We have been sitting, legs dangling from the open door of our Landrover for about an hour, watching a spectacular leopard chase. The action has been unbelievable, the speeds unheard of, the combatants now exhausted. Before us is the mating chase of two leopard tortoises. The male, about half the size of the female and looking a bit tired is lying in the sunlight and warming up. The female is about a meter ahead and is munching on some yellow flowers.
Leopard tortoises are a common site in Serengeti crossing roads and feeding on bits of green vegetation. They are characteristically highly domed and tan in color with distinctive leopard-like spots.

If the male can catch this female and manage to hold on as she charges away through the bushes, they will mate and she will gestate for a few weeks. She will then dig a hole about a foot across, deposit 6-15 eggs, and cover the hole with soil. Breeding goes on all year, with a peak in the rainy season, and a brood of eggs buried about once a month. After 10-15 months of incubation, the young tortoises will emerge and go immediately into hiding. Only after 3-5 years when they are large enough to escape being crushed by lions and hyenas, the young tortoises will come out into the open.