The remarkable reflexes of a leopard were on display last week after the animal was startled by another leopard as it sipped from a watering hole.
The amusing footage, captured via motion-sensor camera outside a Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate residence in South Africa, shows the frightened leopard leap so suddenly that it frightens the approaching leopard back into the wilderness.
After the footage was shared to social media platforms by Latest sightings – Kruger, Gillian Leigh Soames, who lives at the residence, explained that the leopard cubs are 11-month-old siblings.
Leopard was drinking and another one slowly creeped up behind it, giving the one drinking the fright of its life!
Seen right outside our patio in Hoedspruit.
Tinged by Soames Family pic.twitter.com/fOCocdQSHs— Kruger Sightings (@LatestKruger) July 5, 2020
The scene was captured at night; the flashes viewers can see are from another infrared trail camera and invisible to critters that visit the watering hole.
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“It is pitch black out there at night and the animals do not see the flash at all,” Soames stated on Facebook, in response to viewers who wondered if the flashes might frighten the animals. (Some wondered if the flashes were caused by lightning.)
Overall, reaction to the video was appreciative.
“That is hilarious!” one viewer commented. “Just like regular kitties.”
“Oh my gosh, how high can a leopard jump?” another asked.
Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate is near Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves.
Soames, referred to by many as “South Africa’s Leopard Queen,” told For The Win Outdoors that the watering hole is on her property and that motion-sensor cameras are used monitor wildlife activity.
“This pond is in our garden,” she said. “We have leopards here at least twice a week.”
–Video and photos courtesy of Latest Sightings – Kruger and Gillian Leigh Soames