My Extreme Safari

The sun hasn't yet risen, it's a freezing winter night, and we're warming our hands on cups of coffee as we listen for the roar of lions. Two skilled trackers next to me hold high-powered rifles to make sure we don't inadvertently end up on the dinner menu of any animal we encounter. As the sun comes up, the trackers find the footprints of a female leopard and her male cub. A few steps away is a violet spot no bigger than a dime, and some blond hairs snared on top of a heap of buffalo dung. These signs lead the trackers to conclude that the leopard has killed a bushbuck, which is a small antelope, and dragged the carcass away. We're off on foot into the bush to follow her trail.