Under normal circumstances if you start seeing spots you may worry that you need to seek medical advice about your visual impairment. This past weekend, Kevin and I both saw spots but it was something we had waited 9 years for. Through the prickly limbs of a candelabra cactus tree we could see pale yellow fur elegantly decorated with black spots in-filled with a rich golden hue. Leopard!
The water in the Kazinga Channel gently pushed our small boat back and forth as those aboard desperately tried not to lose sight of this amazing animal. In response to our presence which was obviously annoying the resting creature, it peered out of the branches to see what the source of the noise was. I was looking through binoculars and Kevin the lens of a camera, as it raised it's head and it's large piercing eyes seemed to stare right into our souls. Magnificent.
We could see movement in the tree and after what appeared to be a big stretch, it descended the tree and instantly disappeared in the bush. We continued up the channel viewing hippo's, cape buffaloes and numerous species of birds but they all paled in comparison to what we had just experienced. We were exuberant about finally seeing a leopard. On our return down the Kazinga channel we saw this leopard again, this time sitting in a clearing. As we slowed to get a better look, it got up and walked like model down a catwalk all the while flicking it's tail with the playfulness of a house cat before once again slipping away into the dense bush.
I love that a leopard never changes it's spots, they're exquisite.
I love leopards. They don't show themselves for years and years and then turn up when you least expect them to. I saw mine on the Katwe public road at QENP. It was dark, we'd left Mweya late, and were heading out to the main highway. We saw what we thought was a lit cigarette, dangling back and forth at the level a man's hand would be at when walking. Then there were two 'lit cigarettes' and before we knew it, the smoking man had changed into a leopard, slinking into the darkness at the side of the road.
ReplyDeleteMagic.