Leopards are usually a picture of composure, but even these elegant big cats have the occasional moment of awkwardness. For one leopardess in South Africa's Sabi Sand Game Reserve, that moment came when her cub inadvertently dropped an impala carcass out of a tree ... straight onto her head.
Filmed by safari guide Sabre Meeser and recently uploaded to the Latest Sightings YouTube channel, the clip shows a mother leopard hauling her kill into the fork of a tree following closely by an inquisitive cub. Stashing carcasses in trees is fairly standard practice for leopards. It helps keep the spoils away from rival predators and allows the cats to dine uninterrupted. The trick, of course, is to keep the carcass in the tree.
Confident that the sizeable meal was securely draped in the boughs, the leopard returned to the ground to mask any evidence of the carcass that might attract prowling scavengers. Her cub, meanwhile, got to work gorging itself on impala meat. While dining, the youngster dislodged the carcass and – lacking the strength of its mother – could do nothing but watch it slip from the branch to land squarely on top of mom (kids, amiright?).
The leopardess attempted to evade the tumbling carcass with an impressive leap, but it was a touch too late and the cat took a hit. Thankfully, she did not appear to be injured at all and quickly bounded over to the impala (presumably to briskly return it to the treetops – hopefully this time out of reach of her cheeky cub).
Predator vs Prey
Predator vs Prey
WTF!?
