... the image of half an impala hoisted into the tree stays with me as a wonder of the natural world. It provides the touchstone for my African adventure. I marvel over it in light of my own difficulties. What requirements of guile and strength placed the impala there, hanging from its horns and head, wedged between tree limbs like some territorial warning? What quickness overmatched its lightning reflexes, and what understanding stole past its cynical eyes, its fail-safe nose and its radar ears? What cunning bewitched this intensely alive animal? What desire trumped its robust energy? What outsized combinations of speed and muscle brought its spirit to earth and then carried its body aloft? A glimpse into the leopard comes from hunting this, his favorite food—the speed wraith, the gamboling, evasive impala. Try sneaking within twenty paces and then gathering yourself from a crouch to pull back undetected the full weight of a strong bow, sending a silent arrow through its defenses.

from Leopard Spots