Big Cat Expert Turns His Back on Leopards and Cheetahs to See How They Differ in Ambush Styles

In a follow up to his first video about turning his back to big cats, Dolph C. Volker, a big cat expert and author of Dire Encounters: Man Meets Wolf conducted a second experiment to compare what happened when he turned his back on a cheetah versus turning his back on a couple of leopards.

As Volker explained, cheetahs are different from leopards in ambush styles because due to their difference in speed, body shape and native locations. The experiment was slightly skewed however, because all of the cheetahs really liked the bearded human, particularly Gabriel who lives at the Cheetah Experience in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

I compare ambush styles of leopards versus cheetahs in my second installment of turning my back to big cats. I wanted to show the comparison between leopards and cheetahs this time. …This is a simple test but does show the nature of these different cats when it comes to approach of their prey. Both have the instinct of ambush, but leopards are masters of it while cheetahs depend mostly on their speed. A leopards hunts mostly from forested areas while cheetahs live and hunt in the open plains.

Here’s the first video from Volker’s series.

Volker and Gabriel the Cheetah have a long and loving relationship throughout the years.