A massive warthog was forced to fight for its life when a leopard caught it right outside its burrow.
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33-year-old Stephanie McClendon, sales manager for the Luxury Travel Company (Scott Dunn), captured this incredible battle for life. She shared her sightings and footage with LatestSightings.com.
“The day started with a sky full of thunderclouds, however, despite the cold and light rain, the drive started with some great sightings. We made the most of the cool weather, and decided to look for some lions, as this would be our best chance of seeing them on the move. The early morning drizzle made the perfect canvas for tracks, and in no time, our guide found the resident lion pride’s tracks.”
“While tracking the lions, our guide Nic Andrew hit the brakes and came to a sudden stop. We all got super excited; we thought we had found the lions! But we were wrong; Nic spotted something else and, with a quick scan through his binoculars he pointed out a leopard!”“We immediately turned off the road and made our way towards the termite mound that the leopard was seen on. Within just a few seconds of arriving, there was a huge commotion… It happened so suddenly but somehow the leopard managed to catch a massive warthog, surprising us all! The leopard bit down on the warthog’s throat as hard as it could, securing a deadly grip, but this was one of the biggest warthogs I had ever seen, and it refused to go down without a fight!”
“This all took place on the base of a big termite mound. You could see the warthog had a burrow just two meters from where it had been caught. It was pure chaos, but the warthog somehow managed to keep a clear head and knew that the best thing to do would be to get back home, into the safety of its burrow. The leopard, on the other hand, was using all its power to keep the warthog from getting there.”
“The struggle was back and forth, and for a moment we thought that despite the warthog’s size, the hungry leopard would almost certainly tire it out at some point. But the strength of the warthog was unbelievable, and it amazingly managed to outpower the leopard all while being choked! It inched closer and closer to its burrow, pulling the leopard with it. Eventually, it managed to reach the entrance of its home, so close but not safe yet.”
“The leopard then spread its back legs and dug them into the sand, and with all its strength, it managed to slightly pull the warthog away. But this was too little too late for the leopard. The warthog was just too big and much too strong; It made a final tug and was able to get half its body into the hole.”
“The fight at this point was basically over, and the leopard knew that. It reluctantly let go, and the warthog scurried backward into the safety of its burrow. The defeated leopard paced up and down the termite mound until it just sat in disbelief at its loss.”