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Home Animals Watch Lion vs Leopard Showdown Up A Tree

Watch Lion vs Leopard Showdown Up A Tree

It’s not every day that one gets to witness a showdown between a lioness and a leopard; and especially not every day that such a showdown takes place up a tree!

Heather Djunga
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Yet, this is exactly what FJ Mammes was privileged to see when on a game drive with a tourist group in the Sabi Sands game reserve.

Watch the sighting:

YouTube video

An unusual skirmish shakes the treetops

The African leopard is a skilled and resourceful predator, known for its ability to secure its prey by hauling it high into trees. With remarkable strength and agility, it can even lift and carry heavy prey, sometimes larger than itself, up into the branches. Once safely positioned in the tree, it can then feed undisturbed.

However, for this leopard, things did not go quite as planned! Having carried his prey up a tree, he was soon confronted by a lioness, up that same tree! She was not alone. Members of her pride were waiting for her in the shade beneath the tree.

Kill falls like lightening to the ground

Though the lioness was not as agile as the leopard in maintaining a steady composure in the tree, she launched an attack on the leopard, vying for the prey he had carried up the tree.

The two big cats made a commotion in the tree and struck at one another with paws. In the chaos, the buck they were fighting over fell to the ground with great speed.

Unlike leopards who are at home in the treetops, it is rare for lions to climb trees. This particular lioness’ tree-climbing was a little awkward.

After the prey fell to the ground, she became a little wobbly and viewers might have been concerned that she might also fall out of the tree! However, she managed to regain her balance by resting momentarily on a branch.

Her footing more secure now, she continued to have a go at the leopard. The leopard remained fairly well camouflaged towards the top of the tree and his ability to fight with such fury from so high up, on what appeared quite fragile branches, was quite impressive.

The lioness paused at intervals, as she clearly wasn’t as comfortable in the tree as the leopard was.

At one point, it seemed she noticed something in the distance and appeared distracted. She took posture as a sentinel observing something on the horizon.

Lioness runs to claim fallen buck

Beneath the tree, more action was happening. The buck which had fallen from a great height to the ground beneath the tree, was quickly snatched up by another lioness, which managed to pick up the kill and carry it off to safety.

A little further away was an open-back jeep filled with visitors to the reserve, who no doubt had been left at the edge of their seat by the treetop showdown.

Just to their right was a herd of elephants, walking towards the tree! The elephants must’ve been what had caught the lioness’ attention.

Lioness flees as elephants approach tree

The lioness was determined not to hang around. While before it appeared she might not be able to get out of the tree, now her inherent agility became quite evident.

She quickly left the tree, as the elephants approached. It seems while she was willing to take on a leopard, she drew the line at a herd of elephants.

Off she ran, a breathtaking beauty (and a brave one, at that). Perhaps she would meet up with her fellow lioness and finally get to enjoy the spoils of the kill.

The elephants gathered around the same tree where moments earlier the unusual skirmish had unfolded. The well-camouflaged leopard no longer stole the spotlight and life in the bushveld seemed calm again… at least for the moment.


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