A truly rare sighting: a hyena and a leopard sharing a meal together.
Leopards and hyenas don’t play well together, and tend to clash over meals. In the majority of cases, leopards are chased away by a pack of hyenas.
The two predators began having a tug of war over the antelope carcass — who unfortunately was pregnant — before settling in and sharing the meal together. However, once a larger male leopard entered the scene, all bets were off.
“A male leopard, known as Hosana to safari guides, and a hyena are feeding on the body of a pregnant ungulate. They stole the kill from the leopard’s half-sister, named Thandi. Both tear at the carcass to eat as quickly as possible, in an opportunistic tug-of-war. The big leopard is called Tingana, who is the father of Hosana. A three-way leopard standoff ensues. The carcass, stolen for the second time, seems to be in the firm grasp of Tingana. Hosana and Thandi wait at the bottom of the tree in case the big leopard drops his prize. Tingana victoriously urinates on the ground below, marking his territory.”
Leopards will often take their meals up into trees, where scavengers like hyenas are unable to reach. Watch the video below to see one such example, where two hyenas can be seen waiting patiently below a leopard as the big cat eats a porcupine.