Leopard vs. Porcupine Showdown Does Not End Well For One Of Them

Curiosity quilled the cat.

A young leopard hunting a porcupine in South Africa tried to play it cool, but got too aggressive and paid the price. (Watch the video below.)

In video shot by Jaco De Swardt and posted recently by the wildlife site Latest Sightings, the leopard casually grooms itself as the porcupine watches nearby on the road in Kruger National Park. The tension escalates and the leopard eventually abandons nonchalance and aggressively paws at the critter.

The porcupine hisses and jabs a needle right through the leopard’s paw, leaving the cat licking its wound while the prickly critter saunters off.

Porcupines can be covered by more than 30,000 quills, according to National Geographic. Just one taught this leopard a painful lesson.