Cats - 2

 My second cat post from Africa showcases the leopards of Londolozi. There were several surprises about the game drives but the biggest was probably in realizing just how close we could get to these wild animals as long as we were in a jeep and didn't make any sudden moves.

There are many, many game lodges in South Africa and we were lucky enough to be positioned in Tree Camp, part of the Londolozi complex bordering Kruger National Park. Books have been written about the leopards of the area. I can't begin to describe the thrill of witnessing these beautiful cats in their natural environment.

We saw three separate leopards while we were there. Two are pictured in this post. The female in the first three images was spectacular in her coloring and markings. She was in the process of hunting and was not about to let our presence upset her goal.

 I actually love this shot, above, even though her face is partially hidden. It is amazing to see how she seems to disappear into the environment.

We came across the male captured in the last five photos totally by chance on day three. He was sitting quietly in the brush near a trail and it was only due to the very sharp sight of our tracker that we saw him at all.

According to our guide, he was patrolling the border between his territory and that of another big cat and for that reason he spent a lot of time marking his territory as he went along. At one point the herd of elephants we had been watching earlier charged him and he turned around and headed back directly towards us. As he came alongside the jeep he lifted his tail and marked a bush on which our rear tire was sitting and exactly where Ken was sitting as quietly as possible. Not many people can claim they have been marked by a wild leopard!

 Some of my personal favorite photos of these cats are ones that I know will not necessarily appeal to most people. In the shot below you can see him rubbing his head against a tree stump - so similar to what I have witnessed from our house cat many times!