Claire West sent her video record of the action to Latest Sightings. She filmed it at the Delaporte water hole, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
The ambush is set
In Claire’s words, “We noticed this leopard run across some grass and go straight into stalk mode. Moments later, a herd of impala started wandering down and walking straight past her.”
Claire added that one of the impalas was limping, leading her to think it would be the most likely target. Meanwhile, a couple of young impala rams were sparring near a manmade water hole.
Distracted rams
However, the leopard, a female, had other ideas. Instead of going for the limping animal, it set its sights on the two distracted rams.
In a burst of power and speed, the leopard launches herself from her hiding place in the long grass. In seconds, it covers the distance between itself and its intended prey.
The fact that the leopard launched its attack from such a distance is unusual. Typically, they stalk as close as possible before attacking. Regardless, she backed herself and went for it.
Fatal error
Claire said that when the impalas saw the approaching predator, they immediately took evasive action. While one of the youngsters bounded off to safety, the other inadvertently landed up in the water hole.
As the leopard bears down on it, the ram struggles frantically to regain its footing in the slippery cement water hole.
Unfortunately for the panicked antelope, it finds no purchase on the smooth surface and makes a futile lunge as the leopard gets ever closer.
High-speed impact!
For its part, the leopard barely slows down at all. Seeing its victim thrashing helplessly in the water, she barrels into it.
In the ensuing melee, we can only see the leopard’s back as it lowers its head to seize the hapless impala.
Claire thinks the impala may have broken its neck while trying to leap clear, however, slow-motion analysis of the video is inconclusive.
Regardless, after a brief scuffle, the leopard emerges from the water with the impala firmly held in its powerful jaws. The impala shows no signs of life whatsoever.
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Where shall I eat?
With that, the leopard awkwardly drags its prize across the veld.
With some effort, the leopard takes the carcass to some nearby shade, pausing only to change her grip on its neck.
Subsequently, said Claire, “She went off into the bushes, started to eat.
“[Then] a hyena came around the corner, stole her kill and proceeded to eat it in front of her. [Meanwhile] she lay in the sun drying off and cleaning herself.”
Inefficient killers
It is ironic that after a successful ambush, an unlikely rush and a fortuitous slip, the leopard still lost its meal.
Despite their deserved reputation for stealth, guile and power, leopards in the Kruger National Park are only successful in about 16% of their attempts. More broadly, that figure rises to a maximum of 38%.
This low success rate may be attributed to the fact that they are solitary hunters. Additionally, they face difficulty locating prey in their preferred dense habitats and are frequently outcompeted by lions and hyenas.
All of which highlights just how lucky Claire was to witness this hunt, even though the leopard ultimately lost the impala.