After catching a massive warthog, this leopard struggled to kill it outright. Consequently, the warthog’s squeals drew some unwanted attention.
Peter Craig-Cooper submitted this intense footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed it on the S147 gravel road in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
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A grisly sighting
As Peter told Latest Sightings, he was enjoying a cup of coffee when he heard a warthog squealing nearby. Making haste, he subsequently discovered a male leopard that had just caught the unfortunate hog.
However, perhaps due to the pig’s massive size, the leopard seemed unable to asphyxiate it with a classic throat grip. Accordingly, it lay on top of the warthog and started ripping into its chest.
Futile struggle
Pinned on its back, there was little that the pig could do to escape. Presumably in a lot of pain, its high-pitched squealing shattered the bushveld quiet.
Unburdened by the concept of mercy, the leopard continued to strip flesh as the pig writhed beneath it. To say it was a challenging sight is no understatement.
Time to move
As solitary hunters, leopards know all too well that they risk losing their prey to other predators, like lions and hyenas. Consequently, the big male tried to drag his prize to a safer place.
However, with a weight of up to 150 kilograms, the pig proved difficult to move.
As a result, the leopard only managed to drag it a short distance into a clump of bushes. Still, the warthog continued its agonised squealing
Spitting and snarling
Unfortunately, what happened next was not captured on film. According to Peter, he saw a tawny blur rush in, and the next thing he knew, the leopard had scampered up a tree.
In the blink of an eye, a lioness had chased the leopard off its kill. Unsurprisingly, the leopard was irate, spitting and snarling at the lioness below.
Sensibly, however, the leopard did not tackle the lion head-on.
Lions are probably the leading cause of death amongst leopards in the park.
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Biding his time
As the lion fed on the warthog at the foot of the tree, there was nowhere the leopard could go. Realising it was stuck, it set about grooming the blood from its coat.
All the while, he kept a close eye on the lioness, hoping for an opportunity to escape.
Peter said the leopard’s first attempt was blocked when the lioness saw it prepare to leap to safety.
Long leap to freedom
Nearly two hours later, the leopard saw that the lioness had moved off a short distance.
Seizing the moment, he descended the trunk, hoping that this time, he’d make good his escape.
Then, with a mighty leap, the big male sprang from the tree.
Landing softly, he bolted into the distance. As he did, the lioness barely had time to register what had happened.
However, with a big warthog to eat to herself, she probably didn’t feel too hard done by.
