African sharptooth catfish are hardy survivors, but even these resilient fish are vulnerable during the dry season. In the winter months, many of the waterholes and pans in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park begin to dry up leaving masses of catfish thrashing about in what little water remains in the shrinking pools. For opportunistic predators like leopards, a mass of catfish writhing in a pool of "mud soup" presents an opportunity too good to pass up.

Footage captured by Candice Pappin in Klaserie Private Nature Reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park, shows a leopard tentatively manoeuvring his way around a muddy pond before eventually committing and diving in to nab a writhing fish.

Pappin had previously witnessed the cat visiting the waterhole and suspected he may be planning to 'go fishing'. After attempting to hunt a group of warthogs that strolled into the area, the commotion of the hunt triggered a reaction from the catfish and the leopard quickly turned his attention to the submerged quarry.

"Like a switch, it triggered something inside him," Pappin explained to Latest Sightings. "He ran straight onto the log and decided it was now or never! Looking at the fish, he reached into the muddy water, and with a swift movement, grabbed one! I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed."

Pappin watched for some time as the leopard strategically plucked fish after fish out of the muddy water. “By the time he was done, he had caught 11 fish!" Some of the haul were stolen by rival predators while others he carefully stashed away for later.

Header image: Mihael Hercog/Flickr