Richard Perry submitted this brutal video to Latest Sightings. It was filmed on a night drive at an undisclosed location.
Mortal combat
We join the action in Richard’s video to see a challenging sight. A male leopard and an aardvark engage in mortal combat.
To begin with, the leopard has not yet managed to subdue the aardvark. Despite their insectivorous diet, aardvarks have powerful builds. As such, predators struggle to overpower them.
Pinned down
Such is the aardvark’s resistance that the leopard has to climb onto it to prevent it from escaping. Although not an aggressive animal, the aardvark’s thick skin and powerful, claw-tipped limbs provide a measure of defence.
It is difficult for the leopard to flip over its prey. The aardvark, weighing up to 80 kilograms and with a low centre of gravity, stubbornly resists.
Bleeding profusely
As the pair fight it out, the aardvark’s blood-smeared head comes into view. This profuse blood loss is probably because of the high density of blood vessels in its lacerated snout.
Still, the embattled aardvark is not ready to surrender. Even when the leopard does momentarily roll it onto its back, it has enough strength to get back on its feet.
Still kicking
Subsequently, the aardvark manages to land a few blows of its own. Kicking wildly with its hind legs, it tries to rake the leopard with its claws.
However, they are ineffectual, and the leopard continues its savage assault. With 5 cm (2 inches) canines, each bite inflicts deep wounds, while its claws slice through skin and tissue.
Flipped
As the battle goes on, the aardvark’s efforts to rid itself of the leopard and the leopard’s fight to flip the aardvark intensify. So much so that at one point, the leopard is flipped through the air.
Only its deeply embedded teeth keep it from losing its grip entirely. However, in this action, the odds suddenly tilt decisively in the leopard’s favour.
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As the leopard gets back upright, it manages to flip the aardvark, exposing its throat. In an instant, it clamps its jaws over its prey’s windpipe.
Bleeding heavily and with its supply of oxygen cut off, the aardvark is entirely at the predator’s mercy. And, despite putting up such brave resistance, it won’t get any from the leopard.
As the video draws to a close, although the aardvark is still struggling, its efforts are getting weaker by the second. With the leopard firmly in control, it is only a matter of time before it enjoys a well-earned meal.
A curious creature
Rarely seen and highly nocturnal, aardvarks are very strange looking creatures. Some joke that they are made up of the spare parts of other animals.
Their heads have a long, piglike snout with ears befitting a donkey. Their squat bodies are like those of an overgrown rodent, while their thick, long tails wouldn’t look out of place on a kangaroo.
Aardvarks live on a diet of termites and ants. They are found across sub-Saharan Africa in grass and woodland habitats. Despite the scarcity of sightings, their conservation status is “least concern”.