Not for the faint hearted!

[Trithor]

A fresh leopard kill from last night. This morning while enjoying an espresso, I noticed a few circling vultures about 2km away.
Quick breakfast, shotgun over the shoulder and off to investigate. The kill was not easy to find as it was hidden in quite thick bush and too fresh to have any significant smell. The sound of buzzing flies eventually led me to the carcass.
In the first picture the bite marks on the throat are easy to discern.
The second picture shows typical leopard feeding, the thick flesh of the hindquarters is eaten first, and the leopard may or may not return to its kill to feed for a few consecutive days. Hoisting of the kill is not common in bush areas where the leopard is top predator. They pull the kill into thick cover, and feed till small predators become a nuisance.
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[gonewild]

Do you know the Leopard or is it a mystery cat?

 

[mrhappyrotter]

The best part of waking up .... half eaten water bucks.

 

[Trithor]

Lance, I have a leopard lair on my farm. I try not to go there too often as I don't want to disturb mommy with her cubs. It is very difficult to access, but when I am next up at the farm, I will go to take some pictures. It needs a good bit of time to approach the lair, as you don't want to surprise mommy in the cave, that can only have a bad result.
This cat however is larger than our resident leopard, so I assume it is a passing tom. The secret here is to discourage him from staying! I am happy with my resident female, but am not in a hurry to gain a big tom.

 

[gonewild]

Lance, I have a leopard lair on my farm. I try not to go there too often as I don't want to disturb mommy with her cubs. It is very difficult to access, but when I am next up at the farm, I will go to take some pictures. It needs a good bit of time to approach the lair, as you don't want to surprise mommy in the cave, that can only have a bad result.
This cat however is larger than our resident leopard, so I assume it is a passing tom. The secret here is to discourage him from staying! I am happy with my resident female, but am not in a hurry to gain a big tom.

Maybe he just came to visit the family. or start a new one!
Do females always raise cubs solo or is there also female/male cooperation?

 

[AdamD]

Fascinating! Lucky you. I'm jealous. There have been a few cougar sightings around here, but we're too far south for bears, and wolves have been poached to almost non-existent. There was just a reintroduction of a pack one county over. Very nice pics

 

[SlipperFan]

If your resident mom has cubs, you definitely don't want a tom...

 

[abax]

I'm always on the big cat's side. There are too few of them in the world
and they're always being pushed into smaller and smaller territories. Leopards, like tigers, are magical creatures. I might add that if mom has
cubs, you might be in a bit of danger yourself snooping around. Be careful,
Gary.

If my reading of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is correct, a cat's territory is a bit like
the spokes of a wheel. The dominant male visits the females (or spokes of the
wheel) every now and again, but the females are essentially loners. The males
will kill cubs that are not their own. Oh, the dominant male is the hub of the
wheel. What I'd like to know is how the dominant male knows the cubs are
his or an intruder.

 

[Trithor]

Mommy raises the cubs, the tom is only around for a short spell. The toms tend to move around a lot, but a big tom can play havock with your breeding herds as they tend to kill larger game and more often, and frequently just before calving/lambing season (now) will kill every couple of nights. The pregnant female impala, kudu and wildebeest are much easier prey at this time.
The secret is to convince the tom that the farm next door is a better and easier place to feed.

 

[biothanasis]

Cool pcs and info!!! Thank you for sharing!