Competition in the wild can be fierce, with many different predators striving against each other to bring down similar prey, and secure themselves a much needed meal.
In the MalaMala Game Reserve, Adam Parker captured this deadly contest between predators when a shocked leopard realized it was not the only hunter eyeing up a fleeing impala.
There are a variety of risks that are worth taking in order to secure food, but serious injury or death isn’t one of them. As lone hunters, leopards face higher risks than other predators, like the wild dogs this one was facing.
In Ambush Position
African wild dogs are endurance hunters, capable of running fast for long distances due to evolutionary developments in their muscles and lungs. They can chase their prey for as long as they need to before bringing it down.
This stamina, combined with their pack tactics, make them incredibly effective hunters. Leopards, conversely, are ambush predators that rely on stealth and sudden attacks to catch their prey before it even has time to run.
This female leopard had sensed the impala coming, and positioned herself at the side of the road, near some long grass, ready to leap out when the impala came close enough, and fell it with a single savage blow.
An Unexpected Development
Unfortunately for the leopard, this careful planning was ultimately wasted. The impala was running because it was already being chased by a pack of wild dogs that were hot on its heels.
Even if the leopard managed to surprise the impala, it would have to fend off the pack while somehow dragging the carcass to a safe location. This task would be difficult for even a group of predators, but it was impossible for a lone leopard.
Situations can change quickly in the wild, and for this big cat, an easy ambush and a likely meal had suddenly become a potentially life threatening scenario.
Time To Abort Mission
The leopard took only a short moment to make up its mind. It waited until it thought the coast was clear, and then it fled to the shelter of a nearby tree. Wild dogs might be excellent runners, but the leopard could easily out climb them.
As far as cost-benefit analyses go, this one was fairly easy to work out. Leopards live alone which gave the pack of wild dogs an instant advantage in a fight. Without any fellows to fall back on, the leopard’s only option was to flee.
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A New Target
The wild dog’s decisions were a little more surprising. It’s unclear exactly how many dogs were hunting the impala, but several of them quickly broke off in order to follow the leopard and harass it.
They couldn’t reach it in the branches of the tree, but they could make sure it thought twice about coming down to interfere with another of their hunts.
Hopefully some of the dogs decided to follow the fleeing impala, otherwise there was only one very clear winner in this competition between predators, and both the dogs and the leopard would go hungry.
