One of Mfuwe area’s main sightings is ‘Alice’ and one of her offspring…During the last 4 years of guiding I got to know Alice very well. Alice is very likely one of the least shy leopards you will find in South Luangwa. She will walk up to game viewers using them as a cover to stalk her pray. Alice is not a young lady and it’s a big question mark as to how long we will continue to enjoy her company in the park. She recently lost her second canine from the upper jaw, but she is still capable of killing impala, young puku, baboons, monkeys and guinea fowls. She has mastered the art of hunting so well that she knows she is better off hunting during daytime so as not to lose her catch to hyenas.
Alice’s offspring is also very relaxed and comfortable around game viewer’s , Davy her son and Lucy her daughter were born 3 years ago and although they are fully independent, they still hang around the same home range of their mother. The two new babies, not yet named, are around 6 months of age and are already eating solid foods as long as mom can provide for them.
I hope the two new babies will follow in their mother’s and siblings’ paw prints so we can enjoy the presence of more relaxed leopards in Mfuwe area of South Luangwa.
Apart from Alice our the Elephants can be considered gentle giants and often get very close to the vehicle. There are various crossing points that the elephants use to go from the park to The Game Management area and the other way around. South Luangwa is not fenced and game is roaming around lodges and camps.
Hippos are numerous throughout the whole of South Luangwa and we often find them in a pool filled with Nile Cabbage (green water hyacinths) that makes a beautiful contrast with its environment.
