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A full-out brawl broke loose in the middle of the road when a leopard thought he would make a quick meal of a baboon. The leopard came charging towards the family at full speed, but the male baboons weren’t having any of it.

38-year-old Merve Mersinligil, a pianist and pedagogue (piano professor), was on her very first Kruger National Park safari with her husband, 44-year-old Lawyer Viktor Szontagh, when she captured this all on camera. She tinged her sighting and shared her story with LatestSightings.com.

Merve and her hubby had just arrived at Kruger a couple of hours prior, excited for their honeymoon stay at Satara Camp. They were driving from Paul Kruger Gate to Tshokwane when BAM! Out of the blue, they spotted a leopard walking right next to the road. He looked very relaxed and not in any particular hurry.

Then suddenly the leopard disappeared into the grass, and the moment was over . Or so they thought. A troop of baboons decided to cross the road, creating a traffic jam of their own. Now, you know baboons are cheeky and full of energy, so you can imagine the chaos and noise they created.

I said to my hubby jokingly “Maybe we should give the baboons a heads-up about the leopard that we just saw”. “I had a good laugh, especially since this was my first time in the African wilderness.”

“But guess what? That’s exactly what happened. The leopard burst onto the scene, probably thinking it was going to get an easy meal. But this leopard was about to learn a lesson in party-crashing. The female baboons, protective, ran back to guard their young while the male baboons went full-on attack mode. The charge was led by what looked like the dominant male. He jumped the leopard almost like a rugby tackle, biting, hitting, and shouting like there was no tomorrow.”

The leopard miraculously managed to escape the baboon attack, with some of the big males hot on its tail. These baboons weren’t playing games! They even stood guard after the dust settled, making sure Mr. Leopard got the memo: “You ain’t welcome here, buddy.

The natural world is full of fascinating rivalries, each a testament to the brutal dance of survival. Often, these clashes pit different species with unique strengths and weaknesses against one another. Today, we delve into a potential showdown between two iconic figures of wetland ecosystems: the crab and the snapping turtle. But when these two collide, who emerges victorious?

Meet the Contestants:

The Crab: A diverse group of crustaceans boasting powerful claws (chelipeds), a hard exoskeleton, and the ability to scuttle sideways with surprising speed. Depending on the specific species, crabs can range from diminutive intertidal dwellers to larger predators capable of delivering a painful pinch. Their claws are designed for defense, foraging, and breaking down tough shells.

The Snapping Turtle: A prehistoric-looking reptile renowned for its powerful bite, long neck, and camouflaged shell. These inhabitants of freshwater environments are ambush predators, patiently waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander within striking distance. With their formidable jaws and aggressive temperament, snapping turtles are not to be trifled with.

This Lion knew what he was doing… He was staying off the brush and tall grass to be silent to prey around him. Plus the noise from the cars muted any other sounds he could make…. This Lion has done this before. Smart Cat.

The African savanna is a land of constant drama, and sometimes, that drama spills right onto the road. A recent encounter between a male lion and a kudu, caught on camera by lucky tourists, perfectly illustrates the raw power and unpredictable nature of life in the bush.

The scene unfolded as a majestic male lion, seemingly in his prime, stood blocking a dirt road. His muscular frame, crowned with a thick mane, radiated dominance. Facing him was a magnificent kudu, its spiraled horns adding to its imposing stature. The air crackled with tension.

It’s unclear what initially triggered the confrontation. Was the lion hunting and the kudu caught off guard? Or was this a territory dispute, with the kudu unknowingly venturing into the lion’s domain? Whatever the reason, the two powerful animals were locked in a tense standoff.

The video footage showed the lion, with a low growl rumbling in his chest, circling the kudu. The kudu, in turn, stood its ground, its large eyes focused on the predator. Every so often, it would lower its head, displaying the formidable threat posed by its impressive horns.

The standoff continued for several minutes, a mesmerizing display of power and instinct. The tourists, safely ensconced in their vehicle, watched with bated breath, a stark reminder of the wild realities that exist beyond the comfort of civilization.

