The unpredictable nature of wildlife is one of the things that makes it so interesting. It has the ability to provide a magnificent, undetected glimpse at any time, leaving everyone perplexed. Wildlife will never cease to astonish us, no matter how much we believe we know about it! When it comes to unusual sights, a traffic delay created by a mother leopard training her kids to cross the road has to be towards the top of the list!
The beautiful scene unfolded, where else, but in South Africa’s most famous wildlife reserves – the Kruger National Park. One of the last places on Earth where animals still roam freely, offering at the same time, the rare opportunity, for both locals and tourists, to admire them. This time, a group of drivers caught by chance a heartwarming glimpse of a leopardess and her two tiny cubs.
Thinus Delport, a 64-year-old wildlife enthusiast, was one of the few lucky observers. Delport and his daughters were in a safari camp in the Kruger National Park, hoping for a rare meeting with the spectacular species that call it home. Regardless, because his daughter had never seen a leopard before, the two decided to leave the camp early that morning in search of one. However, they were forced to come to a halt owing to a traffic bottleneck in front of them.
“My girls and I left the camp early in the morning seeking for leopards,” Delport told Latest Sightings. “Neither of them had ever seen a leopard, so they were persuaded there were none in the Kruger.”
Imagine their amazement when they discovered that the cause of their halt was a family of leopards.
“We became stuck in a traffic congestion with a few cars stopped in front of us,” Delport told Latest Sightings. “It appeared like tourists were staring at a lion pride.” My daughter observed a mother leopard trying to shift her kids in the undergrowth behind our car… As we traveled, I humorously persuaded them to start singing in the car in order to attract the leopards, which they dutifully did – and, to my astonishment, it succeeded!”
A mother leopard followed by her two adorable cubs were preparing to cross the road when the little ones presumably got scared and decided not to go after their mom anymore. The drivers noticed the scene and immediately pulled over their vehicles. Meantime, the convincing leopardess gained her baby’s trust and the two ventured across the road. However, for one of them, the effort seemed too much, so it had to be carried by its mom.
For Delport, and especially for his daughter, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was nothing short of a dream come true. Thankfully, several eyewitnesses were able to capture the uncommon event on film. Have a look:
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