Watch What Happens When a Lion Scales a Tree to Catch a Leopard and Gets Stuck

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When you watch this clip, it’s possible to spot the exact moment this lion realizes it has made a terrible mistake. It has got completely carried away while pursuing a leopard and, lost in the moment, races up into the top branches of a tree. The problem is that most lions are not great at climbing trees – especially when it comes to the higher branches. It’s also clear that even though the big cat got up there quite easily, it has no idea how it is going to get back down. So, incredibly, it decides to deal with that problem later and gets back to hassling the leopard! That’s lions for you!

Do Lions Normally Eat Leopards?

It is not unusual to see lions chasing leopards. However, this is not a predator-prey relationship. Lions mainly hunt herbivores – these are animals that feed on grass only. They provide the exact nutrition that these big cats need. Therefore, you will see lions mainly hunting medium to large-sized ungulates. Their diet is usually made up of species such as zebra, warthog, wildebeest, and buffalo. Having said that, they are also opportunists. If they get the opportunity to hunt a cheetah cub, a spotted hyena, or even a fox, then they will take that opportunity. Also, a starving lion would not turn down the opportunity to eat a leopard if it could.

Why Do Lions Chase Leopards?

Lions do not like leopards because they are competition. There is an overlap between the prey targeted by the two big cats, so lions would prefer it if leopards were not around! In some areas, studies have shown that lions are responsible for 20 percent of leopard deaths. Most of the time, leopards try to escape them by racing into trees because they know the lions are reluctant to follow them. This particular individual, however, was willing to give it a go! It’s clear that it is not comfortable in the tree; its body is heavier, and it is not as agile as the leopard.

It is not unusual for competition for resources to cause aggression between species. One species will often steal food from another. Killing another predator is the most extreme form of competition. It is commonly seen amongst carnivores. Another example is where gray wolves kill coyotes so that they can eat the small mammal prey in their habitats.