Leopard Journal

Tracking Shadow in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve for a BBC Documentary called Big Cat Diary. vacationtechnician.com

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Spirits in the leopard team were high. Shadow, a four-year-old female, had been seen with a large male leopard four months previously and she had recently been observed again, clearly pregnant. She would be perfect for the starring role in the fourth BBC documentary series Big Cat Diary. Ian Johnson, a naturalist and photographer who had been working in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve for eight years and was now part of the film crew, was as excited as the rest of the team. To compile a Diary of Shadow all they had to do was track her down...

I had known Shadow since she was a cub, the daughter of an incredibly relaxed and tolerant female, Half-tail, whom I'd photographed many times. Half-tail's range had been in the north-western part of the Masai Mara Reserve, where Fig Tree Ridge and Leopard Gorge formed the core of her territory. Now in her twilight years, she had been ousted by her daughter and was living at its edge. We would start our search for Shadow in Leopard Gorge, where she herself had been born and would most likely give birth.

19 August 2002
At 05h15 it's still dark, but I am champing at the bit to get started. I have to drive about three kilometers over rough terrain before reaching the gorge area north of our base camp. All is quiet as I pass Ole Tompoi's village, except for a dog barking and the sound of cattle bells coming from the boma. The Maasai settlement is halfway between the reserve boundary and the core area of the leopard's territory.

When I arrive at the gorge, the eastern sky is turning salmon-pink. Visibility is still low so I have to rely on my ears. But there are no tell-tale alarm calls, only the whoops of hyaenas returning to their dens. Dawn arrives and the sun climbs higher. There is still no sign of Shadow.

My radio crackles to life at 10h30. A leopard has been seen about a kilometer north-west of Double Gorge and it's a female - it must be Shadow. I hasten to the location, eager to make a positive identification from her spot pattern. The leopard is stalking through tall grass so it's difficult to see her clearly, but the general size and shape look promising. Finally she stops to scent-mark a tree and I recognize the three spots on her muzzle. It's Shadow!

She does not look pregnant but perhaps she has already given birth. It's difficult to see her teats to make sure. With any luck, she'll lead us to a den. She makes her way to the northern tip of the gorge where some boulders are stacked on top of each other. She drinks from a pool of water that has collected on the largest rock and then quickly disappears into the cracks between the boulders. She must have cubs. I settle down to wait.

20 August
When Shadow reappears the next morning she stretches and yawns leisurely before setting off at a brisk pace in a westerly direction. She seems to be hungry. She heads into a small dry riverbed lined with acacia trees and we follow in three BBC vehicles. Two are being used for filming while the presenter, Jonathan Scott, is in the third. Staying at a safe distance, we keep a careful watch on the leopard and scan the area immediately ahead of her for potential prey.

Clearly in quest of something to eat, Shadow stops in the tall grass, listens and tests the slight breeze blowing from the east. One minute we are watching her and the next she disappears, flattened into a stalking position. About 30 meters ahead is a female impala and her newborn fawn. We wait, cameras trained on the impala, intent on capturing Shadow in action. The impala is oblivious to the approaching danger as her fawn suckles. Shadow has melted into the grass, the rosettes of her coat blending into the tawny pattern.

Thirty minutes pass. The impalas are standing relaxed under a small acacia. Cisticolas suddenly start chattering. The female impala stiffens, nostrils flaring, then jumps vertically into the air. I am rolling camera, trying desperately to find Shadow. There is a flurry in the grass, the mother impala bolts off, turns sharply and blows an alarm call. There is no sign of the fawn, but the grass is so tall it is impossible to see anything. Then it parts 10 meters ahead and Shadow emerges, the fawn dangling limply from her jaws. It's only our second day with her and already she's made a kill. After eating the fawn she settles down under a tree and falls asleep. In mid-afternoon she wakes and heads back to the gorge. Presumably she has cubs there, or why else would she return?

23 August
It's 06h15 and Shadow is resting on a rocky ledge in front of what we think is her den. We've still seen no sign of cubs, but this is understandable as they may be only a week old. Leopard cubs are born blind, their eyes opening after six to 10 days, so at this stage Shadow's cubs would be safest deep in the den. The only way to tell if there are cubs is to check whether her teats are being suckled, but I'm on the opposite side of the gorge, about 30 meters away, and I can't see them, even with the aid of the camera's zoom lens.

