And the leopard walked away...
Two young male lions with a leopard they had attacked - photo by Colin Dennis
At Mdonya Old River camp last month, it was a great time for carnivore sightings, especially of cheetahs. But the lions and leopards also provided some very interesting behaviour. Some of our clients, on their way back to camp for lunch, passed by the spot where they had seen a pride of lions resting earlier on in the day.
Only this time they found the lions in full fight mode: a new male was pushing out the former dominant male and driving out the two young male lions from the pride.
Ruaha lions over a leopard they have just attacked - photo by Colin Dennis
The following day these same two young males were spotted at a bit of a loss wandering through the bush when suddenly they took chase and attacked a leopard that had been resting under a tree.
Wounded leopard after a lion attack in Ruaha - photos by Colin Dennis
After the leopard stopped fighting back they lost interest and eventually wandered away. Incredibly the leopard wasn’t killed and was later seen walking away from the scene!
Dennis family with their guides at Mdonya Old River camp in Ruaha
Story by Rebecca Phillips and Andrea Pompele, managers at Mdonya Old River camp.
Please check out these great itineraries if you are interested in a southern Tanzania safari:
Mdonya camp Ruaha and Lake Manze camp in Selous, with Fanjove Private Island added as an option