Leopards are considered to be solitary animals, but they only are to some extend. On private game reserves where leopards have been observed for decades, interesting interactions have been witnessed. Male leopard territories overlap the territories of several females, how many females depends on the size of the male’s territory, which depends on his strength of keeping other males away. The females in a male’s territory are mostly not related. Usually an adult cub moves away to establish a territory elsewhere. However, some females stay in the area and some take over part of their mother’s territory. This specific leopard family situation was unusual. The mother and daughter had neighbouring territories, partially overlapping. They had decided that the mother would look after one of the daughter’s two cubs, which would increase the chances of survival for both cubs. The daughter supported her mother in the care of the cub with food. The male leopard and father of the cubs met with them regularly, sometimes all of them were in the same tree. When the male cub raised by the grandmother became an adult, he was not forced out of his father’s territory, as it would normally be the case. His father allowed him to stay, possibly to help control it. It could also have played a role that the grandmother was at that time very old and they might have anticipated on her passing and a reshuffle of territories. Either way, what this example shows is that leopards interact more with each other than often thought. In some areas these usually illusive animals can be observed more closely and more can be understood about their social behaviour.
11/01/26 18:31
When wildebeest are crossing the Mara River the air is filled with their calls and their tension is almost tangible. They gather, feed and rest before starting to cross. They know it needs strength to get to the other side and they need safety in numbers. They attempt to cross in single file, one animal right after the other to let them appear as one animal to the crocodiles, trying to make it harder for the crocodiles to single out a wildebeest for an attack. This strategy is challenged by the obstacles they encounter. The entry and exit points are slippery and rocky and during low water levels there are exposed rocks in the river they need to navigate. The more animals have crossed the more muddy and treacherous the exit points become and animals get stuck, blocking others from getting out. Dramatic scenes can unfold, yet the animals find ways to care for each other. When an exit becomes blocked or too difficult to navigate they change directions, which releases the pressure on the animals that are already in these exits, giving them the space to reassess the situation and find a way to get up on the river bank. Animals that got stuck in the mud get a chance to free themselves and make it out. This footage is witness to how the wildebeest take pressure of an exit point where two animals, a mother and a youngster are stuck in the mud and how the other animals, once the pressure has been released, take a moment to check with them and try not to step on them while trying to get out and out of the way. Both, mother and youngster made it out.
14/12/25 12:41
On a sunny summer day this male leopard was resting in the grass at the bottom of a tree. Up in the tree he had stashed his kill. He was lying on his side, looking like he was sleeping.
A female leopard was approaching from behind, thoughtful of every single step, stalking closer to the tree. Out of the high grass she jumped up into the tree aiming at the kill. The male leopard jumped from his comfortable sleeping position into the tree in a split second, chasing the female into the tree top. There was a lot of growling from the male towards the female, but he choose to stay with his kill and not follow the female to the tree top.
The female was cornered in the treetop and very stressed, yet she pulled all her strength together and made a spirited dash down the tree passed the kill and male leopard to the ground and managed to snatch a leg from the kill as well along the way.
While all this unfolded in the tree a hyena was watching from the ground, waiting for her moment.
When the male leopard realised that the female had escaped with a piece of his kill, he angrily reshuffled his kill in the tree and missed a branch. The kill fell to the ground and the hyena made off with it. The male leopard stood in the tree looking puzzled that he ended up loosing his kill.
Female leopards normally don’t try to steal the kill of a male leopard. This female was old and struggling to hunt for herself. She and the male knew each other well, his territory was overlapping hers and he was the father of her daughter’s cubs. She probably counted on the family ties and he probably was more playing with the situation, than responding as forcefully as he could, it was about food after all.
