On a recent safari in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in Sᴏᴜᴛʜ Aғʀɪᴄᴀ, field guide Sahara Wulfsohn took this incredible film. When Wulfsohn heard from a fellow ranger that a leopard had been spotted ᴄʟᴏsᴇ to Kirkman’s Kamp, he eagerly pointed his car in that way so that his guests could witness Africa’s most elusive big animal. When he arrived, a leopard was seen quietly prowling through a tamboti bush.

She said that at first she didn’t notice that a little honey badger was nearby and that the leopard was only around 10 meters away from them. When she realized what was going to happen, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The cat crept up on the badger until it was almost touching it, moving with the kind of deliberate care that only leopards are capable of. The young badger attempted to struggle, but it was no match for the much larger predator, which had its prey pinned to the ground and was ready to ᴋɪʟʟ it. Mom, however, rushed to the rescue before it had the chance. She noisily flung herself at the large cat, sending it scrambling for cover with typical badger bravado.

The mother was seen bringing her adolescent kit into a nearby burrow after her brave rescue attempt was successful. Wulfsohn asserted that despite the newborn badger’s likely ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇd front right leg, it will almost certainly survive due to its mother’s strength and care.