Leopard attempts to catch annoying flies with his snapping teeth

Leopards are normally dangerous and deadly predators, making this male leopard’s hopeless attempts to catch a few annoying flies just adorable to watch. Going on a safari in Africa gives people the unique opportunity to see the continent’s most fascinating creatures living and behaving in their natural environment. The most wanted animals to see while on safari is known as the big five animals and consists of elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard and lion. The one animal that is by far the most difficult to find is the leopard, a big cat closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. The leopard is the most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores and finding one while on safari is a memorable experience. During a recent self-drive safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, I was lucky enough to find a male leopard lying on an old wall from a time gone by. It was late afternoon and the beautiful golden light added the perfect opportunity for taking pictures and video. Besides its formidable abilities as a predator, the leopard is admired by humans for its mesmerizing and beautiful appearance. Animal prints such as that of the leopard has fascinated humans for centuries. Leopards have intricate patterning all over their bodies. This pattern is unique to each animal. Majority of the leopard’s body is covered by black spots that are arranged together to form rosettes. The back and flanks of the body are a golden colour and the underside almost pure white. In combination, these disruptive markings and colours provide the leopard with highly effective camouflage. The patterning breaks up the shape of the body and allows the leopard to almost melt invisibly into any habitat. This is critical to facilitate hunting and to remain elusive from its own enemies. An interesting fact is that black leopards or black panthers are in fact simple genetic variations of the normal spotted leopard. The black colouring is known as melanistic form as it is caused by an excess of black pigment called melanin. I was in awe by this stunningly beautiful big cat lying in the golden afternoon sun. The male leopard looked totally relaxed for a while before I suddenly noticed something grabbing his attention. I could not make out what it was and saw the leopard slowly wiggling his tail, looking totally amused by it. The next moment the male leopard lifted his head, snapping with his mouth in the air. The leopard’s large razor-sharp canines were snapping repeatedly in the air. This looked so adorable and I realised the male leopard became annoyed with tiny flies buzzing around his head. It was so funny and cute at the same time to see such a formidable hunter attempting to catch something so small that we and maybe the leopard himself couldn’t even see. This comical behaviour by the leopard is not something one usually see and I was totally pleased to have seen a leopard behaving in such an entertaining manner, right in its own natural environment. When the leopard means business and goes out to do serious hunting, its technique is to either ambush its prey or to stalk it. Leopards rely on the element of surprise and their powerful bodies to capture prey, which is grappled with the fore-claws and then bitten on the back of the head or around the throat. When these killing machines are out hunting, it is hard to believe that there is also a cute and comical side to these wonderful creatures.