Driving through Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve one will always admire the sheer beauty of the landscape and not just the Big 5. Whether it’s the large open areas, impressive rocky outcrops or the massive trees that are scattered along the drainage lines and rivers. Every guide has a dream image in their mind, whether it being a leopard lying on a certain rocky outcrop or even an elephant walking through one of our open areas while the sun is setting behind him, hoping that one day exactly that scene will play out and we are able to witness and capture it. My personal dream, and one of many of the other guides, was to see a leopard up one of Sabi Sabi’s most impressive Jackalberry Trees which lies in a beautiful open area. This particular Jackalberry even has a name, ‘Makulu Jackalberry’, meaning ‘Big Jackalberry’.

So when I heard that Tortilis had killed an impala and stashed it up Makulu Jackalberry I knew I was going to tick off one of the things I would love to see here at Sabi Sabi. The guides that witnessed this before me got back to camp and bragged about how awesome it was to see a leopard up this tree and what beautiful pictures they took of him. I was itching to get out there and witness it for myself. Little did I know that I was going to see more than just a leopard up ‘Makulu Jackalberry’.

I arrived to a sighting of Tortilis perfectly draped on a horizontal branch of the Jackalberry tree. My dream of a leopard on this particular tree came true. I could not believe my eyes as he just lay about 5 metres away from his kill with no worries in the world. To top it off his mom, Warthog Wallow, lay below in a thicket.

Moments later one of the Sand River Male lions was spotted far off in the distance in an open clearing. He was busy watching a herd of male buffaloes that were relaxing about 150 metres away from ‘Makulu Jackalberry’. He did not have a clue that his soon to be meal lay waiting up a tree beyond the buffalo. All of a sudden we saw him get up. The wind had picked up, which probably transported the scent of the dead impala to his direction. We decided to go watch him make his way to the tree and knew that there would be a bit of action first between him and the buffalo. As he approached the buffalo he decided to loop around them as he was alone and could not compete against 6 male buffalos. The buffalos got up and some of them made advances towards him and eventually ran away. The Sand River Male lion did not take his eye of the target and crept towards the tree and finally made a last second dash as he approached closer. Warthog Wallow made a quick escape out of the area, probably with full confidence that her now old enough cub would make the correct decision and go right to the top of the tree.

The lion leaped up the tree and began walking on the horizontal branch towards the kill. The guests could not believe their eyes. I could not either. I only wished for a leopard up the tree, and not both, but I was not complaining. Tortilis made his way to the flimsiest of branches right to the top, where it would be impossible for the lion to go.

As the lion approached the carcass we wondered what his next move would be. Would he eat the kill up the tree or bring it down. He began to eat on the tree but we could see that he was very uncomfortable. After a bit of a wrestle to unhook the kill from the tree he made his way down with the kill and jumped to the ground with the impala in his mouth. What a sight that was! No one could have ever imagined this happening and what an unexpected turn of events!

The lion began to eat his stolen meal right below the helpless Tortilis male and ate for a good 30 minutes or so. Tortilis did not dare to come down to the lower branches because there was nothing stopping the lion from climbing back up. In fact when the lion finished the carcass he climbed back up to look for more scraps and even attempted to get to Tortilis. While this was all happening Warthog Wallow watched on from the safety of a termite mound about 200 metres away. It was a good life lesson for the young Tortilis male and he will probably go through many encounters with lions such as this one during his lifetime.

To have witnessed such an event take place before my eyes is one that I will treasure for the rest of life and never forget. I can now tick of leopard and lion up ‘Makulu Jackalberry’ at the same time. I did not ever think that would happen! Guests were left in awe as we left the sighting and went back to camp knowing they will probably never see something like that ever again. A similar scene probably plays out on a weekly basis in reserves all over Africa, but being able to witness it and at close proximity without interfering with the animals is something special.