Nail-Biting Leopard Moments | Top 5 | BBC Earth

with the drought intensifying the night shift is particularly busy there should be plenty of opportunities for a young leopard leopards have superb night vision we do not we must rely on infrared cameras to experience the leopard's nighttime world water still remains the focus of activity after dark but now thirsty animals must beware of both crocs and leopards [Music] hunting takes practice [Music] at first he appears indecisive but stalking a jackal brings an unexpected bonus the warm night air carries the scent of a recently killed chittel stag [Music] the jackal must work quickly to make the most of this chance [Music] the leopard could chase him off the kill at any moment the jackal runs but it's not the youngster that spooked him the real owner of the carcass is returning a huge adult male [Music] it might be a good idea to move on leopards are the most versatile of all the big cats adept at finding cover in the most unpromising places [Music] the steep walls of the gully are now her cover for an ambush the male puku is close enough but he's too big to tackle [Music] she needs to slip past him without being seen if he spots her he'll blow her cover [Music] slowly does it to succeed here she needs to find prey grazing close to the edge or better still in the gully itself [Music] so frustration success would have staved off hunger for a week but while there's prey around there's hope peaking over the top is a risk but it's the quickest way to find a new target [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] a burst of speed of 65 kilometers an hour and it's all over in less than six seconds except it isn't [Music] dazed and disorientated the impala makes a miraculous escape [Music] the leopard is sat probably 15 or 20 meters away from us and although she's so close her sandy spotted coloration just disappears in amongst these grasses and it's just sat up she's moving just moving forward slightly so we can see her and it started raining there look at that oh my goodness that is so beautiful it's our first clear look at the leopard and we can see the warthog's blood on its fur [Applause] there's a den there at the base of that termite mound and she's going in she's going in no just can't seem to make up her mind it just shows how difficult life is for a predator here everything that they might want to eat has tusks horns hooves just imagine what it would be like if every single time you wanted to have a meal you had to put your life at risk that's effectively what's happening for this leopard here if that warthog's still alive it's still a mortal danger to her and yet it's just another day in the life of one of africa's top predators this standoff could go on for hours even days the light and our time is running out and kit is beginning to die but our leopard isn't done yet right down here and looking straight at me and coming out into the open i do not believe this this is africa's most elusive most secretive cat just wandering around trying to figure out what her next move is going to be i have never seen anything like this in my life if she gets any closer guys don't move a muscle knowing that she's perfectly capable of springing into the back of our truck in an instant certainly heightens the nerves she's closer than any of us had ever dared hope [Music] [Music] an amur leopard the rarest cat on earth winter is a difficult time for this hunter there are no leaves for cover and no young prey animals this female has the added pressure of having to provide for her one-year-old cub it will be another 12 months before he'll be able to fend for himself [Music] the bickering vultures have abandoned the carcass it's a valuable discovery for the leopards [Music] but the cub doesn't share its mother's sense of urgency [Music] the vultures have left behind plenty of good meat but it's stiff with frost the mother works to open the hide and make feeding a little easier for her cub [Music] there are only 40 ammo leopards left in the wild and that number is still falling the harshness of the winter here hinders their increase in numbers it takes one of these females longer to raise her young to independence than it does a leopard in africa [Music] if the mother can sustain her cub for a few more weeks spring will bring an increase in prey and her task will lighten marco gather for their annual rut males must fight for the right to breed but on these sheer cliffs any slip by either animal could be fatal a snow leopard the rarest of himalayan animals it's a female returning to her lair these are the first intimate images of snow leopard ever filmed in the wild [Music] she greets her one-year-old cub her den is well chosen it has exceptional views of the surrounding cliffs on these treacherous slopes no hunter other than the snow leopard would have a chance of catching such agile prey [Music] a female with young makes an easier [Music] [Music] target her large paws give an excellent grip and that long tail helps her balance [Music] silently she positions herself above her prey [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] okay [Music] you

Channel: BBC Earth

Views: 696,108

Keywords: bbc documentary, bbc, bbcearth, bbc earth, leopard, big cat, top 5, top 5 leopard moments, leopard moments, leopard hunt, leopard attack

Id: 6hCR8g-bmgs

Length: 16min 6sec (966 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021