Leopard goes to extreme heights to catch tawny eagle

Posted by David Henning on 20 September 2022

A rather nimble leopard was sighted at the top of a tree in Kruger National Park in a tawny eagle’s nest, opportunistically taking hold of the unguarded bird.

Wildlife enthusiast, Ally Bradfield, was lucky enough to witness this sighting on the S41 near Satara, and share her sighting with Latest Sightings. 

‘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,’ she told Latest Sightings. ‘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,’ She continued. ‘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.’

The leopard descended the tree with its prize and quickly disappeared into the long grass to enjoy its meal. Watch Ally’s sighting below.

Picture: Screenshot

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