Field guide Michael Botes came across this crazy sighting at the MalaMala Game Reserve, and caught the whole thing on camera, as two female leopard cubs received an unusual gift from their mother.
Watch Now:
Michael said that the “cubs were in a very playful mood, as always, and were following their mother from a fair distance”. But while the cubs might have been in the mood for games, their mother clearly had a more educational experience in mind.
She caught an impala lamb from the nearby brush, and rather than killing it herself, delivered it to her cubs for them to train their hunting abilities.
A Strange Day In School
Impalas and other antelopes frequently rely on hiding from predators in the long grass or bushes. No doubt one day these cubs will be able to detect them by themselves, but for now they don’t even know what to do with the one they have.
It’s a good thing their mother thought to test them before they leave for life alone, as they wouldn’t last long if they carried on like this. According to Michael, one of the cubs knew to secrete the impala in a tree away from competitive predators, but there was a problem.
Michael said “the impala was still alive, and once up the tree it began kicking and came tumbling down to the ground.” Although that cub started strong, clearly it still had a lot to learn about hunting.
Playing With Your Food
The impala seemed in for a long ordeal though, as the other cub wasn’t really sure how to go about eating it either, and at some points, almost seemed like it was genuinely trying to be friends with it.
As ambush predators, leopards are best suited to attack with lightning fast strikes to the necks of their prey to kill them quickly so they can drag the carcass into the trees.
This cub at least knew that the neck was an important area, even if it hadn’t worked out the quick and decisive strike bit yet.
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
Passing The Test
Eventually, one of the cubs was able to put the impala out of its misery, and killed the impala lamb by biting down on its neck. Michael described the moment as “a heartbreaking sight to watch but also very interesting to see how leopards teach their cubs to hunt.”
Like other big cats, leopard cubs will learn through observing the actions of adults around them, but unlike lions which are a serious competitor, leopards live a largely solitary existence, and the mother will raise her cubs alone.
Leopard cubs will typically start observing how their mother hunts after only a few months, but it can take up to two years for them to learn all the survival skills they need to break out on their own.
Ready For Life Alone
As cruel as it might seem to watch them playing with their prey in this way, these kinds of experiences are vital for leopards to survive life alone, where they face competition from lions and hyenas, and every meal is crucial.
Leopard population is declining rapidly, with the IUCN classifying them as vulnerable. Hopefully, now that these two have learned valuable skills, they’ll make it as adults.