Although the Lion may be King in Africa, it is the elusive and secretive Leopard that has always held my imagination. Traveling for days on end, from Mount Kenya to the north, to the Masai Mara triangle to the south, our safari team's searched non-stop to locate any signs of Leopard being present. On a few occasions, a fleeting image of one was spotted, only to disappear back into the dense underbrush like a "thief in the night".
Leopards are very cunning felines with the strength to pull a carcass 3x their weight up a tree. They have mastered the art of stealth and can be within a mere few feet of their prey before they ever know they are there.
As would be the case, on our last day on safari, a call came in that a Leopard had been spotted by another vehicle a few miles ahead walking within a tributary of the muddy Mara River.
With great haste and a high sense of urgency, we put the vehicle in high gear and quickly headed toward the coordinates provided. Upon arrival, all of our vehicles converged and scoured the banks for some time before our elusive Leopard decided to pay us a special visit instead. Sitting beneath one of our safari vehicles, she sat for some time staring into the distance at what might be her next meal. She gave us no real notice and seemingly used the outline of our vehicles as a means of camouflage before moving on.
One cannot put into proper words the thrill of this moment, and how fortunate we were to see this amazing animal so up close and personal.
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