I saw her. And that makes five. The Big Five. Elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and, finally, the leopard.

On the way back to camp last night, at 7:30 p.m. Felipe scanned the bush with the spotlight when Charlotte spotted her. Much excitement ensued in our jeep. Then I saw her. Just her hind quarter, spotted and muscular. Her head was down, hidden by the scrubby woodland as she moved beside us, going in the opposite direction.

Elandri, our field ranger and driver, threw it in reverse and backed up without rear lights. She, too, desperately needed to see this animal. And she did. Everyone in our jeep saw her that time.

Earlier in the day, far the other side of this 61,000 acre reserve, two fellow volunteers Felipe and Shlami, young men from Brazil and Israel respectively, saw a leopard trot across the road in front of us. They both jumped, pointed, “there, there!” Elandri stopped the jeep and made a quick left onto a side road. The temperature was 90 degrees. At least. Sun blazing.

We searched and searched for about 30 minutes. Nothing. Elandri quizzed the boys. Shlami, typically reserved and a bit timid, imitated the trot, playfully, trying to help. We went down another road, and when Elandri saw the tracks she determined the sighting was “legit” and we recorded it.

Animal monitoring on the reserve is serious business. Everyday there is more to learn and see. South Africa is Elandri’s home and still, she says, everyday is amazing.

Siyafunda partners with the Humane Society International, Africa for elephant monitoring; with Panthera Wild Cat Conservation for leopard monitoring; with Endangered Wildlife Trust for raptor monitoring; with World Wide Foundation (WWF) for rhino monitoring; and the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project for ground hornbill monitoring. There is also a Rhino Protection Trust, a charitable organization that raises funds for anti-poaching efforts. You can see what it’s all about at https://www.rhinoprotectiontrust.com.

We conduct two game drives a day, one from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. At least once a week, maybe more, one of those morning drives is actually a tracking walk. Today, we walked 5 miles into the bush and back.

Our rangers are amicable, resourceful and so, so smart. No question is too small or silly. In fact, a simple question about the massive red clay termite mounds turned into a mini-lecture. Elendri gave us the stats then hopped out of the jeep to knock on the clay and demonstrate how hard it is. Like concrete.

Termites live to work. Much like bees with a queen, her soldiers and workers. They build mounds that get as high 45 feet with root systems deeper and wider. They exist well over 100 years old. Elendri calls them funghi gardens as they decompose and recycle flora into the soil creating nutrients. In fact, it’s not unusual to find a new tree sprouting from the mound.

And you know the rest.