Flight from Cleveland to Washington and on to Johannesburg - A Short Safari Adventure Among Africa's Thorny Bushveld Wildlife - page 127

animal shelter for captured wild leopards brought in by farmers. Leopards can devastate sheep
and goat herds and often kill many at night for no apparent reason other than sport. The speed
with which it happened was astonishing and as hunters have often related. The frightening
agility of the leopards is incredible. As other hunters have often said you can hardly see the
leopards when they charge because of their speed. In this particular case the leopard was
probably about 10 yards away when it charged. I hardly saw it coming, probably because the
dappled sunlight and shade and the beige skin of the leopard with the black spots made it
virtually invisible. After bounding 3 or 4 yards with a very brief period of incredible
acceleration, the leopard launched itself through the air. As is the usually the case, they go for
the neck to kill somebody. The leopard came flying through the air and there wasn't even time
to dodge or run or do anything. I used to play wicket keeper in cricket, the equivalent of
catcher in baseball, and so I have fairly good hand-eye reflexes, but I can tell you that the
speed and agility of the leopard coming at full speed didn't even allow time to think or duck. I
can understand why Capstick said that for following wounded leopards one needs a shot gun
and in the case of Capstick, he wore a thick leather collar with studs around his neck
supposedly to protect against leopard bites. The leopard flew directly at my wife's neck. I was
about 2 to 3 feet on the other side of her as the 180 pounds of furry fury flew like a missile.
There was nothing I could do or even think of to protect her in the brief moments that it
happened. Fortunately, there was chicken wiring between her and the leopard. The fence
bulged probably 2 to 3 feet from the impact but did not burst, and the leopard's attack was
stopped probably one foot from her head and face. The leopard then dropped to the ground in
smarting, snarling fury. Here is a picture of it.