Big cats are some of the most impressive predators at the Kruger National Park, capable of amazing feats of strength and speed which are always incredible to witness.
Perhaps that’s why watching their cubs clumsily learn to hunt and tumble off rocks is also so entertaining. One day, this cub will be an apex predator, capable of bringing down large prey animals alone.
For now, though, Gerhard Hildebrand had caught it on camera as it enjoyed a lazy day with its mom that quickly developed into a game it could play hunting her tail.
An Invigorating Game
While mom was trying to relax, the little leopard cub had decided it was the perfect time to play a game instead. Without any siblings nearby to interact with, the next best thing was its mom’s tail that was twitching on the rock.
Cats of any size have always enjoyed sunbathing, because for them nothing quite beats a nice relaxing time in the sun. It helps them to conserve energy and keep their muscles warm for when they might be needed.
One day, this cub will be enjoying its own time to relax without needing to hunt or avoid other predators, but for now it knows it’s completely safe with mom, and it can dedicate its time to play instead.
Endless Fun
As the cub’s mom twitched her tail back and forth, likely trying to keep it out of reach of her troublesome cub, the young leopard showed that it had already developed skills in agility by keeping up with it.
If the mom was getting annoyed with her cub then it wasn’t any serious annoyance that warranted her turning around to scold it, which meant the cub had free reign to keep playing its game for as long as it wanted.
In her own youth, this mom would have played similar games, either with her siblings or alone, and they would have helped her to reach the position she was in during this footage, a formidable hunter.
An Essential Part Of Development
The cycle of hunting tails in youth is a vital one for the growth of these animals. Games might be harmless, and this cub looks like it’s just having fun, but it’s also learning the fundamentals of hunting.
Physical strength, stamina, agility, and even rudimentary elements of stalking were all valuable skills this cub was starting to develop as it hunted its mom’s tail back and forth across the rock.
There was a small bush that had managed to grow along the edges of the rock, and this meant that the cub could begin practicing the stealth that would make it such a dangerous predator in adulthood.
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Unforeseen Dangers
For all the skills this little cub had already started to develop, spatial awareness apparently wasn’t one of them. As the game progressed the cub grew overconfident, and it moved further up the rock to attack its mom properly.
What it had failed to take into account was the fact that the rock narrowed close to the grown leopard’s shoulders, and as the cub tried to attack it quickly lost its balance and realized too late it was falling backwards.
Luckily for the cub, it was only a very short distance to fall, and it was able to get straight back up and sheepishly hurry back around to a point where it could climb the rocks once more.
It was an adorable sighting which showed that this young leopard still had a bit of time left before it had learned enough to accompany its mom on dangerous hunts.