For the last few months we have watched with amazement at the growth of one of my new favourite leopards. Outcrop female’s cub has adopted the relaxed nature of her mother and is as pretty as a picture. She exudes a confidence far beyond her years and for the first time she was witnessed making a kill the other day. I was fortunate enough to be there and what we witnessed was truly extraordinary.

We were on our way in to join a sighting with a cheetah and on our way in we spotted her next to the road in stalk mode and was so concentrated on something in front of her. I looked around and all I could see were a herd of kudu in the distance but this was very confusing because she is way too small to take on a kudu. We watched as she stalked belly on the ground towards a small thicket in amongst the burnt area and waited.

As she approached she suddenly stopped and for the next few minutes she remained motionless. Her intense focus never waivered even as the kudu saw her and started to alarm call she did not move. She then moved slowly into a pounce position without taking her eyes off the prize. She suddenly launched into a full attack and a Scrub hare came bolting out of the thicket with the leopard in hot pursuit. The chase lasted a few seconds with the leopard bobbing and weaving behind it and it all ended with a short squeal as the leopard sunk its canines into the hare.

She quickly picked up her prey with it still squirming in her mouth and made her way down to the river to get some cover and get away from any hungry hyenas. We followed her down and what came next left me speechless. Her playful nature and youth came out as she started to jubilantly play with her kill. Tossing it up in the air and tackling it, which went on for about a half an hour, leaving both my guests and myself ecstatic at the sight we were witnessing.

She eventually tired of her game and got down to the business of eating her well earned meal. Watching this left me amazed at how quickly they mature and how her mothers instincts to be a successful killer were passed down. For sure there will be tough times ahead but she has shown that she possesses the ability to look after herself once her and her mother part ways. In honour of her coming of age we have decided to call her the Kelenge Female because the majority of sightings have been around a dam in the south of the reserve called Kelenge Dam.