Regular contributor Rodney Nombekana sent this video to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while visiting South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
A leopard at rest
As Rodney’s video begins, we see a female leopard at ease. Lying on a termite mound, it looks like a big, spotted house cat enjoying a late siesta.
However, as the commentary notes, a nearby spotted hyena leads Rodney’s guests to question whether the leopard is at risk.
Confident in the leopard’s acute senses, however, Rodney assures them she will pick up its presence at any moment.
Superior senses
And then, as predicted, she raises her head. Equipped with excellent vision, smell and hearing, there is not much that leopards fail to notice.
Sure enough, after briefly sniffing the air, the leopard duly picks up the hyena’s distinctive scent. With that, she goes on full alert, raising her head to scan the area.
In an instant, the leopard spots the approaching hyena, keeping a keen eye on it as it gets progressively closer.
As the leopard and hyena lock eyes, we hear Rodney predicting her next move. We can hear the palpable excitement of his guests as the drama unfolds.
Time to move
Every animal has a comfort zone, a personal space it instinctively protects. This is a pre-determined area around them, which, if encroached upon, has them initiate their fight-or-flight response.
So, when the hyena begins to encroach on the leopard’s zone, she gets up and opts to move to safety. Being a leopard, she has one place in mind where she knows she will be safe from the hyena.
A ready refuge awaits
With the hyena getting closer by the second, she makes her way to the base of a large tree. As it turns out, she had previously stashed an impala kill in its upper branches.
However, not wanting to exert herself unnecessarily, she does not climb immediately. Rather, she continues to monitor the hyena’s progress.
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Hyena inbound
Whether the hyena was attracted by the scent of the leopard or that of her kill, we will never know. Regardless, as the hyena comes barrelling towards her, she readies herself before leaping several metres up the trunk of the tree.
Mere seconds later, the hyena arrives. With both the carcass and the leopard safely up the tree, the hyena’s plans of violence are thwarted.
Hyenas have practically zero climbing ability. So, while the leopard makes her way further up the tree, there is nothing that it can do but look on. Now, its best hope is if the leopard either drops some scraps or accidentally dislodges the carcass.
As Rodney’s video nears its conclusion, the leopard is last seen looking down on the hyena. Frustrated, the hyena puts its nose to the ground, hoping to come up with some reward for its failed venture.
As illustrated in the video, leopards, and, in fact, all predators are at risk of attack from other predators. Lions probably kill more predators than any other, even their own kind.
Generally, when this happens, the killing is not so much for food but to eliminate competition for resources, be it prey or territory.
However, of all the predators, hyenas and leopards are the most likely to eat their rivals.