Postcards from Africa - The Elusive Fifth

The most elusive of the Big Five, a solitary hunger camouflaged in the branches. Any sighting is fortuitous and our first attempt leaves us with more bird photos than anticipated. Rumour of a sighting has us tearing into a thicket with several other jeeps and we snuggle our way in. A muted shout. Someones spotted a tail, and suddenly, we do to. A flick is enough to send your heart racing as you fumble with camera. A leopard! We're actually looking at a leopard! A few great shots as she moves around as the excitement builds, and then suddenly, without any warning, she ambles out of the thicket into full view. My jaw drops along with my camera. Leopards are shy. They avoid human contact at all costs. Well, clearly someone forgot to tell her, as she calmly strolled right between the jeeps to head to the thicket of trees on the other side. The adrenalin has shot off the scales and turned my brain to mush as I stand gaping, barely remembering to aim and shoot. Needless to say, blurry is a good result. We follow her to her next stop and just the sight of her back turned to us in disdain keeps the skin tingling. Hakuna Mata!! We're so overcome by this encounter that we're almost ready to forgive the guides lack of desire to teach us anything or point out anything but the big five. Almost, but then I have to go and ask, "What do they usual eat?". Now back at Kicheche, that would have led to a detailed discussion of not just the sort of prey, but the whys and hows and we'd have all been that much wiser. Instead, David the guide looks at me in confusion and says, "Meat". No shit Sherlock! I make like a fish to refrain from any more pithy remarks while my brain contemplates whether it's worth my while to elaborate on the question... clearly not. He may have found us a leopard, but I'm no more kindly disposed to him than before.