Leopard Versus Piñata For Early Cinco De Mayo Party [Video]

A leopard takes down a piñata in a new video from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida. Although I always think of foraging toys as a parrot concept, Reno the leopard took one look at the papier maché macaw and knew right away what he needed to do.

The playful but powerful leopard wasted no time in stalking, leaping, and dragging down the toy so that he could get at the tasty goodies inside.

The beautiful and intelligent Reno was born in 1995 and has been at Big Cat Rescue since 2002. Trained as a circus animal, he wasn’t adapted to live in the wild when his act was cancelled.

However, the good-looking leopard has an active retirement at the rescue, where he has been featured often on TV programs like CNN’s Anderson Cooper Report and Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet to help educate people about big cats.

I believe that pet owners will have a special appreciation for the entertaining video below. Reno is clearly an active cat, but not all animals are equally willing to exercise. Trust me. I’m owned by a Yellow-fronted Amazon myself — a species that firmly believes that exercise is a spectator sport.

Some animals just don’t see the point in a foraging toy, when they’ve got a human staff on hand to buy the groceries for them.

So I can identify with what the Big Cat Rescue workers were thinking when a pair of tigers reacted to their Cinco de Mayo party piñata by putting a paw over their eyes to pretend it wasn’t there. For that species — or at least that lazy couple — the best celebration is a good nap.

Actually, I think one of the tigers would have gone for it on its own. But the big cat fell victim to peer pressure, when its companion clearly expressed its displeasure in the offering.

I never would have thought of a piñata as a foraging toy for a leopard. Would you?

[leopard photo by Elaine Radford]