Eventually, the tension broke. In some accounts, the kudu, perhaps sensing an opportunity, made a sudden break and charged past the lion, disappearing into the dense bush. Others suggest the lion, perhaps weighing its options and judging the kudu too risky a target, ultimately decided to let it go, turning and sauntering off into the tall grass.

The scary moment a male lion attacks a car just after mating with a lioness!

“It had been a strange drive. I came up the H4-1 early in the morning, which is usually the best road for predator sightings at this time of the year, but on this occurrence, the only good sighting was of a herd of elephants crossing the road.

I had already planned to go back down to Lower Sabie along the H1-2 and then H12, so when I was stopped by a car to tell me to take the H12 turnoff because of some lions, I was glad that I would finally see something interesting. When I arrived, there was a lion and lioness lying in the road, and another male lying behind an anthill a bit removed from the road. Because the lions were on the road, the cars were a bit of a mess. I patiently waited my turn to get front-row parking.

People were slowly moving off and more arriving, as is usual with a lion sighting. Eventually, I got close to the front. By this time, the big lion had made a few advances on the female, nuzzling her and trying to get her consent, but every time, he was rebuffed with a fierce growl from her. After the umpteenth attempt, all of a sudden, he walked away from her and started staring at the occupants of the closest car. I guess that he either decided to see if he could impress his lady with some bravado, or else he needed something to take his frustrations out of. At this point, I quickly started filming, as it looked as if something was about to happen.

Luckily I started the camera rolling, as, quick as a flash, he had attacked the car and turned back to the female, as if to say, “Look how brave I am.” There was nothing that the occupants of the vehicle had done wrong, and luckily they had their windows up, as it could have otherwise ended in disaster. They just happened to be the closest vehicle to the lion when he lost his mind. The shaken tourists in the vehicle drove off shaken but unharmed. When looking at the reaction of the driver in the video, it did not even seem as if he was that afraid. But on speaking to them afterward, I think that they were fairly traumatised.

A quarter of an hour went past, and the crazy act of the lion was forgotten, new people arrived and everything seemed to be back to normality. Just another mating lion sighting in KNP. The female moved to the shade thrown by a safari vehicle that had parked to view the lions, and everyone was taking photos, videoing, etc, as one does at a lion sighting. But then, once again, the lion decided to see if the female was interested, and again he was rebuffed. This time, the closest vehicle was an open top safari vehicle.

Thankfully the game guide driving this vehicle had lightning reflexes. As soon as the lion locked eyes with him, he started the vehicle and was already moving when the lion attacked. He did almost drive into another vehicle in his haste to get his guests out of harm’s way, but a miss is as good as a mile. Unfortunately, I didn’t get this second attack on video. But suffice to say, the quick reflexes of the game guide prevented disaster. All of the occupants of this second vehicle were ashen-faced after this close encounter.

Timing is everything when visiting Kruger… 72-year-old pensioner, Mervyn Van Wyk and his wife Tokkie, understand just how lucky they were to be in the right place at the right time!

As we approached the dam we noted that blue wildebeest, zebras and impalas were happily grazing on the opposite side of the dam. I turned the car into position so that my wife had a clear view as she wanted to take a few pictures.

We happened to notice that one unlucky wildebeest was grabbed by a crocodile on his right rear hoof. This began a game of tug of war that lasted for around 8 minutes. The wildebeest would try dragging itself out of the water whilst the croc would pull it back in. You could see the exhaustion that the poor wildebeest was experiencing. Tokkie kept the cam rolling while I observed the area in the close vicinity. I then noted what I thought were more crocodiles approaching but then saw it was actually 2 hippos.

The hippos approached the scene cautiously and then suddenly sprang onto the croc forcing him to release his grip on the wildebeest. This amazingly allowed the wildebeest a chance to escape even though he had a broken hoof.

We could not believe the rarity of this situation. I have never seen a hippo coming to the aid of another animal, it was simply astonishing. Remember in Kruger, never rush away and always be patient because these amazing sightings are everywhere to be seen”.

