Led by ranger Godliving Shoo, their vehicle made its way through the dense bush, with the hope of spotting a leopard the ranger knew was living in the area. In the cool of the fairly early morning game drive anything was possible.

The leopard female appeared in all her majesty, standing on a rocky outcrop as a sentinel on a hill.
Adult male and female leopards will only come together during mating season for a brief interlude. Then, they will go their separate ways, and the female leopards will be left to raise the new cubs by themselves. This leopard was a single mom!

Behind her, fairly well hidden from the viewers, were her two cubs. Mother leopards safeguard their young by concealing them in thick vegetation, hollow logs, or rocky crevices.
Watch the sighting:
Tranquil scene suddenly shaken
This perfect picture of maternal bliss was soon shaken when an unexpected figure entered the scene. The figure, that of a strong lioness, had the leopard’s full attention.

Says Carol: “The leopard was outside her den when my husband spotted a lioness crouched just a few meters away, watching intently in the same general direction. We initially thought two separate events were unfolding — the leopard and her cubs, and the lioness watching the wildebeest in the distance. But as she crept forward, we realized she was actually focused on the leopards!”

They say nothing is stronger than the maternal instincts of an animal. With her cubs vulnerable in the bushes behind her, the leopard was on high alert.

A call to action
Her urgency to act was compounded by her awareness that the lioness was not alone. There was a lion pride nearby and the cubs were in danger.

The leopard did what any good mom would do. Muscles taught and attention focused, she prepared herself to fight for her cubs.
High speed action: Leopard female vs Lioness
Both the leopard and lioness are formidable predators. While leopards are often lone predators, lionesses mostly rely on the strength of the pride for back-up. However, while this lioness’ pride was close by, she launched a heated brawl with the leopard without back-up.

In the wild, interactions between leopards and lionesses often arise due to territorial conflicts and competition for resources. Although these encounters are not always hostile, their results are influenced by factors like the animals’ size, physical condition, and the availability of escape routes.
The presence of the cubs was the trigger for this awe-inspiring encounter between the two predators.

Though the smaller opponent, the leopard put up quite a fight. She bit, and tore at the underside of the lion, taking the lioness by surprise!

The lioness lashed back by biting at one of the leopard’s feet, but the stealthy mom of two somehow managed to target a soft spot on the lioness, leaving the great beast recoiling with visible pain.
The lioness jumped away for a moment as a result of the pain and the leopard saw this as a chance to make a run for it.

Realising this wasn’t the time to nurse wounds, the lioness continued her hot pursuit, chasing after the leopard who had found refuge in a nearby tree.

But miracles do happen. It would seem while all this was unfolding, the lion pride had managed to kill a wildebeest, and with food on the table, the leopard and her cubs took second priority.
Thanks to Mom’s quick-thinking and selfless act, the cubs were both safe, and the little leopard family was reunited… to the viewers’ relief!