Su-Jin Wong and the rest of the tour group found themselves witnessing a leopard hunt by surprise when one leapt out in front of their vehicle, taking the people and the prey completely by surprise.
The footage, sent in by Su-Jin Wong, was taken in Londolozi near the Greater Kruger National Park in 2015. A tour group was out for a drive when they came across the flock of guinea fowl, and appeared to be following the birds along the road.
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None of them knew that they weren’t the only ones pursuing the birds, as a stealthy leopard also had its eye on them from the bush nearby and, perhaps sensing its window for attack slipping away, decided to go for it, regardless of the presence of the people.
The Great Guinea Fowl Pursuit
The vehicle was following a flock of guinea fowl as they hurried along the road, many of them peeling off to the sides and disappearing into the bush.
Guinea fowl are strong fliers, capable of undertaking long-distance flights when necessary. This is an evolutionary development to help them move beyond the range of wildfires and potential predators.
Being able to escape in this manner is vital, as guinea fowl can typically be found around other herd animals, which might attract predators. The one thing these guinea fowl didn’t seem concerned about was escaping the approaching vehicle.
Scattering Birds To The Wind
Although many of the birds seemed content to run just ahead of the vehicle, some of the others broke off and scattered into the surrounding bush.
The sneaky leopard may have been using the vehicle’s approach to flush the flock closer to its ambush spot, or lying in wait for it to push all of the tasty-looking birds right into its mouth.
Either way, its opportunity for a hearty meal was beginning to run out as more and more of the birds dispersed. With the flock spreading out, the chances of catching one of them were falling, so the leopard had to move quickly, even if it wasn’t an ideal situation.
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Surprise Attack!
Leopards are usually strategic and highly selective about when they strike. Unlike their competing predators, such as lions and wild dogs, they don’t have pack tactics to fall back on, and if they fail at the hunt, then that prey’s gone, and they’re going to go hungry.
Their hunting success rate trails a little behind lions when they’re sharing the same territory, as the larger and stronger cats prove to be tough competition.
This one, though, seemed to be in a rush, and because of this, it sacrificed a chance at positioning itself for a slow and measured ambush like these big cats will usually attempt.
It burst out of the bush, moving at speed and startling both the birds and the tour group, and although it showed an impressive speed and agility by leaping for a guinea fowl, it fell back to earth with the common expression of a housecat that had, once again, failed to catch the red dot.