By Todd Gustafson

I swear to God I’m going to get to that leopard and cub…but not this morning! We got side tracked by cheetahs again. This time it was a mother and two cubs hunting on the Makau plains. The mother captured an African hare and training began. She brought it to the cubs, released it and watched as they chased and took down the hare. They didn’t really know how to make the kill, so it happened time and time again. It was great photography for us, wonderful training for the cubs, and a REALLY awful day for the spring hare.

When they finally made the kill, the mother let the cubs eat before going on a real hunt for gazelles. On the way back to the lodge, we stopped for some elephants and got a flat tire. Once that was fixed, we realized it was a good thing to have happened.  If we had gone straight to the lodge we would have missed the birth of a brand new zebra colt.  Every year there is at least one amazing event that I have never seen before and this fell into that category. The mother nudged the colt to his feet, nosed its head up, and taught it to stand, walk, nurse, and run – all in about 15 minutes. 

This afternoon was for the birds – lots and lots of birds. We saw an Eagle Owl, an African Hoopoe, some Tawny Eagles, and more.  It was kind of cool to have an afternoon without the big cats that allowed for more varied subjects. That being said…WHERE’S THE LEOPARD?!

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