Spotted, the leopard who thinks he's a meerkat

A safari guide thought he was seeing things when he caught a glimpse of this extremely rare sight.
A big cat had been stalking a warthog and when his prey disappeared into some particularly long grass he was forced to stretch himself to his full height like a meerkat on watch.
Every few minutes the leopard would balance expertly on his hind legs to keep track of his tasty prey.

 The bizarre spectacle was caught on camera by 27-year-old Letsogile Kamogelo at Savuti Camp in the Linyanti Game Reserve, Botswana.

 Mr Kamogelo, who works as a safari guide, said he had never heard of a leopard behaving in such a way.

He explained: 'This leopard had spotted a warthog from a distance and stalked it for almost an hour.
'He kept a reasonable distance from his prey but he lost sight of the warthog when it went in to tall grass.
'That's when he stood on his hind legs to try and catch sight of it.
'He lifted himself up for at least 45 seconds to a minute at a time. I don't think he was comfortable holding the position for any longer.
'He was very careful whenever he stood up because he didn't want to fall on his back.
'This is a very unusual behaviour and I have never heard or read about it before.
'There is a lot of animal behaviour that has not been recorded and it is mostly influenced by the type of terrain.
'The animal has to respond to the changes within its environment and it may display unusual behaviour like this.
'I've had a great response to the picture. It surprises a lot of people - including those who have been guiding for many years.'  



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