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Home Hunt Leopard Takes On And Fights Porcupine

Leopard Takes On And Fights Porcupine

What an exciting way to end an annual 2-week Kruger vacation. Ard captured an incredible moment between a Leopard and Porcupine!

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What an exciting way to end an annual 2-week Kruger vacation. Ard van de Wetering captured an incredible moment between a Leopard and Porcupine and told LatestSightings.com the story:

“A leopard disappeared into a culvert. Unfortunately for the porcupine, it was hiding there as well. Shortly thereafter, both the leopard and porcupine appeared right next to our vehicle, porcupines indeed have a brilliant self-defense mechanism.

”On a Sunday afternoon, my wife and I decided to take a last game drive Southwest of Shingwedzi on the R52 gravel road, about a km Northeast of the Tshanga / Bateleur turnoff. It was a cold and windy day, and we did not expect much. The road is very scenic though, and we were driving slowly and enjoying the moment.”

“All 4 of our children had decided to remain at the camp, so they missed all the action. This was what bothered us most – not being able to share it with them! It was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. I have seen footage of leopard and porcupine interaction in the past, but in my wildest dreams I did not think that we will also experience it first-hand one day.”

“It was as if the leopard gave up, or got bored after a while. It was clearly inexperienced, and the porcupine had all the tricks in the book. At one stage the porcupine even lay flat on its belly making sure that the leopard was not able to flick it over.”

“The leopard soon lay down as well, even closing its eyes! The porcupine stayed put though, even when the leopard moved to the side of the road. It dashed after a few nyalas that crossed the road behind our vehicle. The porcupine remained in the middle of the road though. Unfortunately, we had to leave for camp and did not see whether the leopard returned.”

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“We have been visiting Kruger at least once a year for the last 30 years or so. In all those years we had some pretty amazing sightings, but this was the first time we have seen this type of interaction. That is the nice thing when visiting Northern Kruger. Sightings are few and far between, but when you do see something amazing you are normally alone.”

“During this experience, which lasted more than half an hour, there was only one other vehicle! I can only imagine the traffic jam if this occurred on the Skukuza to Lower Sabie road.”

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