The African bush is the most unpredictable place I have ever experienced...in one drive you can see the Big 5 and on the next be lucky to see an impala. The weather conditions and seasons play a huge role in the level of activity of the animals and can often make the difference when it comes seeing all the good stuff. The sightings over the last few days have been spectacular. From watching lions chasing wild dogs to following leopards and lions as they move through the bush marking territory.

This particular afternoon I had just met my new guests who had already been to another reserve and had been fortunate to see the Big 5 already. This left me with the extraordinary task of setting this experience apart from their last and showing them something different that would take their breath away. Fortunately for me the bush had been listening to my whispered pleas and the radio called out to say that a pair of mating leopards had been found. Without hesitation I pointed the nose of the Land Rover in the direction of the cats and got myself into the line-up for a position in the sighting. As we were called in to the sighting all we saw were 2 leopards sheering off in opposite directions and then two hyena bisecting the two of them. The hyena had obviously come in to investigate what all the commotion was about as the mating of two cats can be a tense and noisy affair.

The hyena eventually settled when they realised that there was no food in it for them and the leopards made their way back together. They placed themselves no more than 20 metres from the hyenas before starting the next short mating session. As we followed them down the road the male took the lead with the female closely behind. She would at times jump in front of him and offer herself to him which he never seemed able to resist. The female has to flaunt herself in such a way so as not to waste her opportunity to have young. Ovulation will only occur through the act of mating as the barbs on the males penis stimulate her to release eggs before they are fertilised by him.

The sun started to set, but the action didn’t stop. The two cats stopped briefly to catch their breath and groom a little before the female would again nuzzle the male hoping to entice him into further action. After an hour with the leopards we finally called it quits, the guests were left speechless after witnessing the amazing sighting and it left much for us to discuss around the dinner table later that night.