Over the last few weeks we have had a frequent visitor moving through the camp in the form of a young male leopard. It has been said that this up till now unnamed Leopard is believed to be “bred in the purple” as he is the son of Saseka (the daughter of our deceased resident female Twinspots) and Malewane (the super impressive resident male of the area), which would give him some of the best genes around. Having never had a really good look at this young male, we were desperate to see him out in the field. Luckily this last week our prayers came true…
On a slightly cold damp morning we decided to head out and check the area quite near camp when we suddenly bumped into a leopard! Switching off the engine, we turned our attention to trying to identify this male, and sure enough it turned out to be the same young leopard we had been so eager to see. He was quite comfortable with our presence so we were able to follow him through a few blocks of vegetation whilst he went through his morning routine. He ended up putting on quite a show for us for the +/- 45 minutes we had alone with him, climbing a tree and coming back down, stalking some impala and just all around being the goofy leopard – something one expects from these sub-adults. And it is this behaviour that has caused the reserve to affectionately call him the Shangaan name “Bizaan”, meaning crazy. After this incredible sighting we moved off and stopped for our morning coffee, grateful for the time we had just spent with this youngster. But this wasn’t to be the end of our “week with Bizaan”….
Two days later, on a warm afternoon, we got word of a leopard that had killed an impala at a nearby dam, and we quickly and almost telepathically burst out: “It must be Bizaan!”. It went without question that we made our way straight there and were greeted with our same goofy young male leopard, now panting heavily over a freshly killed impala ram. The mere fact that this leopard at just over 2 years old (the age leopards start to leave their mothers in search of their own territory) was able to take down an impala ram just shows that he is destined for greatness.
Over the next 3 days we came back and visited him with his kill regularly and it felt as if we started to develop something of a relationship with him. He would climb the most oddly unsuitable Red Bushwillow tree to rest and then find himself hanging upside down doing so, just adding to the goofy loveable nature of this leopard. We were also present when he finally came down the Marula Tree where that he had stashed his kill for his 3 day feast and witnessed his interaction with a Spotted Hyena “stationed” below the tree hoping for scraps. Much to our amazement he showed no fear of the hyena – if anything, the hyena was scared of him! Another sign of his courage and bravery, and how he is like his father. A truly memorable “Week of Bizaan” and further proof still how up here at KwaMbili every week presents new rewards.
Report by Andi
We can’t wait to watch this young leopard develop into the dominant force he is destined to be!