While this might seem that the hippos were rescuing the wildebeest, it is most probably hippos showing territorial behaviour. Hippos don’t like sharing their turf and might have seen the wildebeest as an intruder, thus attacking the wildebeest to get him out the water.

Benji Solms, guide at Serondella Game Lodge, captured the great escape on camera and shared it with LatestSightings.com.

“One of the resident female leopards in the area had made a kill on the banks of a dry riverbed. Her cub had joined her during the night and was now in the same river bed as the kill. We had been watching them for some time, and the little cub seemed playful as it ran up and down the river sand.”

“It all changed in a heartbeat when a few goslings appeared at one end of the river bed. They were walking straight to the leopard and her cub, and they had no idea! The cub noticed the movement, but luckily for the little goslings, they went into thicker bush. One gosling then decided to come out into the open, and that’s when the leopard went for it.”

“The gosling was able to use our vehicle as some cover and went under the vehicle. However, as soon as it came out from under the leopard, it caught it and ran off with it. The smart little bird played dead, and that’s when the leopard let it go. But as soon as it ran off again, the leopard pounced and once again caught it!”

“The leopard then took its prize up into a nearby tree, and we all thought it was the end for the little bird. Playing dead still, the gosling found itself up a tree and helpless. But luck truly was on this little one’s side, and he fell out of the tree. The gosling still playing dead, lying on the ground, hoping it will put the leopard off.”

“To everyone’s surprise, the leopard remained in the tree, closely watching the gosling. Seizing the moment, the gosling took a chance and ran towards the thick bushes where its siblings were hiding. Disappearing into the dense bush, the gosling successfully escaped the leopard, leaving the predator unable to locate it again.”

Pieter tells LatestSightings.com the story: “We’d found a pack of 12 wild dogs, 4 adults and 8 pups. We sat with them for an hour as they playfully interacted with each other. Soon, all four adults left to go hunting.

We’d only been following them hunting for a few minutes before they spotted a scrub hare and chased it for almost 500m into an aardvark den.

“It was exhilarating and tense… and serious – a life hung in the balance. There were also some brief comical moments, as one of the dogs would approach the one digging, ending up with a face full of dust.

“The sighting ended well for the dogs, not so well for the scrub hare.”

“Spending time with one of the world’s most endangered predators is always special. Watching them interact in the wild… only a meter or two from us – that’s priceless. But wild dogs have large packs, so seeing them hunt is quite a common occurrence, but no two kills are the same.”

“In my opinion, seeing a kill is not something to enjoy or to shy away from. It’s nature at its most raw.”

In this remarkable sighting, we see a young, unfortunate impala really have all the odds stacked against it. This impala got caught by a crocodile, and showed immense strength and determination to defeat the croc, but, seconds later, it then faces a much more difficult opponent – a hungry Leopard.

Angela and Craig tell LatestSightings.com the story: “We were watching a herd of impala drinking at a large muddy pond that had formed next to the road after recent heavy rains near Biyamiti Weir.
We had stopped to take a closer look at one impala that had a broken leg. Suddenly a 4-foot crocodile shot out of the water and grabbed a young impala, dragging it into the muddy water and submerging it.”

“A struggle ensued for about 2 minutes, but the impala was able to break free and jump out of the water. The impala herd had been alarm calling really loudly during the impala-crocodile struggle, which is basically a call for food for any predator in the area, as something most likely has just been caught. This time, a nearby Leopard heard the alarm calls and came to see if it meant a free meal for it.
The Leopard spots the impala in the water and doesn’t have to wait long. As the unlucky impala escaped the croc, it was ambushed and caught by the leopard.”

“We were shocked by the unexpected impala takedown and really surprised that a crocodile was lurking in such a small mud pool. When the impala eventually escaped the croc, we were relieved but seconds later totally surprised by the leopard’s stealth ambush. It was an unforgettable sighting and a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for us.”

