A blinded leopard wasn’t in the mood to go hungry for another day. So it decided to risk joining 10+ huge crocodiles in their feast when he found them munching on a buck!
Wildlife photographer, Stefan Cruysberghs, was on an early-morning safari in South Luangwa when they came across these crocodiles in a feeding frenzy.
There were so many crocs that it was hard to see what they were eating, but they spent some time and managed to identify the prey as being a puku antelope. Seeing that this was playing out on land, it was assumed that another predator had caught and abandoned the puku.
The more time they spent at the sighting, the more crocodiles appeared from the river. Watching just how many crocs were attracted to the smell was fascinating. It was almost an endless supply!
A Nile crocodile can eat over 50% of its body weight in a single meal. On average, your typical puku weighs a lot less than that. Meaning that there really wasn’t enough food to go around here, and all the crocodiles were likely very grumpy because of it!
There was so much going on here that it was almost too much to process when a leopard suddenly came strolling in from the bushes. Who would have thought about another predator being around?
It was a huge surprise for everyone at first, but then it was assumed that the leopard had originally caught the puku and was forced to abandon it. Now, it returned only to find that it had been claimed by a bask of crocodiles.
That would normally be the end of the story. After all, when crocodiles steal your meal, there really isn’t anything that can be done about that. However, this leopard wouldn’t have it! If it was going to lose its food, it wasn’t losing everything.
The leopard zigged and zagged its way through the pile of crocodile bodies, just looking for a gap to squeeze in. It even had to dodge a couple of snaps, but that wasn’t enough to deter it.
It did end up finding the space it was looking for, and it was now basically mouth-to-mouth with one of the bigger crocodiles! Just desperately tugging and pulling away, trying and nab a piece.
Not being able to get a decent share, the leopard became frustrated, so, when another crocodile decided to try and get involved, the leopard slapped it on the nose!
The leopard only managed to get two small chunks of the puku, before having to walk away. It certainly wasn’t worth all the risk it took in the end, but it was so incredible to see!
