Watch A Leopard Screw The Pooch And Completely Lose An Easy Warthog-Meal

Continue reading for our analysis...

Key Points

• The leopard puts in all the groundwork, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
• At the last moment, the cat seems to forget what it came for.
• Within a split second, the warthog realizes what is going on and races away.

Check out this hilarious clip that captures the moment when a leopard seriously messes up a stealth attack! This superb predator would not want this footage shared though because it would damage its reputation as an accomplished hunter.

Where And How Do Leopards Live?

Leopards live in Africa and Asia and spend their time in the rainforest, grassland, and mountainous habitats. They are long, slim animals with powerful legs and a long tail. They use this for balance when they are in trees. As solitary hunters, they target prey from an elevated position in trees or on the ground.

Leopards typically target medium-sized prey such as deer and, as we see here, warthogs. However, they are also happy to eat smaller animals such as birds, reptiles, rodents even dung beetles if other prey is scarce.

Leopards are not too fussy about what they eat!

Is It Normal Behavior For Leopards To Lose Their Meals?

While there is no known study on how often prey gets away from leopards, they are known to be good hunters. One study found that leopards in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve typically lose around 20% of their kills to other carnivores.

Often times leopards tug their kills into tall trees. This helps to prevent hyenas and other predators from pilfering their prey.

In general, leopards are able to sustain their feeding on elevated kills for more extended periods compared to kills left on the ground.

How Do Leopards Usually Hunt?

Leopards are usually a lot better than this at hunting. Their usual method is to wait and ambush the prey – their spotted coat helps them to hide. They are also good at stalking animals with great stealth, staying low to the ground where the target is less likely to spot them.

The final stage is a brief but explosive charge that ends in a pounce and a fatal bite to the neck. It’s no surprise that the leopard did not give chase when the warthog ran away – that is not their method. Instead, they rely on the element of surprise.

In this encounter, however, things do not go according to plan. The leopard puts in all the groundwork, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Eventually, the warthog is quite close and turns its back, giving the predator an opportunity to sneak up. But at the last moment, the cat seems to forget what it came for. You can almost see the leopard thinking “Hang on mate, what is supposed to happen next?” And that is a big mistake!

Within a split second, the warthog realizes what is going on and races away. The leopard is a bit confused and looks around as if it is checking if anyone is watching. Whoops – the video has been viewed more than seven million times. How embarrassing!