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Angela and Craig Weeks were in the Kruger National Park when they caught this sighting of an impala determined to make it, regardless of the odds.
They said they were near Biyamiti Weir “watching a herd of impala drinking at a large muddy pond”. Neither Angela, Craig or any of the impalas knew that there was something in the water, preparing itself for a meal.
Surging from the water in a perfectly timed ambush, a crocodile seized an impala in its jaws, and began dragging it back into the water.
Determined To Survive
Although the crocodile had pulled of its attack perfectly, the rest of the process proved difficult, as the impala struggled ferociously against its grim fate.
Several times the impala was on the verge of pulling itself completely out of the water before the crocodile pulled it back in. The hope of survival seemed to keep the impala invigorated, as it didn’t show any signs of giving up.
Crocodiles tend to avoid eating their prey while it’s alive, preferring to drag it into the water and drown it first. This crocodile was trying to follow this tried and tested hunting method, but the impala wasn’t allowing itself to fall beneath the water.
From Bad To Worse
Angela and Craig said that the “herd had been alarm calling really loudly during the impala-crocodile struggle”, and ultimately it was this warning which may have doomed the unlucky impala.
Alarm calling is a behavior exhibited by impalas for a few reasons. Primarily, it warns others nearby that there is a predator nearby, and so they should be on their guard.
It also serves to deter that predator from trying to carry out an ambush, as it knows it’s lost the advantage of stealth. In this case, it attracted the attention of another predator.
Notified by the alarm calling that something had likely just been attacked, a hopeful leopard came to see if it might be able to steal a kill, or get one itself.
The Great Escape
A leopard’s stealth is almost unmatched, and it approached unseen and unheard. The impala was so concerned with escaping the immediate danger posed by the crocodile that it didn’t even realize that the land posed just as much danger as the water.
In a display of remarkable fortitude, the impala finally managed to get enough purchase on the bank to pull itself free from the water, and the crocodile didn’t follow. After all of the effort it had expended, the impala was free.
Its reward was facing a second ambush in under an hour as the leopard picked that exact moment to charge, before the crocodile could reclaim its prize.
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The Perfect Ambush
Just like the crocodile only moments before, this leopard executed a perfect ambush, emerging from the bush suddenly, and with so much speed that the shocked impala could barely react in time.
Nevertheless, this impala’s determination to make it against all the odds hadn’t died, and the leopard wasn’t going to find it any easier to make it a meal than the crocodile.
Angela and Craig said that when “the impala eventually escaped the croc, we were relieved but seconds later totally surprised by the leopard’s stealth ambush.”
Already weakened by its fight with the crocodile, the impala didn’t have much energy left and it was quickly overtaken by the leopard. Seeing the brutality of animals hunting, and then watching those animals go hungry can be a roller coaster of emotions, but it’s sightings like these that show the reality of living in the wild.
