A video filmed in South Africa’s MalaMala Game Reserve of a leopard hunting catfish in a pool of murky water, unaware that an even larger creature was lurking nearby. Footage shows a female leopard cautiously navigating the soggy ground as she searches for sharp-toothed catfish, a species of freshwater fish found in many inland areas of South Africa. The mud suddenly begins to move and a large hippopotamus rises out of the mud. The scared cat runs away when the mud monster turns to look at her. Satisfied that the threat had been successfully repelled, the hippopotamus settled into his muddy bed.

The second part of the video shows the leopard returning to the muddy hunting grounds under the cover of darkness. He trudges through the thick mud and successfully pulls out a large, slippery catfish.

During the winter months, many waterholes in the MalaMala area start to dry up, leaving only shallow pools of mud. These shrinking dams are attractive to opportunistic predators looking to try their luck at fishing. Leopards have diverse diets and won’t turn their nose up at an easy meal, no matter how sludgy or fishy. When hunting, these big cats largely rely on their camouflage, but it seems this particular leopard was out-camouflaged in its first attempt at landing a meal.

Hippos, or hippos, are semi-aquatic mammals that spend the day submerged in puddles of mud or water and emerge at night to graze. These megamammals may appear slow and lethargic, but their unpredictable and aggressive nature has earned them a place as one of the world’s most dangerous animals in Africa. It seems this leopard lady knew what was best for her safety and gave the hippo his space, choosing to return in the night for a me.