As one of the few big predators that don’t rely on packs or prides, safari goers can spot leopards living their solitary lifestyles and moving stealthily from one place to the next.
For Danielle Sheedy, her leopard sighting took place in April 2023, with one boldly walking down the road in clear view of anyone nearby. For whatever reason, this leopard eschewed it’s typical caution, and was enjoying a walk.
It may have been because the leopard wasn’t actively hunting, which meant that stealth was not as imperative as it might otherwise have been, but it was soon going to wish that it had been taking more steps to hide its presence.
Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
Danielle and her group followed the leopard for some time as it padded majestically down the road, but eventually they moved on to see what else they could see on their safari.
It was then, almost immediately, that a pack of eight wild dogs appeared around the corner, and came across the unfortunate leopard which quickly realized its misfortune.
Leopards are excellent predators capable of incredible bursts of speed, but wild dogs are built for endurance running, and against this many of them the leopard had no choice other than to look for an escape.
Simply running wouldn’t have been the best course of action, and the leopard didn’t have much time to make a decision. There was one thing it could do better than the dogs, and that was climbing.
Trapped In A Tree
The leopard had played to its strengths, and managed to get out of reach of the dogs which would have done some serious damage to the big cat if they’d reached it in time.
The leopard’s superior size and strength would have meant very little against such unfavorable numbers, so it made the right decision to keep itself safe. The wild dogs weren’t just going to continue on their way, however.
As large predators these two animals are direct competitors, with crossovers in territory and prey. The success of one could mean the demise of the other, making this a personal vendetta.
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Spider-Cat
The leopard couldn’t climb down from the tree and escape the dogs, but they were unable to climb the tree to physically harm the leopard, and were limited to barking and jumping up from the base.
Danielle told Latest Sightings that the dogs kept up their attempted assault for around an hour, while the leopard moved higher into the tree to wait out the siege.
After the wild dogs had left, running back into the bush from which they had so suddenly appeared, the leopard remained in the tree, and it was still there when Danielle and her group left the sighting.
It’s unknown how long the leopard waited there before it felt safe enough to come down. With its keen senses of hearing and smell, it would have made sure the dogs were far away before it left its sanctuary, but the dogs had guaranteed their own access to any nearby prey for a time.