THE LEOPARD 53 



and this element of danger supplies an excitement to the 

 work which would otherwise be lacking. I use the word 

 "work" advisedly, for in a reserve all beasts of prey 

 must to a certain extent be considered as enemies. They 

 have to be treated as poachers, and, while conforming 

 to the canons of sport so far as possible, we have not to 

 lose sight of that fact. Therefore, while, against the 

 lion, it is impossible to think of using any other weapon 

 than the rifle, had we to depend upon fair shooting alone 

 to keep down the increase of so stealthy and elusive a 

 member of the cat tribe as the leopard, failure would 

 certainly attend our efforts. 



A large leopard which had killed a donkey foal close 

 to Sabi Bridge was caught in a trap set at the kill, and 

 two of the rangers went out next morning to dispatch 

 it. It had taken the trap over a bank, or small ridge, 

 on the other side of which lay a patch of reeds. Thinking 

 it had gone into the latter for concealment, one of the 

 men walked, rather casually, up the bank, and almost 

 fell over the leopard, which was lying just on the other 

 side. The moment the man appeared, the animal, which 

 had been listening intently to its enemy's approach, 

 made a rush, and all but reached him. Indeed, had to 

 not leaped backwards with an agility as surprising he 

 himself as it was to the onlookers, he would assuredly 

 have been caught. The beast continued to come on at 

 an astonishing rate, considering the handicap of trap 

 and attached branch, and was stopped only with some 

 difficulty. 



On another occasion a trap had been set for hyaenas 

 near a river, and the ranger, coming along in the morning, 

 found it had been dragged into some drift and tangle 

 close to the bank. The soft sand showed so broad a 

 spoor, that he jumped to the conclusion that a crocodile, 



