- The leopard, believed to be about 20 months old, was lying in wait between rocks in Kenya’s Maasai Mara
- He jumped out from his hiding place and threw himself at a topi but failed to land a blow and was shaken off
- The juvenile then tried to launch himself at a zebra but missed and had to avoid the larger animal’s hoof
These stunning pictures show a young leopard in Kenya learning a hard lesson as he tried and failed to pounce on a topi and a zebra.
The juvenile leopard was positioned lying perfectly still in the rocks of a waterhole used by potential prey, before launching out at a 150kg topi antelope three times its weight.
But after trying to sink his claws into the topi’s rump he was shaken aside by the larger animal, before pouncing on a small herd of zebra stallions, one of whom saw him off with a flying hoof kick.
The leopard’s failed attempts at hunting were captured by Paul Goldstein in Kenya’s Maasai Mara last month.
The wildlife photographer, from Wimbledon, said: ‘In January, around mid-morning the Maasai Mara is hot, not normally the time you would expect a leopard to be hunting.
‘This is a young male leopard of about 20 months and had no business even contemplating taking on such large adversaries.
‘This was a mismatch but intensely exciting. The leopard then slunk off to the bushes with its tail firmly between its legs and slept for the rest of the day. It took me and everyone else much longer to calm down.’
The young leopard was lying perfectly still in the rocks of a waterhole, eyeing up a much larger topi in front of him
The leopard launched an ambitious bid to attack the topi as he leaped out at the 150kg animal and tried to sink a claw in
After jumping out from his hiding place the leopard was still in mid-air as he managed to land a left paw on the topi
But the leopard could not get a grip and was left falling to the ground as the animal three times heavier shook him off
The topi was hardly troubled by the over-ambitious 20-month-old animal as the leopard failed to land a blow
The young leopard adopted a similar tactic when he saw a zebra, waiting patiently among some rocks for the right moment
The mismatch in size and strength can be seen clearly in this picture as the leopard makes a doomed attempt to attack
The leopard was seen trying to strike at the zebra’s rear, as he eyed up a small herd of zebra stallions
But the leopard missed and only just avoided the zebra’s flying hooves as the larger animal easily dismissed him
After being easily brushed off by the zebra the leopard apparently slunk off to the bushes and slept for the rest of the day