With dangerous predators like leopards roaming the unforgiving terrain, these photos show that it’s no place to be caught sleeping.
This dozing boar was snoozing by the water at Kruger National Park when wide-eyed leopard sensed an opportunity for an easy meal. It quietly stalks its prey and seems unsure if the beast is sleeping or dead, so it tentatively pokes it with a paw, prompting it to awake from its slumber and desperately try to jump up from the ground. But the battle is already lost, and the leopard pins its prey to the ground after a short battle, then wraps its vice-like jaw around its neck.
Amateur photographer Lisl Moolman, 41, took the photos in Kruger National Park in South Africa, after spotting the scene through her binoculars. Moolman, from Phalaborwa, South Africa, said: ‘Some visitors indicated to me that the leopard was lying behind a mopani bush, on the other side of the dam. Through the binoculars I could see it looking intently in one direction.
‘The leopard approached the oblivious sleeping boar. Blissfully unaware, the warthog only realised his fate when the leopard gently touched him with his front paw. What a rude awakening. ‘The leopard almost seemed surprised at how easy this was. The whole process from touching it with its paw, until it died, lasted approximately ten minutes. The warthog feebly struggled from time to time, but stood no chance against this strong male leopard.’
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