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What the cat dragged up

Natural History, June, 2005 by Erin Espelie

Cats have a knack for looking coolly graceful, whether hunting, killing, or absently tearing flesh from a fresh catch. Photographer Tracey J. Rich first spied this leopard in southern Namibia, as it was nimbly dragging a springbok antelope carcass--weighing at least sixty pounds--toward her on the ground. Then, as Rich gawked, the leopard gripped its catch by the neck and, without too much effort, lugged it twenty feet straight up an acacia tree.

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Leopards (Panthera pardus) often trundle their bulky prey into trees for safekeeping from competitors such as hyenas, lions, and wild dogs. But Rich saw no other animals nearby on the plains, except for herself and her two human companions. The acacia was not well protected from the sun or from vultures, either. Perhaps the main attraction was an enormous weaverbird nest in the treetop, just the thing for a leopard to lounge on. A community of sociable weaverbirds (Philetairus socius) had created the billowy thatching, but they apparently abandoned the roost sometime before the big cat arrived.

Content in its aerie, the leopard gave Rich an "odd look" now and then--a signal that it hadn't forgotten its audience. But for the most part, she says, "It played with the dead springbok, licked it, and occasionally took a few mouthfuls."

What the cat dragged up

Natural History, June, 2005 by Erin Espelie

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