The Circle of Life

I had not planned to send out this last post as I felt the Lion Pride and Elephant adventure would be the ultimate of our experiences, but our drive last night and this morning provided more spectular events. I'll be brief as we leave for the Sabi airstrip soon and will then have about 2 hrs in a day room at the Johannesburg Airport InterContinental before flying out tonight. I'll be posting this from the there.

It seems that the most intriguing events always happen toward the end of our drives. After another wonderful "Sundowner", the sun had set and darkness set in. Our tracker noticed the tracks of the same female leopard we had seen on the morning drive. She had 2 young cubs about 3 months old hidden nearby and was stalking a potential prey. We watched her wait patiently for the chance to attack an impala who had foolishly strayed from the herd. Impalas alone are no match for a leopard but are secure within the herd. He caught her scent and leaped away to safety. That ended her chances for breakfast.

To continue, last night we located the same female as she stalked another prey. Suddenly she crouched and then in a split second lunged through the air. We heard a brief scream and then silence. She had grabbed a rabbit by the throat and instantly strangled him. The only consolation for the prey was that he died an instant death. We watched her carry the rabitt back to the cubs, but we didn't follow long as we didn't want any hyenas to catch our scent and find the cubs. My photo is mom carrying dinner home, but all you can see is the rabbit's ears as she never turned around. It's a little fuzzy but remember it was pitch dark except for an incredible starlit sky.

Final sighting: We drove for about an hour and a half this morning without seeing very many animals. The leopard mom had moved the cubs. The first good sighting was a huge bull elephant about 10 ft. from the Rover devouring a small tree. It's just incredible to see these creatures so close in their natural environment.

BUT, the crowning experience which completed The Circle of Life for us during our stay in Africa was coming upon a white rhino with her 1-month old cub. This was the most precious site and truly made me appreciate the wonder of nature from birth to death and the protectiveness these animals have for their young.

Coming to Africa is a life-changing experience. I'll be leaving shortly but will always carry a love of this beautiful country and its wildlife with me and hope to return someday!
Linda