Antelope Narrowly Escapes Leopard Attack As It Battles Rival
A lucky antelope narrowly avoided death on the African savannah after it was attacked by a leopard while battling a rival male, and the big cat was left dazed and wounded as the larger animal made its escape.
As the Telegraph reports, the stunning interaction was filmed by safari guide Thomas Nkwazi, as he drove with four guests in the Okavango Delta area of Botswana. The group spotted a pair of male red lechwe antelopes engaged in a fight, unaware that a leopard was stalking them.
After the group had watched the antelopes duel for about 10 minutes, the leopard decided to make its move. Attempting to pick off a weakened target, it pounced upon one of the distracted animals.
The other antelope at first continued the fight, unaware that the leopard had attacked its rival. When the leopard’s intended victim turned away from the fight to evade the predator, its challenger noticed the cat, and made a quick exit from the area.
The leopard dragged the antelope to the ground, but the determined animal was able to fight its way free. A second assault by the leopard left it clinging precariously to the running antelope before the larger animal was able to shake the cat off.
“@DailyMirror: Watch antelope escape the clutches of a hungry leopard http://t.co/rOBKU4tAk4 pic.twitter.com/31B6RGuzmb“@KayBurley
— Jeremy Thompson (@JTSkyNews) December 4, 2014
“At one point the antelope was running with the leopard hanging under its throat before it dropped it down,” Nkwazi noted.
The antelope was able to escape the cat with only minor cuts, according to the Daily Mail, while the leopard was left limping, with a deeper wound to its pride.
“The lechwe was too big and strong, and after the battle the leopard was limping on its left front leg,” Nkwazi recalled.
“The antelope had some scratches and a bit of a cut on the shoulder, which I think was from a fight with another lechwe.”
Recently, another surprising interaction was filmed in Africa, as a male lion faced off against a crocodile. As the lion swam across a river, the crocodile stalked it, before pouncing upon the cat and dragging it underwater. The lion, seemingly alert to the crocodile’s impending attack, was able to quickly gain the upper hand and make its way across the river after escaping, as the Inquisitr previously reported.
Nkwazi was delighted to film the antelope’s narrow escape, relating that he could hardly wait to show the video to his colleagues. Noting how proud he was to have caught it on camera, he called the interaction between the leopard and the antelopes one of the best sightings of his 10 year career.
[Image: Thomas Nkwazi via the Daily Mail]
