Leopard...or a Spotted Meerkat

A safari guide thought he was seeing things when he spotted a leopard acting like a meerkat.

The big cat in question had been carefully stalking a warthog when its prey disappeared into some particularly long grass.

In order to keeps its dinner in sight, every few minutes the leopard would balance expertly on its hind legs - doing an excellent meerkat impersonation - and peer over the grass.

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.

"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."