Two of Africa's big cats have a hissing and spitting face off.
One of the things we love about Africa is simply the diversity of different species living there. There are tons of big cat species living and hunting on the plains and forests of Africa on any given day. While most people immediately think of lions and leopards, don't forget about the speediest land mammal on earth, the cheetah.
Even though the cheetah has speed on its side, it's not necessarily the most ferocious of the felines in the Dark Continent. We think that title may now go to the serval. At least that's the impression we got from this video.
If you've never heard of it, the serval is a wild cat that's much smaller than many of its cousins. What it lacks in size, it may make up for in fight when it is corner. That's the case here as a cheetah has spotted this serval in the road and decides to investigate. The serval decides to stand its ground against the much larger cat, with surprising results.
This serval showed a lot of fight for a smaller African predator that normally feeds on mice and rats. This footage was shot at South Africa's Pilanesberg Game Reserve. The people who shot the footage said their tour group originally sopped because of the wildebeest when they noticed the big cats milling about the area.
It is worth noting that the serval sometimes falls victim to hyenas, however, in the case of this encounter, we think the cheetah weighed her options and attacking the serval probably came with more downsides than benefits. There is no doubt the serval would have put up a fight and the wildebeest in the area were likely a safer bet for dinner.
In any case, it was fascinating to watch two of Africa's famous big cat species interact. It's an encounter that isn't often seen in nature.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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