A leopard confronted a hyena under the shade of a tree, with one thing in mind… a fresh meal.
A carcass takes centre stage in a memorable encounter
In the bushveld, there is often a tussle for food. Hyenas might scavenge off a predator’s meal and even hang around a kill to ‘steal’ from the spoils. In other instances, a predator might take a meal from a feeding hyena.
This is what Greg witnessed.
Hyena feeds next to tall tree
The hyena was feeding off the meal with something of a frenzy. The carcass of the animal was beneath a tree and this tree was possibly not in the hyena’s favour.
This is because a leopard had spied the carcass, and had in mind to take the meal from the hyena, and use the tree in its ‘getaway’ plan.
Leopard snatches kill in scintillating moment
The leopard was quick to close in on the hyena, and just like that, it lifted the carcass up with its powerful jaws, and hoisted itself, and the kill, up the tree!
The hyena stood and watched as its meal disappeared from sight and into the branches of the tree.
Judging from the buck’s size, there is the possibility that the kill was not the hyena’s catch to begin with.
There was more than likely a series of thefts involved, with the hyena having stolen the kill from another predator, before the leopard stole it from the hyena.
Meat is hot property in the bushveld and the behaviour of these two animals was evidence of this.
While one usually thinks of a hyena stealing a meal from a leopard, and not the other way around, leopards have been known to steal meals from hyena!
Their decision to steal a kill will depend on the situation and the number of hyenas involved. A single leopard is powerful, agile, and capable of intimidating one hyena, as in this sighting. This is especially true if the leopard is large and confident.
Leopards often use surprise, aggression, and their sharp claws to drive a hyena away from a carcass. However, spotted hyenas are extremely bold and usually dominate when they are in groups. This one was alone and without sufficient back-up to stand against the leopard bully.
Tree provides perfect escape for leopard
The leopard disappeared up the tree and the hyena remained waiting below.
Leopards are famous for dragging kills into trees to protect them from scavengers, such as hyenas and lions. Their strong neck and shoulder muscles allow them to hoist prey weighing as much as themselves high into branches where hyenas cannot reach.
The hyena continued to linger on the ground beneath the tree. It appeared to be watching for any scraps which might fall from the carcass, not quite ready to give up its meal and somehow content to enjoy the ‘crumbs’.
Encounters between two predators, such as this memorable exchange between the leopard and hyena, are quite common in the bushveld. This is because competition for food is intense.