Leopard kills Elephant Calf at &Beyond Kirkmans Camp

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Kirkman’s Kamp

Kirkman’s Kamp, with its spectacular views of the unspoilt wilderness and the Sabi Sand River, is regarded as one of the best loved lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. A well known historic camp, originally built in the early 1920’s Kirkmans Kamp celebrates the atmosphere of an early South African lowveld homestead.We are treated to some spectacular wildlige sightings at this lodge and we would likie to share this one with you all…
 
 
 DID THIS LEOPARD KILL AN ELEPHANT?

The team went out in the morning to look for a young male leopard that has taken over the eastern bank of the Sand River after the death of the Tjellahanga male. Mark was the lucky one, finding the approximately 4 year old leopard sunning himself on the rocks. Watching him for a while, we noticed the leopard’s intense stare towards the rocks. Suddenly an elephant cow appeared, watching the leopard closely. Eventually Markus arrived to the sighting from the other side and spotted a very young elephant calf behind the rocks. The mother was trying to protect it from the leopard. The youngster seemed just a couple of hours old and unfortunately about to die.

And then the unbelievable happened: The leopard approached the elephant calf, trying to kill it (we were wondering if he had injured it in the first place). The mother charged the leopard, in a fleet of emotions she was trying to save the calf’s life. The cat climbed a tree right into the high canopy to get out of the giants path. This wouldn’t stop the angry elephant. Without hesitation the female pushed over this huge Marula tree, causing the leopard to fall down like a ripe apple and run away. This unreal scene went on for a while until the baby elephant eventually died. The mother stuck around for a bit longer and then moved off into the Sand River.

The leopard smelled his chance and dragged the elephant into a nearby thicket. A young elephant can weigh more than 100 kg at birth – almost double the weight of this leopard. The leopard eventually managed to hide the carcass in a thicket and lay down in the shade to rest. The next day our rangers went back into the area to see what was happening – not only to see a leopard feeding on the remains of an elephant carcass but also believing that the leopard might have been responsible for the death of this young calf.

As the rangers approached the sighting, a number of spotted hyenas moved in. They stole most of the carcass and ran away giggling over their success. But they didn’t get all of it. The leopard was lucky, managing to save some of the elephant carcass into a tree. When can somebody ever say again – I have seen a leopard feeding on an elephant in the tree!

Our thanks go to Paul for the great photographs!!