Lila (the leopard) returns to her kill.

 

This post is the “morning after” sequel to the one that showed Lila stashing her “prize”, shortly after she had killed a Red Hartebeest calf, late in the afternoon of 03 November 2022.

I took the featured image, above, at 7.55 am on 04 November 2022, when we returned to the relevant tree.

As you can see, Lila’s kill was quasi-intact, still “safe” in the tree’s canopy.

“When will Lila return to it?”, we wondered.

Less than three minutes later, we saw Lila, approaching the tree.

 

 

 

 

Less than six minutes later, Lila was eating; I was too slow and too poorly-positioned to photograph her very rapid ascent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, Lila was intermittently watchful, but soon her focus was fully upon her “breakfast”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had intended to include in this post an excellent video taken by a fellow observer of Lila’s breakfast; Bruce Propert owns the top model IPhone, and his video speaks very well of its capabilities…and of Bruce’s ability to deploy them effectively.

Alas, I have been unable to “persuade” WordPress’s alleged “add media” function to function, video-wise.

(if you wish to see and hear it, I am happy to email you Bruce’s “bone-crunching-good” video. If you have my personal email, you can request it that way. If you do not, you could make your request via Pelican Yoga’s “comments” prompt)

Lila’s “breakfast in the crown” lasted for a little more than a quarter of an an hour.

Shortly before her very rapid descent, Lila once again briefly looked down at the humans who had been looking up at her, uninterruptedly, for seventeen minutes.

As had been the case the previous afternoon, “our” vehicle was the only one present, and our presence had not particularly bothered Lila; it is, however, a very safe bet – on both occasions – that she had precisely located us before we laid eyes on her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less than a minute later Lila ambled away and soon “melted” into the bush.

 

 

 

 

 

With luck, her tree-stashed kill would provide her with at least one more meal, uninterrupted by “intruders” or “raiders”.

A little more than one hour later we had a less exciting encounter with another leopard…less exciting, but astonishingly close, as you’ll see, eventually, in the fourth of Pelican Yoga’s five Namibian leopard posts.

(the encounter that #5 will document was quite unlike the Lila episodes, but it was equally exciting)