Post on 09-Apr-2018
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 1/45
The Leopard Son
*****************
It didn’t take him long to get onto his new job.
The police are onto the robber’s plans.
I can't remember a time when I didn't love being with animals.
They were the most valuable part of my young life.
As soon as I could, I left for Africa to learn everything about
their world.
To be as close as possible to nature was what I always wanted.
It was a way of life that, in time, I chose for my family.
My son was raised in the wild, just the way I had dreamed of
when I was young.
1
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 2/45
Here, over thirty-five years, many animals taught me many
things. But there was one story, a tale of coming of age and
exploration, I will never forget.
This is my Serengeti . http://74.125.153.132/search?
q=cache:s_LFwfvhL8MJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serengeti+Serengeti&cd=3&hl=zh-TW&ct=clnk&gl=tw
In the beginning, like the majestic herds, I, too, was in search
of something. I know now what it was: life.
And in the midst of life, the knife-edge of dange r.
Wherever there is life there must also be death.
Arriving here from Europe I was stunned .
But even in this so rich a world (= such a rich world), there was
one animal always hovering on(at) the edge of my vision and
my dreams...
2
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 3/45
.. a trick of shadows and lights ...
...the unbelievably elusive leopard.
From that first day, I almost felt she'd single d me out
somehow.
It was as if she had a secret she wanted to share with me
alone.
I have always loved new moons, and dawns. They are both
about starting over , new beginnings. That's how it was one
bright dawn under a new moon when in the crook of an old
tree I discovered the future.
Woman standing in crook of tree
So comfortable in his world, he seemed to consider the entire3
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 4/45
universe his playground, filled with wonders.
But there were dangers as well.
Watching her, I suddenly knew I was watching every mother,
my mother even, scanning the bush for any and every threat.
Still, I worried every time he left the safety of his tree to go out
into the wild world. But I could not teach him. That was his
mother's work.
Every day is a mixture of affection and learning.
This is not just play. It's learning to hunt. To survive, he must
become an athlete.
He must also learn patience. When it's time for his mother to
leave, he seeks out a safe hollow and stays there. Sometimes
she's gone all day.
……………………………………………
4
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 5/45
Usually when his mother left, it was to hunt. But on this day, it
was to patrol her territory.
Tree marking announces her presence. These are serious
boundaries and with a new cub, they're especially important to
warn away competing females.
Her territory covers twenty-five square miles.
Some, however, take little notice of such boundaries.
Lions ruthlessly kill any competitors.
Sometimes a leopard's best defense is magic. One minute
there, and then.
Some animals never lack for company.
Others have more solitary childhoods.
5
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 6/45
When I consider it, the cub's secluded life reminded me of my
son, who grew up with us in the wild. Like a cub, he played
alone. He shared his world with wild and sometimes
dangerous creatures, some more dangerous than others.
The snake eagle, like a wise sentinel, had seen it all before, the
quest for food, life amid danger, the return to the tree of life.
The white tip of his mother's tail was like a banner. It always
led to adventure.
While the cub grew up, the mother would have to be patient.
When you're small, you think the hard part of growing up is the
physical part, the effort it takes. But I remember as I got older,
the really hard part had to do with confidence. And that
always seemed impossibly out of reach.
In the Serengeti, time is a witness to all change, all progress.
6
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 7/45
The snake eagle had witnessed most of the cub's growing up.
He'd been his companion from afar, a source of wonder. At a
year old, the cub had visited every part of his mother's world
and was familiar with all its creatures.
The snake eagle knew, however, that there was much more,
that there was a world beyond the mother's territory. Yes,
there was a great deal more. This is the plain where man first
walked.
The leopard son was older now, but was still not wise enough
in the ways of the world. He still needed his mother.
Like my son, he'd gone up the tree of life a child and come
down a man, but a young man.
For him, life was still a game.
The mother has not only her grown son to cope with, but his
bigger appetite as well. He eats as much as she does, but only
7
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 8/45
she is skilled enough to hunt.
Even with all her stealth and experience, it's no sure thing.
This is a lesson of the wild. Thomson gazelles can only survive
as a species if they stay one step ahead of their predators.
To succeed, she must get much closer.
He's supposed to be watching, but he's distracted by a termite
mound.
Out here, however, any lapse of attention can be fatal.
