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Setting up the perfect hunt can be a difficult prospect, with only the slightest mistake alerting the prey and giving it a chance to escape. For this leopard captured on camera by Cedric in the Greater Kruger National Park, the difficulty of completing a hunt posed a real problem.
This big cat had managed to set itself up almost perfectly, but right at the climax of the hunt, it managed to fail in a rather embarrassing way that left it watching, hungry, as the warthog disappeared into the distance.
Waiting For The Perfect Moment
As solitary ambush predators, leopards have to make sure everything is absolutely perfect before they attack. If something goes wrong, then they don’t have a pack or pride to lend support, and if their prey wounds them, then they might be unable to hunt and secure food in the future.
This leopard, relying on stealth, seemed to have it all worked out. The warthog was oblivious to it, which had allowed it to slowly creep closer until it was only a short sprint away, and once the perfect opportunity arose, it would be able to attack.
An Embarrassing Fail
Everything was as perfect as it could be for this leopard. The warthog was completely unaware of the big cat’s presence, and the perfect moment to spring the trap had arrived.
The leopard hurried towards it, low and fast, to approach without startling its prey. The tension was thick in the air as the size difference between the two became apparent, but the leopard had the advantage of stealth and surprise.
That is, the leopard had the advantage of the ambush until it stopped. It was standing right behind the warthog, surprised by its success, and it was as if it forgot what to do next.
Fastest Warthog In The Kruger
The warthog didn’t forget what came next, and even though it took a moment for it to notice the deadly leopard standing close enough for it to touch, it was out of there immediately when the cat hesitated.
The warthog’s acceleration was quite impressive, and the confused leopard was quite literally left behind in the dust. It’s difficult to imagine the instinctive burst of fear that must have flooded the warthog when it realized there was a predator in such close proximity, but its fight-or-flight reflex didn’t let it down.
Perhaps if the leopard had approached from the front, the warthog would have taken the opportunity to defend itself with its dangerous tusks, but instead it moved faster than a bat out of hell, adrenaline forcing it to move before the leopard worked out how to hunt successfully.
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Nonplussed Leopard
The poor leopard, no doubt still working out how to bring down the warthog, was then absolutely shocked by its speed. It could do nothing but stand and watch as its prey escaped.
The leopard, no doubt slightly mortified by bungling such a perfectly arranged hunt, looked around to make sure that no one had seen its embarrassing failure, but the camera had caught it all.
It’s probably a good thing leopards can’t watch videos online, because watching this footage makes the rounds would be bad for this one’s self-esteem. Luckily, leopards tend to live solitary lifestyles, meaning this one didn’t have to keep up the facade of confidence around others, and it could go home and think about where it went wrong.