Two hours later Shadow starts to edge her way slowly along the upper western side of the gorge, stopping to scent-mark every now and again. I go down into the gorge and move closer to where she's heading. She comes to a halt in direct line with my camera and sits down under a large albizia tree, exposing her belly. Quickly I zoom onto the area between her hind legs and focus on her teats. They are pink and the fur surrounding them is wet and flattened - they have definitely been suckled!

25 August
Shadow is resting again, this time near another large pile of boulders 20 meters from her original den. It's 16h10 and wildebeest are marching in long columns on either side of Double Gorge, making their way towards the Musiara Marsh. Above the monotonous bellowing of the wildebeest I hear a sharp 'aaeeo…'. Shadow pricks her ears and looks in the direction of the boulders. She starts to 'shuffle', blowing through her nostrils at short intervals to make the typical sound of a leopard communicating with her cubs. After surveying the area quickly for potential enemies, she moves towards the boulders.

Holding the camera steady, I catch my breath in anticipation. A small spotted head appears from behind one of the boulders and Shadow moves swiftly towards it. So there is a cub! Leopards in the Mara usually have two cubs on average and I wonder if there is another one. With a quick lick and a nudge, she pushes the cub back into the den. She must have moved it from the original site the previous evening.

26 August
From a branch in a large fig tree a juvenile giant eagle owl is screeching for its parents. It's 06h30 and I'm scanning the gorge as the first rays of light begin to penetrate its darker areas. There is no sign of Shadow at the boulders where we saw the cub yesterday. A vervet monkey chirps in alarm; Shadow must be nearby. I follow the monkey's intense stare into another fig overhanging the gorge. Shadow is feeding on the hindquarters of a Thomson's gazelle wedged firmly in a fork in the tree.

She stays there all day, descending only in the evening and heading to another pile of boulders directly opposite the kill. She shuffles a few times and then squeezes herself into a crack between two rocks. This does not look like a good den site, as it's very close to the ground and easily accessible to other animals.

27 August
Our worst fears have been realized. The smell of the kill has attracted hyaenas and they followed the leopard's scent to the den. Now they are sniffing around the entrance where I saw Shadow disappear. Their tails are up and they are cackling and squealing, fighting to get into the entrance. There is no sign of Shadow. Hyaenas will kill cubs of any predator if they can and will not hesitate to eat them if given the opportunity. My only hope is that Shadow may have moved the cub to a safer den site in the course of the night.

Aware of tourists in a vehicle beginning to photograph frantically to my left, I look further down the gorge and see Shadow watching the hyaenas. Her body language tells me she is concerned. At 09h45 the hyaenas move off and Shadow edges forward towards the den. She moves around it stiffly, grimacing at the distasteful scent of the hyaenas. Nose to the ground, she sniffs at the entrance but only pushes her head and shoulders inside and then retreats. For a while she settles down close by, but later climbs back into the tree to finish the kill. We are deeply concerned - is the cub still alive?

29 August
There has been no sign of Shadow for two days. Could the hyaenas have killed the cub and she has left the area? I park on the eastern edge of the gorge and we wait. A movement catches my eye on a rocky ledge opposite. It's Shadow, emerging from behind two huge boulders high on the gorge's western wall. At the sound of a loud 'meeow' coming from a large fissure between the two boulders, she turns round to investigate. The whole camera crew is relieved - the cub is still alive.

It is, however, wedged between two rocks and is meowing frantically. Calling softly all the while, Shadow eventually manages to extract it from the rocks with her paw. Holding it gently between her jaws, she leaps up between the boulders, climbs to the top of the gorge and pads along the edge. She is moving her cub to a safer den. She knows every nook and cranny of her territory but is running out of places to hide her offspring. Now she is heading towards a small cave at the end of the gorge, her last option in the immediate area. Gently she drops the cub at the entrance to the cave, grooms it a few times and then picks it up and disappears from view.

31 August
Shadow has remained at the cave, suckling her cub and resting close by. Now lean and hungry, she sits on a rock from which she can see over a large area to the south of the den, straight down the valley towards Fig Tree Ridge. She must have seen something for, quick as a flash, she sets off into the valley, gliding over the rocky terrain towards some tall grass. Trying to anticipate the action, I move ahead of her in a large circle and notice a small family of warthogs - two females and four piglets - feeding on some lush short grass at the side of a track. They are surrounded by tall red oat grass and oblivious to anything but the tasty shoots.

