WATCH | ‘Unique’ sighting as leopard creeps up behind dehydrated baby wildebeest

WARNING: Video not for sensitive viewers

21 May 2021 - 14:00
By unathi nkanjeni AND Unathi Nkanjeni

A lost and dehydrated baby wildebeest did not stand a chance against a fierce leopard in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

In a video recently shared by Latest Sightings, the weak and lone baby can be seen standing alone after possibly losing its mother during migration chaos.

The leopard can be seen sneaking up behind the wildebeest and attacking it from the back. It managed to successfully bring down the baby and took the food back to its three-month-old cub.

The video was captured by 36-year-old tour guide Francis Kijazi.

“I spotted a leopard in a tree about 450 metres from the road. We followed it and were taking photographs for about 40 minutes. The weak and dehydrated baby wildebeest which possibly lost its mom during the migration chaos walked past the tree and then stopped moving to conserve energy,” he said.

Kijazi said in his 11 years of guiding, he has only seen five leopards. He said this encounter was a very rare sighting and it playing out in an open and visible area made it even more special.

“The leopard spotted the baby and climbed down the tree. The leopard crept up behind the baby and watched it for about five minutes. It was very confused with the presence and behaviour of the baby,” he said.

“The sighting made me excited, anxious and curious. It was sad because it wasn’t fair game, but I wanted to see the end of it with the leopard victorious.”