Waterholes are dangerous places for wildlife. As this leopard discovered, it wasn’t the only predator out looking for lunch.
Rosa Swart sent this footage to Latest Sightings. She filmed it near Shingwedzi Camp, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Watch the video here:
A scuffle and a bleat
Joining the action in Rosa’s video, our attention is drawn to a cloud of dust as a plaintive bleat fills the air. A lone nyala has just been caught by a female leopard.
Considering there is barely any cover on the exposed embankment, it is incredible that the leopard managed to launch her ambush successfully.
Seen & heard
However, if we look closely, we see that there are a few crocodiles in the waterhole. And, they saw the kill happen.
Ever the opportunists, they quickly turn and start swimming towards the leopard and her kill. As adept as they are as predators, crocs won’t say no to a scavenged meal when the opportunity presents itself.
Approaching threat
Consequently, in the image below, you can see one of the crocodiles gliding through the water…
Meanwhile on the bank, the leopard notices it approaching at speed…
Being a solitary predator, leopards occasionally lose their hard-earned prey to other predators. So it is safe to say that she had been on the lookout for just such a situation the moment she brought down the antelope.
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Hurried departure
Consequently, she knows better than to wait around to find out just what the crocs want. That much is obvious, and she is not about to let them have their way.
Accordingly, and in an impressive show of strength, she grabs the nyala by the throat and runs away.
She is obviously an experienced hunter. Regardless of the crocodiles, she knows other predators may have heard the earlier bleating and be on their way too.
Despite having the antelope dragging at her feet, the spotted beauty quickly makes her way along the embankment. The sooner she can get her kill away from here, the sooner she can rest and feed.
Finding safety
In just a few seconds, she makes her way across some rocky terrain to the edge of a thicket.
Exhausted by the exertion, she drops the antelope and takes a moment to catch her breath.
As she does, she scans the thicket for a suitable hiding place and checks her surroundings to make sure nothing is following her.
Having ensured her safety and with a plan in place, she then picks up the antelope. Once again impressing us with her strength, she then drags her prize up the uneven slope. Seconds later, she disappears from view.
In less than a minute, she has made a kill, evaded scavengers, and disappeared once more. Had Rosa not been there to witness it, one would never have known the drama that had just unfolded.
In Nature, a lot happens that seems to be against the odds. And, of all Africa’s predators, leopards are probably the animal most likely to pull off such incredible feats.