Double Trouble

This leopard mother (in the front) and her fully grown cub seemed very nervous of tourist vehicles and were keenly observing a second fully grown cub who was up on a tree a few metres away. It's rare to see two fully grown adults with their mother, especially in areas such as Tsavo East, which is much more inaccessible with far fewer tourists than Masai Mara. Even with fewer tourists the management of vehicles in Tsavo was very poor. These cubs and their mom were very anxious as vehicles kept speeding towards them, tourists desperate to take photos on their phones. I, along with our guide, intervened and requested these drivers to maintain the minimum 25m gap to the animal, which is mandatory in Tsavo. But we were rudely ignored. Such behaviour from tourists can not only scare leopards, but affects their hunting, eating and mating patterns. Quite often if these cats can't hunt properly, they will revert to an easy meal, which could be the cattle from nearby communities.

In this tumultuous time where tourism mismanagement can lead to adverse effects on their life, it is unfortunately going to be tough, unless we humans mend our ways, for this leopard mother with two fully grown cubs, who are on the verge of separating and going their own ways and creating their own separate territories

​Tsavo East National Park, 2024