WITH MY OWN EYES BY SIMON SMITH
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CAT BATTLE IN THE KGALAGADI
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n September 2017, I went on a week-long holiday to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park with my friend Warrick Davey. One morning, we drove up the Nossob River road for a while, then turned back towards Twee Rivieren. Warrick was driving and I was in the back seat, so we could both position ourselves for photography without getting in each other’s way. At about 8.15 am, I spotted a caracal crouched low among some dead wood. It seemed to be looking up into the camel thorn tree above. It was in stalking mode and moving closer to the tree. Using my binoculars, I noticed an African wildcat 1 in the canopy: the source of the caracal’s interest. I grabbed my camera – a Nikon D500 with a Nikon 400 mm lens – and started taking photos. The next moment, the caracal rocketed up the tree 2 , forcing the terrified cat to the very end of the flimsy branches. After a few moments of clawing at the bark where the wildcat had been lying, the caracal moved closer to the cat itself, driving it to do what neither of us was expecting… From a height of close to three storeys, the wildcat jumped! 3 , 4 We couldn’t believe what we were watching. It landed on its feet, in typical cat style. Just when we thought we’d seen it all, the caracal made the same incredible leap 5 . The caracal sprinted off in pursuit of the little cat 6 , with both felines making a beeline for the next available tree. They covered close to 50 m in what seemed like a split second. As the wildcat started hurtling up the trunk, the caracal leapt at it, hitting it mid-ascent. They both fell to the ground and the caracal killed the wildcat below the tree 7 . The whole sighting was over in less than 10 minutes. We returned that afternoon to find the body untouched, so the caracal didn’t eat the cat. We assume it was a case of dominance and competition. 2
