Kenya’s Best Leopard Spotter?

Brown, the Samburu guide who found the leopard of Loisaba.

The most stealthy and mysterious of Africa’s three big cats, leopards are rarely seen in the wild. As nocturnal creatures, they keep a low profile during the day and only emerge around dusk to hunt for their next meal. They are also solitary creatures who don’t move in packs or family units, as well as critically endangered on most of the continent.

Loisaba Conservancy in northern Kenya — home to two of Elewana’s most incredible safari camps — safeguards a small but vital population of the spotted beauties. And no one seems better at finding Loisaba’s elusive leopards than Brown, a local Samburu who guides for both Loisaba Tented Camp and Loisaba Star Beds.

On a recent foray with two visitors from the United States, Brown spotted a dead antelope strategically placed over a tree branch on the plains just below the tented camp. Seeing as it was the middle of the afternoon, there was little chance the leopard would be around at that time. But Brown knew if they came back at dusk and “staked out” the tree, there was a pretty good chance of encountering the beast.

The leopard of Loisaba. Photo by Shannon Yogerst

That’s exactly what happened — an incredibly close encounter of the leopard kind that lasted for more than an hour and a half and featured the leopard coming as close as ten yards (ten meters) from the safari vehicle when it jumped into the tree to dine on its prey. The trio returned the following night at sunset and were treated to a repeat performance by the same cat, a young adult female who  circled around their Land Cruiser as she approached the tree.