Unaware of the lioness, another Tommy herd approaches the
last remnant of water.
Reunions are the best time of day. This is what all social
animals live for.
8
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 9/45
Hyenas, too, bond in great, affectionate clans.
With the lions far off, they need not fear them this evening.
Dawn. During the night, the hyenas have gone hunting,
leaving only a single female to guard the den.
I've never seen lions eat hyenas. They just kill any meat-
eaters to get rid of competition. It's sad. You'd like to
intervene. But invariably you make things worse. If too many
competitors survive, the lions starve.
Trees in the end are not just home. They're safety, for both
leopards and snake eagles.
I've seen leopards eat almost anything, fish, pythons,
porcupines and birds. I was certain that the leopard son would
kill the chick.
But no. Probably the cub wasn't hungry.
9
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 10/45
Temperature here seventy-five feet above the Serengeti
regularly soars above a hundred degrees. Mother snake
eagles cope by mantling over their young.
Leopards stay cool by panting.
Others seek out patches of tree shade, protection that can be
deceptive.
Hyenas are used to the sounds of death and arrive instantly,
with larceny in their hearts.
In areas where there are no hyenas, leopards don't drag their
kills up trees.
Sometimes it seems the Serengeti is all about the next
generation. A cheetah and her cubs traveling in search of
prey.
10
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 11/45
It's always this way. It's a mistake to underestimate the fierce
determination of a mother.
Early birds, even lovebirds, can murder sleep.
Age goes about the day's work, while youth rests.
But it's no good. He might as well try something else.
What was it about giraffes? Plainly, they were too big to hunt.
But it was fun to make them jump.
This looks like a game, but it's so much more.
It's about determination and persistence.
It's learning how the world works.
Evening was fast approaching. Even with Tommys in her
territory, the mother had been unsuccessful.
11
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 13/45
An untimely thorn in his paw, unfortunately, exposes him.
The leopard seems safe for the moment at least, out of the
lion's reach.
Soon, however, the lion is on to more pressing business. He'd
recently taken over the lion pride. Lions need to assert
themselves to make sure everyone knows who's in charge.
Life can only return to normal when they move off.
At long last, his mother returns.
After his encounter with the lion, he's eager to be with her
again.
He's larger than she is, but he still craves a mother's affection.
It's as if he wants to cling to her with his tail, as if this will stop
her leaving again.
13
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 14/45
If he's to survive, he needs independence. He has to succeed
on his own. Love and
independence is the same thing humans need. Too much or
too little of either, and no child prospers.
She's led him to a tree where she's stashed a kill.
To my surprise, however, she did not join him.
Little did I or the leopard son know this would be the last meal
she'd provide. He was on his own.
It's been a week since the son feasted. In the past, his mother
had been away that long only when prey was scarce. I felt he
was convinced she'd soon be back. This was normal. So he
was as playful as ever, toying with the skin of his last meal.
Just above, another of nature's dramas. Another generation
was learning to be self-sufficient.
14
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 15/45
He's reduced to chewing the old hide. If he doesn't' make a kill
soon, he'll be too weak to hunt.
I'd hoped his first hunt would show promise.
I was wrong.
The sausage trees are again in bloom, attracting all manner of
creatures to their sweet profusion.
Surely, I felt, this would be a place where even he could hunt.
It's not long before the Tommys return, recklessly drawn to the
tree's fallen blossoms.
Finally he could eat.
With the grasses desiccated, the gazelles are reduced to
browsing the few struggling bushes. Was fate conspiring
15
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 16/45
against him? Now he's learned to hunt, the Tommys are about
to migrate.
The landscape would soon be empty.
If he expected to eat again, he'd have to leave his mother's
territory.
He'd have to become a stranger in a strange land.
Along the way, he sees wonders he'd never dreamt of, a dry
lake, encrusted with salt as white as snow. But as always,
there is trouble.
This is predation with a huge risk. I've seen mud under the
crust reach down more than ten feet, deep enough to swallow
a Land Rover.
It's a fossil bed in the making.
16
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 17/45
While the lions are occupied with eating, the leopard son has
the freedom to move about. A new herd of gazelles has
arrived.
But hunting a herd is a far different matter. So many eyes.
How far he'd come. The land of youth was well behind him.
