Leopard spotted?

A guide radioed that he had seen a leopard asleep on some rocks on a hillock not far from the road. When we arrived, the beautiful cat awoke, stretched, jumped down, hid in some tall grass for a bit and then, amazingly enough, crossed the road in front of us, intent on giving the gawking tourists the slip. We followed him slinking away through high grass using high-powered binoculars for quite along time until he disappeared entirely from view. The driver theorized the leopard had a lone tree about a 1/2 mile in the distance as his goal and decided that we should have a look. We drove off the jeep trail and proceeded to roll slowly across the grassland.

The second photo shows that we found our "friend" asleep on a high branch, pooped from his long walk, sheltered from the heat, and resting, before an evening of work. He opened his eyes for a moment, flicked his tail, and ignored our presence.

I chose to include the third photo to give you a sense of the vast open space of the Serengeti. Please look carefully at the third branch above the bend. That stick you see is the leopard's tail. From this vantage point, prey can be spotted for miles. Of course there is so much wildlife, especially gazelles and impalas, that I am sure the leopard does not go often hungry. In fact any number of animals might seek the shade under this tree. By the way, don't you think it might be a nice place to have a picnic?