Watch the heart-stopping moment a leopard spots a sick newborn wildebeest and tries to take it, but the mother is having none of it. While the leopard takes a break, warthogs come and try to steal the wildebeest for themselves! This battle took place for over 5 hours in the Kruger National Park.
This incredible sighting was captured by Nadav Ossendryver, 24-year-old founder of LatestSightings.com, while on his drive in the Kruger yesterday with his friends.
Here is the story of what happened: “Yesterday, the 18th of Jan 2021, I went on a drive with a few of my friends, Avi, Sam, Josh, Adam and Michael. We entered early morning at Phabeni Gate and decided to head south in search of Wild Dogs. Seeing Wild dogs was our mission! We had actually seen 7 leopards the day before.”
“Just after we entered, we spotted a leopard in a tree. So, we were all already happy about how the day was going. But, after that, we went for a few hours without seeing much game. It was getting quite hot, and, we were worried that all the animals were already sleeping in for the day. But, in one second, it all changed! We saw a pack of wild dogs next to the road! Our mission for the day was complete!”
“At the wild dog sighting, my long-time friend and ranger, Jean Graham from Discover Kruger Safaris, called me and told me that she found a wildebeest calf that was injured, and that there was a leopard hanging around. This sounded really interesting, and so we decided to go there and check it out.”
“When we got there, the mother wildebeest was hanging around the calf and keeping guard on it. Vultures had started circling and landing near the scene. Next thing, we spotted the leopard walking toward the calf. As soon as the mother saw it, she gave charge! The leopard then ran right towards us and lay in the bushes.”
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“While the leopard was taking a break, a family of warthogs then came and started eating the wildebeest calf! At one point, the warthog took its tusk and punctured the calf, giving them access to some meat. The mother wildebeest thought she was done defending her calf from the leopard, but now she had to defend it from warthogs too!”
“On the other side of the road, loads of vultures were landing, and suddenly a hyena ran in and grabbed an impala and started eating it. There were so many sightings happening at once, we just couldn’t believe our eyes. After waiting for a couple of hours, the leopard eventually saw an opening, when the mother wasn’t looking, and ran in to get the calf. The leopard walked closer to the road and started feeding. It was the inevitable end to this interaction.”
Cheetahs are solitary animals and rarely hunt in packs. But the video below has recorded a rare scene, when not only 1, but 5 cheetahs together organize a methodical hunt, making us think of their “brother” lion. .
The video begins with five cheetahs stalking together, then suddenly attacking a herd of wildebeest grazing on the prairie.
The target they identified was a young, immature antelope. Therefore, the antelope will hardly have the opportunity to run away, as well as fend off bloodthirsty hunters.
With extreme speed, leopards quickly approach and pounce on their prey from behind. However, it can be seen that if it is alone, it is quite difficult to control its prey.
This antelope even managed to kick the leopard back, before it continued to run away.
Witnessing “comrades” in trouble, the cheetahs in the herd immediately rushed to help. They take turns chasing the antelope, then together clinging to the prey, making it no longer a way to escape.
After a few minutes, the wildebeest gave up and became a meal for the hungry cheetahs.
Together with the Cat family, but cheetahs are much smaller in size and appearance than the other 4 big cats (including tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards).
While most cats have developed muscles and the ability to suppress prey, cheetahs have a completely opposite body structure with an elongated body, a small, compact head, a short snout, only suitable for the ability to move and chase at extreme speed. The maximum speed they can achieve is up to 120km/h.
They are the only feline species with non-retractable claws. This mechanism helps them always use their claws to stick to the ground, acting like the nails in athletes’ shoes, creating a very significant additional thrust.
The cheetah’s tail is also longer than that of cats and is very strong, helping them to maintain balance when chasing prey at high speed.
However, when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, cheetahs are often not strong enough and bite force to finish off, even when the enemy is large prey, let alone large and strong beasts.
With a solitary lifestyle, the cheetah does not have much of a chance against pack predators like African wild dogs or can’t stop the crowded vultures swooping in to steal its prey.
Because of these weaknesses, while predators like lions and hyenas can thrive, cheetahs can’t. According to statistics, they have decreased by up to 90% of the population in the past 100 years.