Warthog family helpless as wily leopard pounces
A family of warthogs found themselves in a world of danger when a leopard that had been lying in wait finally revealed itself.
There are few things as captivating as watching a leopard in action out in the wild. Its predator instincts at lightning speed make for spectacular combination, as field guide Chad Cocking well knows.
Chad currently works at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and spends much of his time perfecting his wildlife photography skills. It was during such a mission that he captured the following visual of a confrontation between a leopard and a family of warthogs.
Chad described how the leopard had been spotted resting on a termite mound, using it as a vantage point from which to spy on a nearby warthog burrow.
As soon as the mother warthog emerged from the water the leopard jumped out and grabbed one of the piglets that was trailing behind. There is barely enough time for the young warthog to cry out for help. The leopard skulks off with the prize clenched in its jaw.
The incredible moment was tinged with sorrow, but Chad accepts it all as the perfect order of nature: "Scenes like that are not always easy to witness, and not everyone can bear to watch the rawness of nature unfold at such close proximity. My guests and I, however, were all in awe of what we had just seen."