Leopards are special creatures indeed. These speedy, slim cats can run at speeds up to 36 miles per hour and their numbers are declining. Some lucky tourists managed to catch a glimpse of a whole leopard family on a visit to a safari park.
Cubs need their mom’s help.
Leopards tend to be born in litters of two to four cubs. Because the cubs are born with their eyes closed, they need some parental help during their early weeks.
Our video starts with a look into the underbrush.
The video , shot in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, shows a view of a mother leopard with her two young cubs. One of the little cubs is meowing in this still.
She’s ever-cautious.
Because she’s with her cubs, running away isn’t an option. So when the mom ventures out of the bushes, she does so very slowly and very carefully. She scouts out the scene while her babies are safely concealed.
Time to cross.
The coast is clear. Cars on the road have stopped to allow the family to cross, and the first leopard cub comes bumbling out of the thicket of bushes.
Seriously?
After a strong start, both cubs return to the underbrush. The mom looks super irritated as she realizes she isn’t being followed. She’ll have to go back to help them along.
Finally.
It looks like we’re going to have an efficient road-crossing here. The little cubs scurry along the road as their mom leads the way. But one of the cubs has a change of heart.
Enough of this.
One cub just flops down on the road and starts screaming. Mom has had enough by this point and picks up her baby to speed up the process.
Mission accomplished.
It took awhile to get those adorably derpy cubs across the road, but the mom succeeded in the end. Be sure to check out the whole video below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Last Updated on April 24, 2020 by D
