Clayton Herb sent this interesting video to Latest Sightings. He filmed the incidents in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
Sought-after leopards
For visitors to South Africa’s game parks, probably one of the most hoped-for sightings is leopards. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to see even a glimpse of these stealthy predators.
So, the tourists who witnessed the action in this video were very lucky. As we join the action, we see not one but two leopards moments after capturing an impala ram.
Mother and son
Unfortunately, we received no information about the leopards in the video. However, we think it is safe to assume that this is a mother leopard with her sub-adult male offspring.
Furthermore, it would appear that the mother leopard is using the opportunity to let her cub gain valuable hunting experience. This is because, while she holds onto the ram’s hindquarters, the slightly smaller male is left to go for its throat.
Going for the throat
Whether the male is acting on learned or instinctual behaviour is uncertain. However, when it manages to clamp its jaws on the ram’s throat, the action is classic leopard.
As solitary hunters, the one thing leopards want to avoid is attracting the attention of other predators. Should this happen, they might well lose their hard-earned prey.
So, by closing off their prey’s windpipes, they reduce the chances of it emitting an alarm call. In doing so, they begin the often drawn-out process of asphyxiation.
Slow process
Despite having its air supply effectively cut off, it is amazing to see the impala remain standing. Even the mother leopard seems bemused as she hangs onto its hindquarters.
On average, death by asphyxiation takes between 2 and 5 minutes, although the prey will likely lose consciousness within minutes.
Dinner delayed
When social predators hunt together, it often happens that while one attempts to asphyxiate the prey, other members of the group start feeding. However, in the case of these leopards, that doesn’t happen.
Could this be because they are typically solitary, and therefore not familiar with the behaviour?
Or, is it that this particular impala is proving more difficult than usual to subdue? By the time the above image was captured, the impala’s throat had been clamped for nearly a minute.
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Another question often asked is whether the impala is suffering. There are no conclusive findings in this regard, except that mammals go into shock when severely injured.
There is a theory that this is not so much to prevent them from feeling pain, but to concentrate their energy on survival. If the pain were too great, they would not be able to do this due to the “distraction” of pain.
Outcome unknown
As the video comes to its conclusion, there are signs that the impala is losing strength. It is no longer able to hold its head upright and will probably collapse shortly.
Unfortunately, the video comes to an end before we find out whether or not the impala survived. Or, for that matter, whether the leopards got their hard-earned meal.