A former pilot on safari with his partner saved both their lives after being attacked by a starving leopard – by punching it 30 times in self defence.
Gavin Allderman, 67, was on holiday in Botswana when he and Gill Sheard, 67, were just about to get into the roof top tent on their safari truck when they heard a loud growling. They suddenly found themselves in a life-threatening situation as the leopard targeted their tent. Former South Africa Airlines pilot Gavin, from Cape Town, said how after a BBQ, he packed up the camp after lions the night before - but he heard a loud growling and noticed a leopard.
Mr Allderman said: "I had secured motion sensor lights around our Toyota Hilux and clambered into the tent and zipped it up and feeling secure we lay in bed reading but I could hear it outside circling. The motion sensor lights triggered and I noticed it had crawled under our vehicle and only its tail was visible – it was completely emaciated and gaunt and was obviously after a meal.
"At about 1.30am I jerked awake having heard movement on the ladder that leads up to our tent and sat bolt upright and peered down the ladder and saw the leopard slowly climbing up. I shouted to Jill 'he’s coming up the ladder' and began screaming and swearing at it but it was no deterrent and he scrambled up the last few steps and launched himself on the tent."
The attack happened at the Bosobogolo Camp in the 15,000 sq-mile Kgalagadi Park in the Kalahari desert which is inside both Botswana and South Africa. What happened next was a feat of pure bravery as the former pilot launched into self defence mode and punched the big cat "furiously in the face, bare fisted". Mr Allderman explained: “His claws were gripping the thin fabric and his head was inches from my face and I started punching it furiously in the face bare fisted fighting for our lives to keep it out.
"Both of us were shouting and screaming and Jill was hitting out at it with her pillow and her book as it pulled its head back trying to bite through the tent and its teeth were just inches away. I was aware of blood spattering about in copious amounts from my fist but just carried on punching and shouting with the adrenaline pumping through me as I fought for life."
The retired former Airbus captain said both he and Jill were both more than aware that if the leopard had got inside the tent it would have killed them both and then eaten them. Brave Gavin then, with the leopard at the foot of the ladder, climbed out the tent on the other side, and dropped down onto the ground and quickly opened the driver’s door.
Once inside he started the engine and turned on the headlights and with blood dripping over him and the seat drove 3km’s with Jill in the tent on the roof to a nearby camp. Gavin said: “I shouted to Jill to shine the torch out the back of the tent to see if it was following us and when we got to the next camp Jill used her first aid skills. Despite all the blood it was single deep scratch on my ring finger. I grabbed a bottle of whisky and we both swigged it neat to calm down our jangled nerves."
The following morning the relieved pair drove to the Mabua gate of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Camp to report the incident where they met by chance two vets. They administered first aid and an anti-tetanus shot as Gavin and Jill reflected on their late-night battle with the killer predator driven to attack humans by hunger.
Leopards are the smallest of the African big cats but can still run at 40mph and are six feet long and 28 inches high at the shoulder and can jump 20 feet They rarely attack humans.