Predator’s Betrayal: Leopard Snatches Lion Cub from Its Mother in Ruaha—What Happens When the Furious Lioness Strikes Back?

All this lion cub wanted was a safe place to sit while its mother went hunting for food.

Instead it became another animal’s lunch when a hungry leopard snatched the three-week-old cub and climbed a tree to devour it.

A 160-pound leopard snatched a three-week-old lion cub that had been left alone by its mother and climbed a tree to devour it

A 160-pound leopard snatched a three-week-old lion cub that had been left alone by its mother and climbed a tree to devour it

The lion cub had been left alone by its lioness mother while she moved her other children to the safety of a nearby bush before she went hunting for food

The lion cub had been left alone by its lioness mother while she moved her other children to the safety of a nearby bush before she went hunting for food

The cub was helpless and unprotected and the perfect prey for a hungry leopard, who fancied the baby lion for dinner under the Tanzanian sun

The cub was helpless and unprotected and the perfect prey for a hungry leopard, who fancied the baby lion for dinner under the Tanzanian sun

The leopard snatched the cub in its jaws and sprinted away. It climbed up a tree before eating the young animal in the shade

The leopard snatched the cub in its jaws and sprinted away. It climbed up a tree before eating the young animal in the shade

The cub's mother looked shocked with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide when she realised what had happened to her baby

The cub’s mother looked shocked with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide when she realised what had happened to her baby

The lioness moved her other cubs into the safety of the nearby thicket to prevent another gruesome attack by the hungry leopard

The lioness moved her other cubs into the safety of the nearby thicket to prevent another gruesome attack by the hungry leopard