23 July 2008

Leopard v. Crocodile

A few weeks back my good pal Phil posted a bit of a noodler. Specifically, who would win in a fight between a 70lb young puma and . . . you? The context of Phil's post was a historical series of conversations between he and our colleague and friend, Clint. Besides being Phil's office mate, Clint also happened to be to the only member of the Wichita clan to work with me in Ireland. Clint and I had many conversations similar to the one Phil writes about.

The most troubling aspect of such conversations was their hypothetical nature. He and I would sit in the Netg Ireland lunch room and argue for hours (no joke) while drinking awful, awful instant coffee: baboon vs eagle; alligator vs. shark; baboon vs shark; baboon vs drunk baboon. You see the pattern. Nothing was ever resolved, and we would walk back to our desks with a blood/caffeine level so high it should be illegal.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a video that will shake things up even more than instant Irish. This video--a series of photographs, actually--depicts a leopard attacking a crocodile. Normally, the inverse happens: a young, Christian-minded leopard is strolling the edge of the watering hole and pondering how he can make a difference in the world when SNAP out of the murky depths jumps an evil croc, dragging the poor cat to his death.

Well, not this time.

2 comments:

Phil Sueper said...

Dang it, no real video. In any case, leopards ain't no joke. Uberquick and agile, sharp teeth and about 150 pounds of solid muscle. If they had sharper claws they'd be nearly unstoppable against about anything but even bigger cats.

Honestly, I don't know how alligators and crocodiles have survived for millions of years. Not that other animals are going to kick their ass, but they should die of starvation. I mean, if you're an animal, just don't go near thier heads. It's as simple as that. Get the F$% out of the way of the jaws and you're good.

Jamie said...

I think it's all down to the element of surprise. To leopards, hippos, and monkeys, crocs looks the same as the muck on the water. Animals will be sipping some drink when BAM! they're gator-aid. They're like river ninjas.