How could I not love the Sabi Sand private reserve, at the heart of Kruger's "Golden Triangle": the best hideout for spotting the very timid leopards. And actually I saw three leopards in this reserve, when I had never seen any before on multiple safaris! According to the guides, they've been comfortable around humans for many years and are well protected here, so they are less afraid than most other places in the country where they are very difficult to see.
One of them was a female who had just eaten an entire antelope! The guide told us that leopards can eat up to 15kg of food - that's almost half their weight - in order to store it up and feed their young. She had eaten so much she could not move; we could get very, very close.
The rangers are excellent and on every safari there is a tracker on the bonnet of the pickup truck. These are Shangaan people, who lived in the area originally before the parks were created and know the animals inside out.
How could I not love the Sabi Sand private reserve, at the heart of Kruger's "Golden Triangle": the best hideout for spotting the very timid leopards. And actually I saw three leopards in this reserve, when I had never seen any before on multiple safaris! According to the guides, they've been comfortable around humans for many years and are well protected here, so they are less afraid than most other places in the country where they are very difficult to see.
One of them was a female who had just eaten an entire antelope! The guide told us that leopards can eat up to 15kg of food - that's almost half their weight - in order to store it up and feed their young. She had eaten so much she could not move; we could get very, very close.
The rangers are excellent and on every safari there is a tracker on the bonnet of the pickup truck. These are Shangaan people, who lived in the area originally before the parks were created and know the animals inside out.
