I’ve known a Serengeti leopard family for generations. One August, we found a mother with two-month-old cubs. They came out of the rocks and played and nursed for hours.

The next season, they were found together for a spectacular scene, all three of them on a fig tree branch with the whole Serengeti spread out behind them.

The third season we looked for them in the rock outcrops that had been their home. We searched all the kopjes in the area and came up empty. As we wound out of the rocks and headed for home, a safari vehicle came from nowhere and pulled next to us. The driver was an amazingly beautiful female guide (uncommon in the safari world). She said, “Follow me, and I will give you leopards.” She turned and drove away…

I told Salvatory, “We have to follow her. She’s Malika!” (Swahili for Angel). He said, “No. She doesn’t know where they are…” But he started following. After a half hour, I asked if she knew where the leopards were. Salva said, “Of course she does. She’s Malika.” Another half hour of driving brought us to a narrow dirt track. “I think she’s getting us lost and we may never get back home!” Over the ridge and across the valley she stopped and pointed into the golden grass as two spotted heads popped up. It was the brother and sister we were looking for! They were old enough, so the mother had left them alone. On top of that, the cubs had reached maturity and were saying goodbye to each other for the last time. It’s a legendary behavior that I’ve heard of but never seen. As we pulled into position, the two leopards circled each other, jumped straight up in the air, and spun full circles in midair. It was a ballet of epic proportions. They danced, leaped, and chased around the meadow until they finally separated and walked away from each other.

My heart was beating so hard! I couldn’t believe what we had just witnessed. I wanted to thank Malika for bringing us to see this once-in-a-lifetime event. We looked for her vehicle without success. As far as we could see, there was only open savanna. Had she ever been there, or was she simply an angel who disappeared after giving us a gift?

 The next day, we found the brother sunning on a boulder 4K from the meadow.

The sister was hunting in a valley 3K in the other direction.