This, sadly futile, resistance from a baby nyala buck was caught and sent in by Andre Fourie, a game ranger and safari guide at Royal Malewane. Andre was out for an afternoon game drive at the Kruger National Park when he received a tip about the sighting.
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Andre told Latest Sightings that during his drive, “Juan Pinto, Director and guide at the lodge, called in that he had fresh leopard tracks close to Royal Malewane Lodge”, and after locating the leopard, called Andre to join him.
Leopards are well known for their stealthy abilities, and as this one wasn’t staying put, Andre had to call in additional help from another guide, Rudi Huldshof, to help him track the big cat.
Fight Or Flight Instincts
When they’d relocated the leopard, they discovered that they weren’t the only ones hunting for something. The leopard, no doubt benefited by its stealthy approach, had caught a baby nyala.
Far less than half the size of the predator, the nyala couldn’t possibly escape the big cat by running away, and with flight not being an option, it instinctively turned to fight.
Unfortunately, because of its comparatively small size, its headbutts didn’t seem to have much effect on the leopard, and Andre said “the leopard just kept trotting behind it almost as if it found it amusing”.
Doing The Best It Can
Despite only being small, this nyala clearly had a lot of courage to pull from, as Andre said that while the “leopard groomed itself in preparation for dinner, the little nyala walked towards the leopard” and then charged.
Whether it was bravery, stupidity, desperation, or a mix of all three that drove the baby nyala to attack a predator so much larger than it is ultimately irrelevant, because this little buck gave the battle everything it had.
Unfortunately, all it had wasn’t much when compared to the might of the leopard, which seemed to make a point of ignoring the nyala’s ferocious headbutts. Even though several of them landed well, there just wasn’t enough force behind them to make a difference.
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Too Easy
Interestingly, Andre told Latest Sightings that rather than simply consume its prey and move on, which the leopard could have done easily, the pair “settled down together for a while”.
This was, according to Andre, because “there was no enticement” meaning “the leopards’ instinct to kill also vanished”. Even if the buck wasn’t actually causing the leopard any harm, it had at least managed to put it off its meal.
Eventual End
This deterrent didn’t last forever though. Although Andre and his group observed the pair for over an hour, watching the nyala repeatedly using its small head as a weapon, the leopard had its meal in the end.
Charles Hudson caught some extra footage of the leopard’s instincts returning, and Andre reported that he heard from other rangers that “the interaction still continued for another 40 minutes before the leopard swiftly ate the nyala and moved off”.
Making The Most Of It
This baby nyala is undeniably cute, and watching it struggle against a huge predator to resist its unfortunate fate isn’t necessarily pleasant. Andre even said that some members of his group “hoped that the baby nyala would escape as soon as the leopard started losing interest”.
It might even be tempting to intervene sometimes, but Andre has this advice to give: “When it comes to an interaction like this, enjoy the rarity of the action that is unfolding.” Give the animals room, and respect others who might be at the same sighting.