“After all the commotion, the leopard proceeded to consume the impala in the shade of a nearby fallen tree. We were able to watch this sighting with our 2 boys, 8 and 11, and their grandpa”

In this video it is incredible to see how a pride of lion attempt to take down a fully grown hippopotamus. Watch how the hippo turns to take its frustration out on a nearby vehicle.

25 year old, Dean Grant, works in the construction industry as a Finance and Operations Manager but during his off-time, he decided to head off to the Kruger National Park with his family.
“Having visited game parks on many family holidays growing up, we had never seen anything like this. We told many rangers about our experience none of which had ever heard of such a thing and said if they had been asked “would lion ever attack a hippo?”, they would have said no.

We saw the attack quite early in the morning. We had driven into the park from Mjejane as soon as the gates were open. We decided to go west along the river to start our drive. All our eyes were peeled, we were feeling fresh and excited searching the bush in anticipation, not knowing what our first big spot of the day would be. We were really hoping to see some cats as we had yet to tick those off our lists. We hardly expected to see a pride of 8 females and some teenage cubs in full attack mode right in front of us.
The initial sighting of the lions, full of energy, sparked excitement. This was followed by a feeling of sorrow for the poor old hippo who didn’t stand much chance against the lion pride.

Horror, when the thought of how much pain and stress the hippo was in and to see the hippo’s eyes realise imminent death.

However, as this is an event of life taking its course, I felt a sense of respect for the lion pride’s hard work and determination to make their next big kill to feed the pride. A feeling of uncertainty also made an appearance as the hippo made a move towards the river, “Was the hippo maybe going to make a great escape and get itself down to the river?”. It was a moment for which I will always feel privileged to have witnessed this scene unwind.

The sighting ended when the hippo made its way down into a ditch off the road just out of sight. The lions where now taking turns at attacking the hippo and getting through its tough skin while the others lay up the hill in the shade panting and taking small naps.

Knowing that the hippo’s chances were now over they were no longer in a rush. We watched the exhausted lions for a while before driving off feeling very privileged. We returned later that afternoon to find the lions passed out and very full from their well-deserved meal.”

39-Year-old Director Jennifer Coleman and 32-year-old Programme Manager at the School of Law, Liechen Tonkin were both on two different safari vehicles when a pride of lions starting trying to catch a buffalo. The lions chased it right into the safari vehicle that Jennifer and her partner were in!

“Upon getting closer, a few vehicles passed us and told us that they saw lions, buffalo and elephant in the direction we were driving. Those tourists missed the hunt within a minute!”
“We saw 2 buffalo in the distance but stopped to look at a lioness and her 3 cubs. In another direction, we saw another lioness and then a lion running. Kyle turned the vehicle around and we followed the lions to see what he was running after. In a matter of seconds, it all unfolded right next to the game vehicle. We saw the buffalo charging the lion, then the buffalo running and the lions’ in pursuit.”

“My partner and I were very calm – we sat – smiling at each other (it has always been a dream of his to see the buffalo and a joint dream to see a hunt). I was not the one gasping in the video – that would be the person sitting behind me. We were routing for the buffalo but were shocked when the buffalo ran into the vehicle in front of us. My first thought when that happened was, that I hope my camera recorded it! Because the ranger of the vehicle might need it (my labor law brain).”

While Jennifer added: “It was a very calm drive with not much happening – we then stopped to look at some lion cubs with their mom in the far distances on the one side of the road. On the other side were two male buffalo on their own. All of a sudden, in the further distance, a male lion started chasing a male buffalo that ended up crossing the road in front of us, and we excitedly watched the chase unfold!”

“The two lionesses that were with the cubs joined in on the pursuit of the buffalo. The buffalo was very disoriented from being spun around and ended up crashing into the game viewing vehicle with a loud thud. This gave the male lion a big fright and some time for the buffalo to get away and run off in the opposite direction.”

Both the filmers of this sighting said that they were extremely happy that the buffalo got away, and equally surprised when it ran into the vehicle!