These images show the stunning meeting of a leopard and a python – but one hungry cat wasn’t going to let the prey slither out of its sight
Two of the wild’s most fearsome predators were caught in battle when a hungry leopard tackled a tricky python.
The huge snake was wedged in the branches of a tree, and the big cat reared up on its back legs for the tug of war.
Eying Prize: The leopard knows what it wants and catches its prey in its sights ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
But it was an easy catch, as it turned out – the python was already dead, and put up no fight at all in Kruger National Park in South Africa.
The African rock python had been stashed in the tree by a honey badger, but its planned lunch was stolen by the thieving leopard.
Tree-mendous effort: The leopard sees it through until the end ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
Photographic tour operator Joshua Mcphail took the photos on a trip to the park in June.
He said: “He was staring up at the tree as we approached and then he jumped up onto his hind legs and grabbed something that looked the size of a big branch and started pulling.”
Helping hand: The Leopard rests its paw on the tree to steady its balance ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
“It was a massive African rock python,” he continued.
“He pulled with all his strength, sometimes lifting totally off the ground and kicking up a lot of dust to no success.
Tug o’ war: The big cat keeps on pulling the reptile to bring it down ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
“He would then sit and look rather dejected and take a few bites out of the snake,” Joshua continued.
“The snake was wedged very well in the tree, which made us think how it got there.”
Pulled snake: The leopard has its work cut out to deal with the beast ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
“We asked another guide who was already at the sighting and he told us the detail of an incredible story,” he continued.
“It had been killed by a honey badger and then stashed in the tree by the badger who was not around at the moment.”
Closer still: The leopard manages to get under its skin eventually ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
“An incredible sized-snake for a honey badger, but for those who know, they are a forced to be reckoned with,” he added.
Joshua, 24, from Johannesburg in South Africa, took the photos in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in the park.
Fresh Meat: After some serious effort the leopard leaves with the prize ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
The media manager leads photographic tours in that area of the park a few times a year.
“He had realised plan A was not working,” he continued.
Snack time: Persistence pays off for the leopard who walks away with the prize ( Image: Greatstock / Barcroft)
“He seemed to sit there and calculate his next approach,” he said.
source: mirror.co.uk
