Excellent Hlatshwayo sent this video to Latest Sightings. He filmed it at the Napi-Numbi junction in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Watch the sighting:
Why did the leopard cross the road?
As Excellent’s video begins, a sight most visitors to the park dream of greets us. We see a female leopard crossing the road.
The Kruger Park has a very healthy population, with many of the individuals well-habituated to the presence of vehicles. As a result, they often behave in a relaxed and purposeful manner.
With a backward glance
However, when this beautiful specimen reaches the other side, she stops and looks behind her. While she still appears relaxed, she seems to have forgotten something.
Subsequently, she turns around and wanders back into the road. You can’t help but wonder whether she is lost or searching for something.
As she stands before Excellent’s safari vehicle, we see that she appears to be in good condition, although it looks like she could use a meal. Perhaps she is hunting…
About turn
Strangely, after appearing to listen for a few moments, she does an about turn and returns to the verge on the far side of the road. There, she stops for a moment and stares into the long grass at her feet.
At this point, a sharp-eyed observer would notice a slight movement just in front of her. Next, we hear Excellent conferring with one of his colleagues in their native Tsonga language. They’ve worked out the puzzling behaviour.
Mystery solved
Moments later, the young leopard turns and walks back towards the other side of the road. This time, a tiny cub, probably only a couple of months old, follows her.
Unlike its mother, the cub is somewhat skittish. With big eyes, it takes in all the vehicles and thrilled tourists. Thankfully, all present remain still and quiet, awed by their privilege of seeing the youngster emerging from the vegetation.
Cleared to cross
Having decided that it is safe to do so, Mum then leads her precious cub across the road. The little one scampers after her, not wanting to let its protector and provider out of its sight.
As they reach the other side, both Mum and cub stop once more. At this point, one gets the feeling that this sighting might come to an end as the pair melts into the long grass.
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But wait! There’s more!
However, Mother Nature still has more surprises in store. After scanning the grass on this side of the road, the mother leopard turns and crosses the road once again.
As she does, a cub scampers after her. And then, to the delight of everyone watching, a second cub follows its sibling.
Leopards can give birth to up to four cubs at a time. However, it is usually two, as is the case here.
Mission accomplished
While we’ll never know how the separation occurred in the first place, we can take comfort in knowing that the young family is reunited.
As the video comes to an end, the trio is last seen slinking into the long grass. The mother leopard has successfully navigated the traffic and will surely go on to be as caring and vigilant as she was throughout this episode.
