Mating Leopard Couple in Okavango Delta

On all but one day while in the NG-32 concession of the Okavango Delta, we were able to visit a mating leopard couple.

Leopard laying on tree bough

Our guide told he had seen them mating on the morning we arrived in Botswana, and they will hang out together and mate for up to about five days. We saw them every day but one during our stay, so they likely started that first morning.

We never saw them mate. The closest we got was the female pestering the male, who looked tired and wanted nothing to do with a mating session.

Leopard couple looking for prey

They did need to eat, and though we never saw them with prey we did see them go out on what looked to be hunt on our first night there.

The funniest time we had with them was when the female was courting the male, and a flock of helmeted guineafowl came along and “noticed” the leopards. Most possible prey do not run away: that’s a sure way to become breakfast. Instead they stay put or even follow the predator, possibly doing a warning call. And oh did the little chickens follow and call: they swarmed around the leopards, climbed up into the tree, and raised a racket for nearly five minutes. You can hear them in the video below.