There is a waterhole six kilometres south of Skukuza known as the de Laporte waterhole, when you hear waterhole you are expecting a big pool filled with water but upon arrival you will find a tiny round man-made pond, but do not underestimate this small waterhole as it has provided a lot of good sightings for many of visitors.
This particular waterhole has become frequently visited by Kruger goers because of the resident leopard that is found around the area, the leopardess at de Laporte waterhole is renowned for hunting and catching impalas at this particular waterhole, she has perfected the art of ambushing her prey as they visit the waterhole for a drink of water.
The waterhole being man made is extremely slippery for the hooves of the impala, this particular leopard has used this to her advantage because as the prey goes down to drink the leopard ambushes them, usually resulting in the prey slipping in the water and giving her time to pounce on her prey before dragging them out of the water to a nearby by tree.
Many visitors have been fortunate enough to witness the famous de Laporte leopard in action. Hanno Erasmus, got to witness the leopard in action a couple of years back capturing some extraordinary photos. He shared some of his photos with us.
Just recently Graeme Mitchley, our regular contributor got to witness a leopard catching an impala at de Laporte, this will add to his long list of predators taking down prey at Kruger.
While waiting at de Laporte waterhole with the leopard insight , Graeme anticipated that she may strike again, with a lot of patience and a bit of luck on his side, he was rewarded. The leopard used the same hunting and stalking tactics and took down an impala as it went to the waterhole for a drink.
Graeme captured the leopard dragging the impala while the antelope was still alive, in the video you can see the impala trying to use its last bit of energy to escape but unfortunately for the impala, the leopard successfully managed to suffocate it.
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Video is copyrighted to Graeme Mitchley
All images are copyrighted to Hanno Erasmus