Durban – An African leopard has gone to extreme heights to capture an eagle chick from the top of a tree at the Kruger National Park.
In a viral video, the leopard can be seen climbing to the uppermost part of a tree to capture an eagle chick and then making its way back down with the winged predator in its mouth.
Despite its size, the adult leopard kept its balance and composure to reach the tawny eagle chick in its nest at the Satara camp.
Wildlife enthusiast Ally Bradfield, who was on holiday with her husband in the Kruger, captured the kill on camera and shared her story.
“On our annual winter Kruger break, we were staying at Satara and took a morning drive down the S41. Just before the Gudzani Dam, we noticed a car had stopped and was looking at a tree about 70m off the road. Slowing down to see what was going on, we saw a large shape moving in the nest at the top of the tree!
“We also saw a bird of prey dive-bombing the nest, so we grabbed the binoculars and couldn’t believe what we were seeing. A leopard in the nest! Of course, I started recording the sighting. We were not sure what bird it was at the time – but after looking at the footage and asking around, discovered that it was a tawny eagle chick.
“They leave the nest around mid-end August,” Bradfield said.
She said the grass was too long to see what the leopard got up to next but assumed it was eating the fruits of its labour.
IOL