Written by: Pedro Segura
While on a safari in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya we came across a tragic incident: a killed leopard was hung out in the branches of an acacia tree – looking much like its own prey. The leopard had been partially devoured by another leopard – and had been the loser of a territorial dispute in an area north of the Ewaso Ngiro River.
We came across the ‘crime scene’ while enjoying an early morning safari, and our guide told us all about the terrible incident that had happened during the night.
When we arrived at the area we saw the killed leopard, hanging in the tree about four or five metres above the ground.
Meanwhile, his killer was resting in the branch of a nearby acacia.
I took these images with a mixture of feelings: disbelief, sadness, astonishment… it was a disconcerting and tragic image but also a unique and unusual sighting that I had never before had the privilege of seeing, even in books, magazines and wildlife documentaries.
