This exceedingly unusual scene shows a leopard battling a crocodile to retrieve a dead animal from the water.
Get your camera ready because when you see a crocodile and a leopard standing apart, you can be sure that the encounter will be packed with thrilling activity.
Alberto Scattolin, the 54-year-old proprietor and guide of Matimba Lodge, recorded this sighting. He likes to visit the Kruger in the late afternoon to search for fresh wildlife encounters. He has been using the app for a while and updates us in real time on all of his amazing sightings.
He saw this amazing encounter last week on October 7 near Ngobeni Loop in the H14, a location well known for its leopards. Regarding this sighting, Alberto informs LatestSightings.com:
“This afternoon’s late-afternoon drives in the Kruger were the same as always. When I don’t have any visitors, I usually take a drive by myself to see if I can spot anything interesting.
On this exact day, I tried my luck once more and sure enough, it paid off!”
“When I got to this waterhole, I saw a crocodile enjoying a meal of a carcass in the water. But suddenly, a leopard showed up and discovered the potential free meal. He quickly began walking toward the crocodile in the water.
“I waited and observed as the predator repeatedly tried to steal the croc’s meat from the ravenous leopard. However, the croc was having none of it and defended the food by attacking the leopard with snapping teeth whenever it approached and almost turned into a feast. I’ve witnessed situations like this before, but never anything this intense.
“Since I was the only person in the area at the time, it made for an incredible experience; it was almost like attending a private performance.” When I had to leave because the gates were ready to close, the sighting came to an end. The interaction between these two animals was the most incredible I’ve ever witnessed.
“I adore the Kruger, and I hope to hear of more and better sightings from others. If you see something like this while you’re in the Kruger, take advantage of it while you can because you never know when you’ll see something similar again.