See this incredible scene of courage in the Kruger National Park, as a baby duiker fights back against a leopard more than twice its size.
Johan Seekles captured the sighting during the late morning as he headed towards the Satara Rest Camp, spotting a leopard and her cub first, before realizing the big cats weren’t alone in the thicket.
Although it was tiny, still just a young baby, a duiker had been left alone in the long grass by its mother, only to be discovered by the leopards. Whether they were actively hunting it, or stumbled across it completely by accident isn’t known.
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It’s likely that this duiker’s mother had left it in a safe place for a short period as protection from predators, and the fact that the leopard’s found it there was nothing short of great or horrible luck depending on your point of view.
A Successful Ambush
Although the duiker had already been discovered by the leopards by the time Seekles made the sighting, the leopard cub seemed to be taking the opportunity to practice its sneaking skills behind the unfortunate antelope.
It might seem cruel to toy with the baby duiker, but the fact is that experiences like these are absolutely vital to the young leopard’s development as a hunter. Being able to practice while its parents is there to support it if something goes wrong will mean the leopard has a much greater chance of surviving once it’s living alone.
Defensive Duiker
For the duiker, it must seem that no matter how far it runs the leopard is always there, and so if flight doesn’t work, fighting must be the only option.
The baby antelope must have been especially desperate or scared to resort to attempting to fight the predator when there’s such a difference in size and ability.
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Duikers are fast antelopes that rely on staying very, very still in their hiding places in order to avoid detection by predators. If they are discovered, their speed comes in helpful, but in this case the baby is far too small to be able to outrun the leopard, so it headbutts it instead.
Uncertainty In The Face Of Success
According to Seekles, the two leopards had the dynamic of a mother teaching her son. He described the younger leopard as being “extremely curious. You could see he had no idea what to do.”
It takes up to two years for a leopard cub to be independent enough to leave their mother, until then they spend their time with them learning skills vital for their survival.
Clash Of Species At Threat Of Extinction
A sighting like this is doubly special due to the conservation status of the two animals involved. Leopards are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the seven species of duiker are facing a decreasing population with some of them being considered endangered.
Unfortunately, there’s one less duiker in the world, but that just means that one more leopard has learned the skills vital for its own survival, and that the wheel of nature continues to turn.