The antelope carcass eventually fell into the hands of an elderly leopard with more strength and hunting experience than his rivals.
A female leopard kills a bent-horned nyala in the Sabi Sand reserve in South Africa. It and its cub prepare to tear their prey, but are quickly disturbed by two uninvited guests.
About 100 meters away, a young male leopard was killed by his larger companion. Spotting an imminent meal nearby, the male leopard ran over and chased away the leopard cub. But before it could carry the antelope carcass up the tree to enjoy it alone, a hyena swooped in.
During the struggle, the hyena and the young male leopard tried to devour the antelope meat. The male leopard tried many times to release the carcass, but the hyena held it tightly, using all its strength to cling, even standing up on the antelope carcass to assert ownership. The hyena is busy biting, swallowing large chunks of meat while chewing on bones to eat as much and as quickly as possible. Male leopards are also trying to keep up with the hyenas’ impressive feeding rates. It eats so hard that it almost touches the enemy’s nose.
Safari guide Tristan Dicks monitors behavior from the car. “I can bet this is not normal at all,” Dicks said.
It’s a shocking compromise between the two top predators, but they “gain more by sharing their prey rather than fighting for a monopoly,” according to Guy Balme, director of the press program. of the global feral cat conservation organization Panthera. “It’s a young leopard. It doesn’t have the confidence that an adult leopard has to ward off predators,” Balme said.
Fighting is not a wise choice with leopards. “The young leopard doesn’t want to get hurt because of the hyena. If it gets hurt, no one can take care of it,” Balme said. The hyena also gets a free meal due to the less experienced leopard. It just needs to endure the presence of leopards.
This unpleasant arrangement lasted only a short time. The large male leopard was not in a hurry to compete for the share because he was still busy eating his prey. But this time, it sneaked through the tall grass to get the carcass of the nyala, chasing the hyenas and young leopards away. Releasing the carcass easily, the large male leopard clambered up to the nearest tree trunk and marked his territory from the branch. The hyena, the young male and the female leopard were forced to accept below, taking turns eating the leftover meat that had been scattered on the ground.
The encounter between four leopards and a hyena is extremely rare and very interesting, according to Balme. The most shocking thing about the encounter was that the hyena changed its behavior when confronted with different cheetahs. “He was completely undeterred by the young female, cub and male leopard, but knew that the large male leopard was not an easy opponent to touch.”