When you use the word “leopard” and “aardvark” in the same sentence you know it’s going to be good. Last week visitors were lucky enough to see a Leopard With An Aardvark Kill.
Among the big cats, leopards have the most diverse diet, ranging from impala to porcupines and even catfish. But this leopard wanted to try something different.
If you have read our “animals no one told you about” you would’ve read that aardvarks are animals which look like they made from parts of other animals because their ears resemble a rabbit, their tail looks like a kangaroo and they have a pig like nose. Aardvarks are mostly nocturnal and they come out at night to feed on ants and termites. Aardvarks are extremely hard to spot at the Kruger, because they are shy and solidarity, we have never seen one even after visiting the park many times a year through out the years, visitors usually spot them around the Satara region.
Leopards are elusive animals which are difficult to spot at the Kruger, they enjoy spending most of their time in thick bushveld and in trees.
Some visitors got a taste of something unique and unexpected they got to see that a leopard had made a meal of an aardvark. Some visitors have never seen an aardvark or a leopard, so to see those two together, made the sighting extremely special.
Alan Plant was one of the few lucky people who was at the sighting . This is what he had to say about his experience. “On our way back from a wonderful 3 day walking trail at Sweni en route to Satara (H6 a few Kms from the H1-3 junction) we stopped where a few cars had gathered.
They pointed to a leopard that had a kill in a tree and to our amazement we realized the leopard had killed an Aardvark and was feasting on it. Our trail guide told us that it was the first aardvark he had seen in that area for 17 years.
What a way to end our trail!”
If seeing a leopard and an aardvark wasn’t enough for a good day to be at the Kruger, there was lions spotted across the road near the sighting.
A hyena was also waiting underneath the tree waiting for the leopard to drop something, to which he could scavenge.
It is a bittersweet moment to see a aardvark having lost its life to one of the greatest hunters in the animal world.
you can read our top 5 favorite roads to spot leopards here.