the antipodean: 2008

Monday, December 29, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

leopard savaging a crocodile caught on camera

(Unsure of the source for this story, but rivetting anyway, so here goes)

The most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores, the leopard is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest climber of the large cats and capable of killing prey larger than itself. It is also one of the most widespread species in Africa, capable of killing the most unusual prey to survive – herewith is the evidence!

The astonishing spectacle of a leopard savaging a crocodile has been captured for the first time on camera.

A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, an American wildlife photographer, who was supposed to be taking pictures of hippos from his car in the Kruger National Park.

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby.
A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back.

With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat.

Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it.
In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.

Mr Brindley said: 'I asked many rangers in South Africa if they had ever heard of anything like this and they all said no.

'It just doesn't make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire. The whole scene happened in the course of about 5 minutes. Then the leopard was gone.

'I drove away, elated in disbelief. It may have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen.'
Ellie Rose, a reptile keeper at London Zoo, said: 'Normally, crocodiles are well able to defend themselves against attack. I can't think of any examples of this happening before.'

camera spots rare clouded leopard

(Source: BBC) (click on title for link)

Automatic cameras have captured images of a clouded leopard in Borneo's Sebangua National Park, an area where the cats have not been recorded before.

Researchers say confirmation of the leopards' presence highlights the need to protect the region's habitat.

The park is one of the world's largest deep peat-swap forests, but is at risk from illegal logging and forest fires.

The images are helping a team of scientists identify what big cat species are found in the area.

The motion-activated remote cameras that captured the remarkable images were located on the northern edge of the Sebangau National Park, Indonesian Borneo.