Shadow is moving with brazen confidence over the open rocky area, almost as if she knows the warthogs are too short to see her. The wind is in her favour when she enters the long grass 40 meters from the warthogs. Instinctively the adult pigs stop eating and begin to move away, but the tasty grass shoots are just too tempting and they return to where they were feeding. My camera is focused on the piglets, as I have no idea where Shadow is. In a sudden blur, she explodes from the grass and seizes a piglet. The rest of the action, the flight of the warthogs, is hidden in a huge cloud of dust.

With the piglet still kicking between her jaws, Shadow returns to the gorge and heads for a large fig on a rocky outcrop. She hoists her kill into the tree and by midday has consumed it. Draped over a large branch, she sleeps for the rest of the day. Towards evening she descends and heads back to the cave.
4 September

It's 06h17 and the sun has not yet risen. In the dawn light I can see no sign of Shadow or the cub at the cave. The stillness of the morning is broken by the distant alarm snort of an impala ram, and then by the nervous chatter of a troop of vervet monkeys. There must be a predator nearby. I drive to a high vantage point and, scanning the area to the north-west, can just make out the impala snorting at a clump of acacias. Making my way quickly to the place, I find Shadow walking purposefully through the acacia woodland. She appears to be heading to one of her favorite areas near the Mara River.

She is walking swiftly, parting the great herds of wildebeest that dash off and then regroup to take a closer look at this magnificent cat. They can tell she is on a mission and not interested in them. Two hours later and six kilometers from the den she reaches a small outcrop called Moses Rocks and heads straight for a saffron tree. Looking up, I see she has stashed an impala fawn kill from the previous day or night. By mid-afternoon Shadow has finished eating the kill, but she doesn't move from the tree.

6 September
There has been no sign of Shadow or her cub either at the den or in its vicinity. She seems to have moved the cub, but where to? The only clue we have is her foray to Moses Rocks. The vegetation here comprises mainly croton bushes mixed with acacia woodland, with various large trees growing on the volcanic outcrops. Just to the south there is a large spring and a salt lick, the Mara River and Siria Escarpment are to the west, acacia woodland with some rockier outcrops lie to the north, and to the east stretches open grassland with a few small patches of riverine forest.

At 13h10 a scout finds Shadow lying in a saffron tree between Moses Rocks and another outcrop called Dave's Rocks. Late in the afternoon she climbs down and begins stalking a group of topis with three newborn calves, but a baboon sounds the alarm and, giving up, she heads towards Moses Rocks. We lose her again when she climbs over a large fallen tree and disappears, but then the familiar chuffling sound reveals her presence. She is calling her cub. She must have carried it six kilometers during the night from Double Gorge to this new den at Moses Rocks.

9 September
Now 24 days old, the cub is becoming more mobile. For the past couple of days Shadow has been staying at the den for most of the day, venturing out briefly in the early morning or late afternoon, and probably during the night too. The presence of Maasai herders who take their cattle to the salt lick and spring every day may be affecting her behavior. We are concerned, for if the Maasai were to discover her whereabouts they would not hesitate to kill her and the cub. Leopards are a natural enemy to their livestock, especially the goats and sheep.

11 September
All is quiet at the Moses Rocks den until 08h15, when Shadow appears among the croton bushes around the fallen tree and begins grooming the cub. Her last big meal was three days ago and she is looking decidedly lean. She heads up onto the rocks above the den and disappears. Two hours later we locate her again, thanks to the alarm calls of a waterbuck. About 800 meters north of the den we find her feeding on a young waterbuck. She's started eating at the head, a custom she seems to follow when the kill is small.

After caching the carcass in the fork of a tree, Shadow is on her way down to a small stream when she suddenly pounces into a thicket and reappears with a Kirk's dikdik in her mouth. What an opportunist! Even with her belly bulging, she doesn't waste an opportunity. The dikdik is cached along with the waterbuck and, after drinking, Shadow returns to the den.

17 September
When I arrive at the den at 06h30 Shadow is full of energy and bounding around the dead tree, playing with its branches like a domestic cat with a ball of wool. At last I may get some footage of the cub if it comes out to play with her. We have been careful to keep our distance so as not to disturb her and the cub, but even now all we see of the latter is glimpses through our binoculars.

