Aidan Tinney, Leopard and Warthogs (ANIMAL & NATURE 2024)

“We had just arrived on the scene when we found that Faulu, a leopard we had been following, was beginning to hunt a family of warthogs. There were three piglets in the family of six warthogs, and Faulu separated them. After initially attempting to run away, the mother warthog’s maternal instincts took over, and she swivelled around to defend her piglet as Faulu was gaining ground on it. Faulu caught the piglet and was in the process of attempting to kill it when the brave mother warthog attacked the right side of Faulu’s pelvis with her tusks. The leopard was caught off guard by the attack as she hadn’t seen the mother and jumped into the air with the wounded piglet flying out of her mouth. As the piglet landed, it scampered under its mother’s body, petrified of Faulu’s oncoming pursuit. The attempt was swiftly abandoned as the furious mother warthog chased the leopard away down the hill, with the other warthogs looking on gleefully. Everybody at the scene was astonished by what we had just witnessed, and even our Maasai guide, John, was quietly muttering, ‘Wow…wow…wow.’ It was an unforgettable magical moment in the Maasai Mara.”

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