracks) but we have also actually seen her – just the other evening she was spotted walking around the outskirts of the camp. And a few days before that we were lucky to see her up a tree with an impala kill! Even though we have regular leopard sightings in Thornybush, seeing one up a tree with a kill remains a special occasion for us – a truly unique characteristic of the species. And all the while there was a hyena waiting in the area in the hope that she would drop scraps of meat while eating. This Makeppies female is moving and expanding her territory because a larger territory generally gives her more area to hunt but also more specifically because the area around the lodge offers more prey than further north.