A massive warthog was forced to fight for its life when a leopard caught it right outside its burrow.
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33-year-old Stephanie McClendon, sales manager for the Luxury Travel Company (Scott Dunn), captured this incredible battle for life. She shared her sightings and footage with LatestSightings.com.
“The day started with a sky full of thunderclouds; this led me to think that we wouldn’t be very lucky with sightings. However, despite the odds and the light rain, the drive started with some great sightings. So, with the cool weather around, we decided to look for some lions, as it was our best chance of seeing them on the move. The early morning drizzle made the perfect canvas for tracks, and in no time, our guide found the resident lion's tracks.”
“While tracking the lions, our guide Nic hit the brakes and came to a sudden stop. We all got super excited; we thought we had found the lions! But we were wrong; Nic reversed and, through his binoculars, showed us a leopard!”
“We immediately turned off the road and made our way towards the termite mound that we spotted the leopard on. Within just a few seconds of the leopard being in clear sight, there was a commotion, and it managed to catch a massive warthog by its throat! The leopard bit down as hard as it could, securing its deadly grip, but this was one of the biggest warthogs I had ever seen, and it refused to go down without a fight!”
“This all took place on the base of a huge termite mound, and you could clearly see the warthog had a burrow not even 2 meters from where it had been caught. During the chaos, the warthog somehow managed to keep a clear head, it knew that the best thing to do would be to get back home to its burrow. The leopard, on the other hand, was using all its power to keep the warthog from getting there.”
“The struggle was back and forth, and for a moment we thought that despite the warthog’s size, the hungry leopard would almost certainly tire it out at some point, but the strength of the warthog was incredible, and it amazingly managed to overpower the leopard all while being choked! It inched closer and closer to its burrow, pulling the leopard with it. Eventually, it managed to reach the entrance of its home, so close but not safe yet.”
“The leopard then spread its back legs and dug them into the sand, and with all its strength, it managed to slightly pull the warthog away. But this was too little too late for the leopard. The warthog was just too big and much too strong; It made a final tug and was able to get half its body into the hole.”
“The fight at this point was basically over, and the leopard knew that. It reluctantly let go, and the warthog scurried backward into the safety of its burrow. The defeated leopard paced up and down the termite mound until it just sat in disbelief at its loss.”
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