A lost baby waterbird wobbled right into a young leopard who was playing in a riverbed. Not knowing any better the gosling had a stare down with the leopard. Then it panicked and tried to make an escape!
Benji Solms, a ranger with years of guiding experience was blown away when he managed to film this. It all happened during a routine game drive at Serondella Safari Lodge, in the Greater Kruger area.
Benji, with his guest, was exploring a riverbank where a mother leopard made a catch the night before. Thanks to the leopard’s older, but very playful cub, it didn’t take Benji long to track them down.
Goslings Disrupt Leopard Sighting
As soon as they arrived, the cub was running up and down the river. Just full of energy and super cute! However, this didn’t last for long. A brood of goslings came wobbling down and disrupted the scene!
Ignorant of the threat the birds were heading straight towards the leopard! Tension grew as the goslings came closer. Then, like from a script, the birds all jumped into the bush as soon as the leopard looked!
There was an immediate sense of relief for everyone watching. A feeling that again quickly faded… Before anyone knew it, one of the goslings became separated and came back into the open!
Innocent Baby Bird Walking Into Leopard
The baby bird was en route to the young predator, and this time the leopard was fully aware of it. None the wiser, the gosling continued down its path! At this moment, Benji could only think of one ending!
Only when the gosling was face-to-face with the leopard, did it realise there was trouble! Then, it was time for an escape attempt! But, it was too late! The leopard had already pounced!
Luckily for the gosling, the leopard grabbed it gently. But, still a terrible situation for the baby bird. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, the gosling wiggled through the leopard’s grip and made a mad dash!
The plan was to get to the safari vehicle and use it as cover. And it worked, at least for a bit. It eventually had to pop out, and when the gosling did, the leopard was there to catch it again!
Acting Dead to Escape Leopard
So, the gosling resorted to a new tactic! It simply decided to act dead, which almost worked. The leopard cub let go briefly. But, the leopard realized it was another trick, so it quickly clutched on once more.
One might have thought that luck was running out for the gosling. However, the leopard was still very gentle with its grip. By some miracle the gosling had no serious injuries, so there was still a chance!
The leopard then typically decided to carry the gosling into one of the small nearby trees. At this point, everyone had lost hope! But, still, the fate of the gosling hadn’t yet been sealed.
