For male leopards, their territory means access to resources and mating opportunities. When intruders are found, they must be dealt with swiftly, yet carefully.
Choni Goldman submitted this tense footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while on a game drive in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
A rare sight
As Choni drove through Kruger on a misty morning, he came upon two male leopards on the road ahead. Delighted, he started filming.
Leopards are solitary animals, by nature, and Choni sensed tension between the animals.
Confident vs cocky
Subsequently, the larger of the two males began walking off to the right. With its back exposed, it was a display of confidence.
As it did so, the smaller animal snarled a warning. Even so, it remained seated, signalling submission.
Meanwhile, the big tom didn’t go far. Perhaps irked by the others’ insolence, he turned.
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Pandemonium erupts
Suddenly, pandemonium erupted. Out of nowhere, the larger male launched himself at the intruder.
As he did, his rival rose to meet the challenge. Consequently, the two animals met in midair, in a flurry of slashing claws and vicious growling.
The larger male, however, had the advantage of size and momentum, resulting in him knocking his foe onto its back.
As the big tom landed, he, too, fell over, separating the pair.
Posture over violence
In an instant, both animals rose from the dust, with the intruder swiping at the resident, determined to keep him at bay.
However, the larger cat skipped out of the way before adopting a classic side-on intimidatory pose. Confident he had won that round, he needed to assert his dominance.
Rather than using physical violence, he was using body language to reinforce his superiority. Still, the intruder snarled in defiance.
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De-escalation
After a few seconds, the resident seemed to decide that he’d made his point. Once again showing his confidence, he turned his back on his challenger.
Then, while the smaller cat continued snarling, he casually sauntered off.
As he did so, the intruder’s defeat was clear in his posture. Wisely, the younger leopard knew better than to attack the resident from behind.
Instead, he remained in place until the other animal had moved off to a safe distance. Whatever his intentions, he knew that he might not be so lucky next time around.
More to come?
When it was safe to do so, the intruder turned and walked off in the opposite direction.
However, moments later, he was followed by the other male. This may because the younger animal was walking deeper into his territory, instead of leaving.
In subsequent footage, we see one of the two males high up in the canopy of a tree. Unfortunately, we don’t know which one it is.
Suffice it to say, though, this rivalry may be far from over.