He'd made his farewells to all the old haunts.
How long I wondered before he arrived at the place he was
seeking? Then, a gang of five cheetahs.
They were creatures like him. It almost seemed he craved
their company. I knew it could never be.
Plainly the Tommys knew their reputation.
A determined hyena will always have his way on a cheetah kill.
A meal is just not worth the risk of injury, not with so many
plump Tommys about.
17
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 18/45
There are other diversions, however.
Cheetahs love tormenting jackals, which they could easily run
down if they truly wanted to.
The game ends with the arrival of a spoilsport. Slender
cheetahs are no match for baboons.
Baboons and leopards are ancient enemies.
And the great males have huge, sharp teeth. I had no idea
how far the baboons would take this.
As with humans, a big mouth is important in intimidation and
dominance.
Noise earns its keep by making bloodshed unnecessary.
He's been taught a lesson and will be forever less likely to
18
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 19/45
bother a baboon.
Leaving the tree too early before the baboons are completely
gone shows how inexperienced he still was.
There's only one defense: thick cover.
For the victorious baboons, life is doubly good. A bumper
harvest of acacia blossoms.
His journey had brought him to the land of the kopjes, rocky
outcrops that provide water and cover for all manner of
creatures.
And then this. The horizon loomed like a vast curtain of dust.
The world was becoming a desert.
Just when this wasteland seems about to suffocate...
19
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 20/45
...all nature it seemed was trumpeting a season of change.
The wildebeest were returning to the short grass plains,
coming home for the tender shoots that had prompted them to
walk a thousand miles.
At last he'd arrived, only to be greeted by a presence he could
never shake.
Lions are a nightmare.
Why had he traveled all this way? Just for food? Like any
teenager, like my son or like me, in fact, maybe this was about
discovering new things.
Night had been a success for the leopard son. He now had the
skills he'd need for life.
Little did he know his greatest tests were yet to come.
20
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 21/45
Why did he leave his tree? Hoping to make another kill?
Ordinarily, trees gave him confidence, superiority.
But there are still things he has to learn.
He's either wildly overconfident or totally unaware she's
climbed the tree, a reckless oversight.
Now, only the thinnest of branches atop of the tree can save
him.
She's distracted by the presence of elephants. Lions
sometimes kill small elephant cubs. But adults fiercely protect
their young.
he son's bad luck continues.
He's lost a meal. But he'll learn it's far better to lose a carcass
21
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 22/45
than to be one.
This was the closest he'd come to losing his life.
Suddenly he looked to me so lonely. And in that instant, the
call of home was in the air.
It was the companion of his youth.
Once the world is grasped, we all return home one way or
another, home to the tree of life.
It was his mother. She'd given birth to twins.
She was a good mother. Even at eleven years old, she was in
prime condition and I felt she'd be able to raise her new son
and daughter successfully. But as always, the urge to hunt
meant leaving her cubs behind.
But for the son, the call of home had been much greater than I
thought. I was amazed. It's unknown for adult males to return
22
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 23/45
to their mothers.
I was excited. No one has ever seen an adult brother confront
his younger siblings before. But would he accept the twins?
Lions kill cubs not related to them. But leopards?
My only hope was that he'd recognize his mother's scent.
Even if he did, would that protect his brother and sister?
For the first time in two years, I had no idea what he'd do.
The son had seen the lion and so stayed in the tall grass. His
mother's scent was all around. But where was she?
It sounded as if the lion had caught something. But he walked
away.
None of the rest of the pride seemed interested either.
But for some reason, he was.
23
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 24/45
Some lessons are hard, others harder still. It was his mother,
killed by the lion.
It's those left behind who suffer most.
He had lost everything and he was alone.
Or was he?
No, he still had the land of his youth. This would be his
inheritance.
All was just as he remembered it.
At every turn, there were old, comforting sounds and sights.
All along, I knew my time with the leopard son would some day
come to a close. But for him this was no end. It was a new
beginning in an old place.
24
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 25/45
As if by magic, there was a new voice in the land, a female
sawing.
It was a sweet song, a song that could pour honey into the
heart of any leopard son.
Would there ever be such another leopard son?
Tomorrow, I start looking all over again.
25
8/8/2019 4001-The Leopard Son
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/4001-the-leopard-son 27/45
*********
27