Watch the sighting here:
Kayla du Toit submitted her account and footage of the encounter to Latest Sightings. She witnessed it on a game drive in the Kruger National Park with her sister.
Wow! A leopard!
Kayla recounts that after a quiet morning looking for wildlife, their fortunes changed when her sister spotted a leopard. The cat was patrolling her territory, stopping occasionally to scent-mark.
On the alert
Watching the leopard, we can see its senses are active. It’s ears are cocked and it regularly scans the surroundings.
Said Kayla, “We followed it at a distance down the road and we saw it kept looking to the left into the bush, but, we just figured it was looking at antelope or hearing other noises.”
Occasionally, the leopardess would also glance back at her admirers, who stayed a respectful distance behind.
LION!!!
Then, as if validating the leopard’s repetitive scanning on the left-hand side of the road, Kayla spotted a lioness. She could immediately tell that the bigger cat had its sights set on its smaller relative.
However, the vegetation blocked the leopard’s view, meaning the lioness could sneak up on her target quite quickly.
Unaware
Still oblivious to the presence of the lion, the leopard continued walking up the road. At one point, she veered off the road to sniff something.
Meanwhile, the lion froze, waiting for the leopard to once again turn away from her. Soon enough, the leopard fulfilled her wishes…
Ambush triggered
Evidently, this was the moment the lion had been waiting for, as seconds later it launched its attack. It seems the leopard must have heard the approaching danger — and reacted instantly.
Facing her aggressor
As the lioness burst from the roadside vegetation, the growling leopard had already turned to face the oncoming threat.
It seems that this is not the response the lion was expecting as normally, whatever she chases runs away. In the next image, she appears almost perplexed by her snarling adversary.
Fearless feline
As the lioness seemingly applied brakes, the leopard rose onto her hind legs with her front paws outstretched to wreak havoc on her assailant.
Eager to avoid the leopard’s slashing claws, the lioness took evasive action, twisting her body in the air to stay out of harm’s way.
Time to skeddadle
Meanwhile, the leopard had realised her chances were slim against the lion. Before the tawny cat had even landed, the smart spotted cat was already making her escape.
Somehow still fancying her chances, the lioness landed and turned to resume the chase.
Head start
However, the lighter, more agile leopard had already run several metres and only increased the distance as she took off.
Dashing into the thick vegetation on the opposite side of the road, she quickly outpaced her heavier pursuer.
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Rueing her chances
Left for dust, all the lion could do was contemplate how she got it so wrong. The leopard was not to be seen, its departure marked by the angry barking of nearby baboons.
As if to put the episode behind her, the lioness gave her head a good shake before continuing down the road ahead of an exhilarated Kayla.
“I will never forget that moment and the feelings I felt, my heart beating insanely fast wondering what was going to happen and my hands shaking while taking the video, trying to watch and capture this moment at the same time. I was truly grateful after witnessing a once in a lifetime sighting.”
Credit where it’s due
All too often, tourists feel they must get right on top of an animal to appreciate it. However, this invariably affects the animal’s behaviour and how it interacts with other species.
In this video, the decision to hold back and observe allowed Kayla and her companions to enjoy a fascinating interaction between apex predators. Even interventions with the best intentions seldom turn out well for the animals concerned.
Our best advice: Take only photos and leave only tyre tracks.