In a jaw-dropping moment straight out of a wildlife documentary, a leopard did the unthinkable – it snatched a lion cub right from its den!
This wild scene unfolded in the Ruaha National Park and was caught on camera by Scott Hyman, a Canadian lawyer with a knack for wildlife photography. You can catch his incredible shots on Instagram @scotthymanphoto. Armed with his trusty Fuji XT-3 camera and perched just 10-15 meters away, Hyman captured this rare encounter in astonishing detail.
Picture this: a robust 160-pound leopard, a true powerhouse of the animal kingdom, is spotted up a tree. But wait, it’s not alone. In its mouth is a three-week-old lion cub, clearly terrified and out of its element. The next image is even more chilling – the leopard with blood around its mouth after it had feasted on the cub’s head.
The sequence of events was both sudden and shocking. The leopard leaped into the dense brush and, in a heartbeat, emerged with the lion cub in its jaws. It sprinted down the road, the cub struggling in vain, and then swiftly climbed up a nearby tree.
What happened next is a stark reminder of nature’s raw and unforgiving side. The leopard bit into the cub’s skull, ending its short life. It then proceeded to devour the cub, starting from the head and working its way down the carcass. In a particularly grueling detail, the leopard dropped a tiny leg but continued its meal, bones and all.
This incident is a stark reminder that leopards are opportunistic feeders. They’ll eat a variety of animals, hunting on the ground or from the trees. As expert climbers, they usually spend their days resting in sheltered or shady spots. But as this event shows, the wild is unpredictable, and the rules of the jungle can be harsh and unforgiving.
