Soaring through the air with her front legs spread like wings, these incredible pictures show the moment a pregnant leopard pounced on a warthog in Kenya.
In the dramatic sequence of photos, the female predator almost seemed to be flying as she rounded on her helpless prey. The leopard had been stalking the warthog in the Kenyan reserve and followed him out of sight into the bushes.
At that point, the two animals darted from the bush, with the leopard in hot pursuit of the wild pig. Realizing he could not outrun the leopard, he turned to confront her.
The creatures then came face-to-face in a tense two-minute stand-off before the big cat pounced. She flew meters into the air and soared above the warthog, before tackling him to the ground and finishing him off.
Photographer Peter Thompson captured the breathtaking action shots in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.
The 27-year-old, who runs a safari camp in the reserve, said: The leopard began stalking the warthog and then she followed it into a nearby bush. They were out of sight for a while and then they came shooting out towards out vehicle and the stand-off began.
Then the acrobatics began and the leopard killed the warthog, taking just a few seconds to strangle it. The only movements from the leopard were the chase and then she circled the warthog right before she went in for the kill, jumping from a stand-still position.
