A leopard – in broad daylight?!

Only a few Namibian tourists are lucky enough to see one. And if they do, it’s usually in Etosha. Lying lazily in the shade, on the ground or in a tree. A family hiking the Quiver Tree Gorge at BüllsPort, however, experienced it IN ACTION: a leopard.

The two older children hadn’t wanted to come along at first. But already on the drive up to the NAUkLuFT plateau, the starting point of the hike, they were glad to be there.

Suddenly, their driver and guide, Dawid Hanse, stopped the four-wheel drive and pointed to the opposite mountainside: “Leopard!” The big cat moved gracefully, leaping and running up the rocky slope. Completely relaxed. And then it disappeared behind a rock formation.

“A juvenile,” Hanse explained. And seeing a leopard is a very rare experience, he emphasised. Although leopards are found throughout Namibia. Unlike lion, elephant, rhino, or buffalo, the other four of the ‘Big Five’. Because leopards (also see article on Wikipedia) usually hunt at night, are very shy and avoid humans.

Hiking through Leopard territory

An exciting and very rare experience: On the drive to the Naukluft Plateau, to the starting point of the Quiver Tree Gorge hike in the BüllsPort Lodge & Farm nature reserve, guests spotted a young leopard. Photo: private

This hint was most welcome. After the initial excitement, it hit home that they would be hiking for three hours through leopard territory. Without a guide.

Dawid Hanse drove back to the lodge and later picked them up at the bottom of the Quiver Tree Gorge. (More about the Quiver Tree Gorge hike in the ‘Hiking’ section.)

Despite the hint, the leopard encounter intensified their sense of adventure. During their hike, all four of them observed their surroundings with heightened awareness. This morning in the nature reserve of BüllsPort Lodge & Farm in the Naukluft Mountains was one of the highlights of their Namibia trip.

Around 50 mammal species occur in the Naukluft Mountains. These include klipspringer, kudu, baboon and Hartmann’s mountain zebra, which is found almost exclusively in Namibia. Among the predators found in the NAUkLuFT are leopards, caracals and spotted hyenas. (see the ‘NAUkLuFT’ section).