Watch: Leopard cub accidentally drops impala carcass on mom’s head
Leopards are usually a picture of composure, but even these elegant big cats have the occasional moment of awkwardness. For one leopardess in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Game Reserve, that moment came when her cub inadvertently dropped an impala carcass out of a tree … straight onto her head.
This is the moment a leopard cub dropped a dead impala on top of its mother from a tree.
Stunning footage, filmed in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park, shows the mother leopard dragging the freshly killed impala up the tree for the cub to feast on.
It then shows the carcass dangling from a branch before it plummets towards the spot where the mother is prowling. She leaps out of the way in shock.
Video footage filmed at South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park shows the moment an impala carcass is dropped from a tree onto an unsuspecting leopard
The video clip was filmed by Sabre Meeser at Sabi Sands on October 25 and shared by Latest Sightings.
It shows a leopard with an impala in its mouth returning to a tree, where her cub is waiting.
The leopard and her cub take the impala further up the tree and later in the clip the dead animal appears to be hanging from a branch.
The dead animal is seen falling from the tree after being knocked out by the cub and lands on the mother leopard below
The mother leopard was seen carrying the carcass in its mouth before carrying it up to her cub
The mother leopard carries the impala up into a tree while her cub waits behind her
The leopard cub is seen eating the animal while the mother prowls the ground directly below.
Then, all of a sudden, the dead animal is knocked loose from the branch and falls on the head of the mother leopard.
The video clip was shot on the same day another leopard cub was filmed running up a tree to safety to escape a hungry hyena.
Moosa Varachia, a 30-year-old part-time photographic guide, filmed the nail-biting chase at the same park on October 25.
The eleven-month-old leopard cub was spotted by a safari party hiding under a bush while its mother had gone hunting for food.
In the clip one of the group can be heard saying ‘there’s a leopard in the first bush in front’ as a pack of four hyenas appear and prowl around their vehicles.
The hyenas begin walking off down the road, before one turns to retrace its steps and catches the leopard cub’s scent.
Aware of what is about to happen, one of the people watching repeatedly says: ‘No, no, no.’
The lone hyena then starts walking quickly towards the bush where the leopard cub is hiding. As the young animal suddenly breaks cover it sets off in close pursuit.
Unable to reach full speed due to its age, the young cub is very nearly caught by the hyena but manages to reach safety by leaping at tree trunk and managing to climb out of reach.
The hyena is left at the bottom of the tree as the people watching cheer and clap the dramatic escape.