After a restless night sleep, dreaming all the time about the big male leopard and what happen to him, you're away before joseph could awaken you. You lay in bed and listen. The birds are coming awake, and you hear joseph building the morning fire. Sligind out of bed and into your sweatsuit the morning seems colder than usual. The fire has gotten a good start as you walk down the little path toward the dining tent. As you squat down in the chair you slide it closer to the fire and gratefully accept the cup of hot coffee. The sky is beginning to turn pink and blue and the guinnea fowl have invaded the garden behind the kitchen. Breakfast tastes better than usual this morning and you have lost all sense of time. It's time to refresh the bait trees again. Shoot more impala, shoot more zebra, hang them in the trees. Will that damn leopard come back??
As you bounce down the road you have to think of what day it is, what date, even what month. You've been here awhile, how long is awhile? How many days left? Is it enough to find that big leopard? Then its time to hunt somemore.
The herd of impala are only 30 yards away. Just for something different you line up 2 in a row and at the shot both fall. Two in 1 shot. 2 more baits. Jut after you hang the 2nd bait, you see a herd of zebra, You need one for bait, but there is something with them. You've seen so many wildebest that you have started to ignore them, but in this herd there's something not to be ignored. The bull at the far end has got to be close to 30". Bigger that the largest one you've ever seen before. If you're lucky you can sneak around the far edge and get into range.
It didn't seem that far you think to yourself. You've been sneaking from bush to bush for close to an hour now, and the bull keeps moving away from you. If you can just get behind the big termite mount you can probably get off a long shot. Jimson, like always is in the lead Fred is next, and you bring up the rear. Lining up behind the termite mount, you remain back a little while Jimson peeks over the edge. He motions you forward and you crawl as quick as you can, just like a big 1 year old. Jimson motions to where the bull is, and you take his place at the mound. Slowly sliding the rifle barrel around the edge of the mound you lock your eyes onto the bull. 200 yards away, this is the longest shot you have taken in Africa. Still it's shorter than was last falls mule deer. As the crosshairs steady on the bulls chest, he turns and looks directly at you. The crosshais move of a spot just a bit under his chin, and the 180 grain partition is on its way. He drops to his knees, but is up again. Bounding away as only a wildebest can do. Fred asks how you felt about the shot. It was good, you know it was good, but why did he run away.
Jimson is already out in front and looking for tracks. You keep your eyes open looking for animal. Blood, then more blood. He's hit, it looks like bright blood. Good sign, but where the hell is he. The blood gives you the driection hes gone, but then it peters out. How can that tracker find his track among so many others. How can he? but he does. He follows that track, seeing where you see nothing. 100 yards, 200, then 500 then half a mile. He must have part bird dog in him. Then he stops and points. Just ahead is a big gray lump behind the brushline. The big bull was dead on his feet, but just didn't know it. Thee's no ground shrinkage on this old fellow. His horns are even better than the 30" you hoped for. Book head, Not that you'll put him in, but pride does well in.
Now what time is it, you think its around noon and it must be thursday, but you have to think about it. Loading the old guy in the back of the cruiser you're 25 K away from camp, and not far from the cry river bed. Perhaps a nice wildebest quarter will entice the old male.
As your feet sink into the soft riverbed sand you can't help but wonder. What happend to him, He had eaten a whole impala, and then part of another, but he didn't come last night.
Then as you round the bend, you see the 2nd impala is gone. The female just couldn't have eaten that much, and the tracks are there. Sometime last night after you left he came. Jimson and Fred cut down the impala skeleton, and hang the quarter of wildebest. You try your best to stay back aways so as not to leave any more scent.
Fred is backtracking the leoaprd, back to the rivers edge, back to the bushes, back to the blind. Bugger knew we were here he exclaims. Smart old guy. We'll have to set up a new blind, but we'll leave this one here to fool him. Proper thinking, but this guy is smart, cunning, and experienced. While the new blind is being built, you think, think , wondering if you're smart enough, wondering if you have enough time, thought loose you in time

Another nice one.

very enjoyable .. thank you ....

excellent read!

Dang!-- I could smell that one!--- good show!

Brings back some very strong memories... well done.

Thanks