An hour later Shadow moves away from the den. Twice she tries to catch an impala fawn, but it's a blustery day and the wind gives her away. As she struts across a grassy clearing, tail curled over her back, topi, wildebeest and zebra rush forward snorting and blowing. Passing the tree where she'd cached the waterbuck and dikdik, she crouches and freezes, ears back, stomach to the ground. A large lion is sleeping at the base of a tree 10 meters ahead. Quickly she melts into the surrounding croton thickets, leaving the lion none the wiser. This is the first lion I have seen in the area since Shadow moved dens.

In the evening I'm back at the den. A family of dwarf mongooses is chirping and chirring about 600 meters to the west of it, and following their alarm calls I see them looking up at a very small hole below a large rock. Shadow comes into view with the cub in her mouth; she is moving again.

19 September
There has been no further sign of Shadow or her cub, but there are many inaccessible areas on Moses Rocks and she could be hiding very close by and we wouldn't see her. I decide to search further a field, in some of her other favorite haunts. At 15h20 I notice a large plume of black smoke rising to the east of Moses Rocks. The Maasai have set fire to the grassy plains and by 18h45 flames are raging over a wide front and heading straight for Moses Rocks.

20 September
The entire Moses Rocks area has been burnt to a crisp. The fallen tree that marked the den site is a white ashy skeleton, still smoking. Shadow has survived many fires during her lifetime, as it is common practice for the Maasai to burn the grass. My worry, though, is for the cub which she would have had to carry to safety.

25 September
At 16h15 one of our scouts locates Shadow resting under some guarri bushes on a rocky outcrop a kilometer north-east of Moses Rocks. Luckily this area did not burn. About an hour later she begins to move, but seems hesitant and nervous. Bare-faced go-away birds screech their alarm at her presence. We lose sight of her in a thicker area of bush and when I move to the other side of it expecting her to emerge, I find a whole pride of lions, including six cubs, lying in the shade. No wonder Shadow is nervous - the lions' scent must be everywhere! With lions around and so much of the area burnt, Shadow has few options to keep her cub safe - if it is still alive.

30 September
For five days now we've seen no sign of Shadow, although we've searched her entire territory. It's 06h30 and I've returned to the bottom of the gorge area. There is mist in the air after the previous night's rain and the birds have not yet begun to call. A loud snort breaks the silence. Two spotted hyaenas are moving towards the base of a lone flat-topped acacia in the dry riverbed and instinctively I look up into the branches. A Thomson's gazelle is wedged in a fork, but there's no sign of the leopard responsible. The kill looks fresh, with only part of the rump eaten. I radio in the sighting excitedly, knowing that the leopard will come back to feed.

After a while I notice that the very top of the acacia is shaking, and through my binoculars see a leopard balanced on the thinnest branches having a scratch. It has been there all along! The three spots on the muzzle identify it as Shadow. It's good to see her again. The banks of the riverbed have some good hiding places, so maybe the cub is still with her.
She feeds on the carcass from time to time and after about three hour’s climbs down to the riverbed where she lies on the cool volcanic rocks. I have a good look at her teats, but they seem to be dry and unused. Late in the afternoon she returns to the tree to finish feeding and stays there until dark.

2 October
Shadow is back in her core territory. It's early and I have found her walking up a track at the bottom of Fig Tree Ridge, 500 meters from where she gave birth to her cub. She seems listless and has lost the bounce she had when the cub was with her. We can only conclude that it has died. She spends the day spread eagled in one of her favorite fig trees and then, as evening approaches, heads off eastward.

11 October
We've located Shadow at last! She appears to have regained her bounce and is scent-marking every tree and bush, advertising her presence to the dominant male and reasserting her control over her territory. Perhaps she is coming into estrus again. She is still young and we hope she will successfully raise more litters - and be around to star in the fifth series of Big Cat Diary.

A professional safari guide, photographer and ecotourism consultant, Ian Johnson has worked in Kenya's Masai Mara, and also in the Serengeti, Lake Maynard and Haranguer national parks and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania for close to 10 years. He has won a number of local and international awards for his photography, a vehicle he uses very successfully to spread the magic of Africa.

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