Squabbling Leopards Accidentally Drop Their Prey Out of a Tree and Right Into the Mouths of Waiting Hyenas

A recent viral video shows a battle between two leopards in a tree, in which they fight over an impala. As the two wild cats brawl, one falls out of the tree and nearly gets attacked by a group of three hyenas below. However, the seemingly dead impala falls shortly after, and the hyenas claim the meal as their own. You can watch the incredible video below.

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What Do Hyenas Eat?

Hyenas are carnivorous mammals whose main prey include wildebeest, monkeys, and birds. Some hyenas are hunters, while others feast on carcasses killed by other animals, as you saw in the video above. These social creatures use their strong jaws to rip their prey apart. Often hunting in packs, the size of a hyena’s prey depends on how many hyenas are hunting it. The larger the group, the larger the prey.

What Do Leopards Eat?

Leopards are carnivorous mammals that feast on medium-sized prey like jackals, hares, impalas, deer, warthogs, and rodents. This large cat is an apex predator, meaning they ambush their prey. Oftentimes, they do this from a perch in trees, catching their prey by surprise before ultimately killing them. Other times, they will hide in tall grass before leaping toward their next meal. 

Additionally, as you can see in the video above, many leopards will carry their prey into a tree, hiding it from other predators who might want to steal the prey. However, sometimes, other predators will wait below, hoping to catch any scraps of the meal, which is exactly what occurred in the viral video. 

Where Do Hyenas, Leopards, and Impalas Live?

Hyenas, leopards, and impalas all live in Africa. However, hyenas also live in Asia and Europe, and leopards also live in Asia. 

Hyenas mainly live in open savannas, plains, and grasslands, while leopards reside in rainforests, grasslands, and mountainous regions. Impalas, on the other hand, roam wooded savannas and dense bushlands. These three animals’ habitats often overlap, and impalas become prey to both of the predators.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © wasantha8958/Shutterstock.com