This Leopard Patiently Waits for This Warthog to Exit His Home Before He Ambushes

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The art of ambushes and patience is a skill that goes hand in hand in the wild. To successfully ambush the prey that predators need in order to eat, they have to learn the art of patience. After all, many of these animals they are hunting can not only be bigger than they are, but some of them even run faster. So, getting as close as possible and patiently waiting them out is the key to a successful ambush. Let’s see how good this leopard is at waiting in the video posted above.  

Leopard Hunting Warthog

The short YouTube video clip shown at the top of the blog post takes us to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The Londolozi Game Reserve YouTube page had this video sent to them, where they shared it with their one million+ subscribers. Their most recent short video clips are of hyenas and lions fighting, a kingfisher bird showing off his beautiful colors, and a mating pair of lions crossing in front of a safari. 

Leopard Learns the Game of Patience

As the video above begins, we see a safari tour has slowed down once they saw a leopard patiently waiting in the wings. Central to this leopard’s focus is a small burrow. He knows that within these burrows lie many animals, such as rats, biblys, moles, and the coveted warthog that leopards love to eat. 

In many videos that we see coming to us from Africa, predators like lions will try to dig into the burrows to find any animal that they can. However, they are often unsuccessful to get down as far as they need to. And in some instances, it gives the element of surprise away, and the warthog is able to turbo speed out of the burrow and escape. 

However, this leopard is one smart hunter. There’s no telling how long this leopard laid in wait. But, suddenly, the warthog just peaks its head out. And the leopard charges with such incredible strength that this warthog had zero chance to respond and defend itself. 

Can Warthogs Outrun Leopards?  

When we look at hunters such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, and African wild dogs we often think of them as the apex predators of the wild animal kingdom. And while they may be that, it doesn’t mean they can outrun all prey, such as warthogs, antelope, rhinos, buffaloes, and giraffes. 

The leopard is often confused with the cheetah, which is the fastest land animal that can reach 70 miles per hour. However, the leopard can only run up to 36 miles per hour. And the warthog is not far behind them, with their ability to run up to 34 miles per hour. And this smart leopard knew that the two miles per hour wasn’t much of an advantage. So, his patience paid off, and he got his kill in the end.