Baboon have a lot of predators
such as lions, crocodile,
leopards, and cheetah.
They are considered
difficult prey for leopards,
which are mostly
a threat to young baboons.
In this video we can see a
leopard hunting baby baboon.
Leopard is a graceful animal
with an elongated body,
relatively short legs and a long
tail.
After the lion, it is the
next biggest African cat with
an average body mass of between
60kg and 70kg,
standing about two until thirds
of a metre tall at the shoulder.
Unlike the lion, the
leopard is a silent creature,
only occasionally
emitting a cough like call. A
leopard has the ideal physiology
for tree climbing.
They are lightweight
compared to a lion. They are
powerfully built in their
shoulders and forelimbs,
allowing them to pull themselves
up steep tree trunks.
They have a low
centre of gravity and
incredibly high power to weight
ratio.
They have protractile
claws allowing them to grip
bark.
Their mobile backbone
allows them to twist and turn
and balance themselves.
Their tails are
long, slender and sturdy for
keeping balance when climbing.
These adaptations make
the leopard the most successful
climber of all the predators in
the region.
The leopard's
hunting technique is to
either ambush its prey or to
stalk it. In either instance,
it tries to get as close as
possible to its target.
It then makes a brief
and explosive charge up to 60
kilometers per hour, pouncing
on its prey and dispatching it
with a bite to the neck.
Leopards are capable of
carrying animals heavier than
themselves, and often drag their
prey into the fork of a tree
several metres off the ground.
Eagles are birds of prey, which
means they hunt for their food.
Eagle diet is principally
mammals and birds, taken
both alive and as carrion.
In this video we
can see the eagle hunting
the baby leopard.
The eagle's eyesight
is especially remarkable.
With vision about five times
sharper than our own, an eagle
can spot a target as small
as a rabbit up to a mile away.
The talons, or claws on an
eagle's toes are curved and razor
sharp for catching and
holding their prey.
Rough bumps on the
eagle's toes also help them
hold slippery, wiggling fish.
A raptor's feet are important to
capturing food and also as a
method of protection.
They can pick up and carry four
or five pounds, maximum, and
actually fly off with it.