The chacma baboons had started moving away from the waterhole, which was nestled in a steep- sided gorge. Troop \u2018elders\u2019 led in a purposeful manner, while youngsters and some who had been resting in shady spots slowly followed suit.<\/p>\n
My colleague Charmaine and I followed, as many of the baboons settled around a rocky outcrop halfway up the hillside. But as we joined them (these baboons are the subject of a long-running research project and are almost completely habituated to human observers) we noticed that the mood had changed. Something was bothering them.<\/p>\n
We scanned the surrounding dry scrub for signs of a potential predator, but saw and heard nothing. They seemed to be focusing their increased aggression on a space beneath the outcrop, with adult males picking fights with anyone in their way.<\/p>\n
But slowly the troop calmed down, and as it did, the baboons spread out, some staying where they were, others going back downhill. I decided to follow one of the groups to see why they had chosen to break away from the main body.<\/p>\n
But as I was heading towards the resting baboons, they jumped up and started barking vociferously. At which point, Charmaine, who was still at the vantage point I had left minutes before, shouted, \u201cLeopard!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d I replied, trying to decipher its location. It seemed I could see everything except the animal that had created the alarm.<\/p>\n
Leopards\u00a0can be dangerous to both baboons and humans, and standing in the narrow gully below the outcrop, I realised that I was in a very vulnerable position. It seemed as though the leopard had bolted from somewhere near to the baboons I was moving towards, and I had no idea which direction it was heading. I had to move out, but to where?<\/p>\n
I retreated back up the hill as fast as I could, not only for my own preservation but to try and get a better view of the commotion around me. It took a few sweat-pouring minutes of bounding over boulders and slipping on the loose scree to reach Charmaine and where I had started from.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey chased it out towards the riverbed,\u201d she said, \u201cand I last saw it disappearing intothat patch of vegetation.\u201d I scanned the area she was pointing at with my binoculars for several minutes, but nothing moved. The leopard had melted back into the landscape, as leopards often do.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the proud adult male baboons who had done the chasing swaggered back to the rest of the troop, heads held higher and shoulders looking broader, as if expecting a celebratory fanfare or round of applause.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the incident later I was disappointed to have missed seeing the leopard for myself, and felt unnerved at just how well hidden a big cat could be in this landscape of rocky crevices. But \u2013 on the plus side \u2013 at least I now know that baboons can make great bodyguards.<\/p>\n