With its high density of leopards, South Luangwa National Park has earned the nickname “Valley of the Leopards” making it a wonderful choice for our first adventure to the African Continent.
We were able to watch some amazing daytime behavior including a female playing and stretching with, what appeared to be, a favorite bone. We found this leopard later in the day hanging out in a beautiful grand tree surveying the area.
We had a very nice sighting of a mother and her young cub together in the grasses. This mother felt comfortable enough to spend some time grooming herself while we watched.
One day, while we were checking out a pool filled with birds, another leopard was sighted walking towards a huge group of trees. It must have been a favorite area as some old bones were seen in the tangle of roots. While we were there, she occasionally called in low tones to communicate with her cub. In our image, it looks like a threatening face with her teeth bared, however, we never saw her direct aggression towards us.
Link to short clip of a young leopard playing with an animal bone.