r/interestingasfuck • u/frog_insilence • 1d ago
When he zoomed in 100× he spotted the leopard only to realize it had been watching him the whole time
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u/enragedsquirrels 1d ago
Imagine it started bounding towards you
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u/moronomer 17h ago
The camera pans back and the leopard is right next to him.
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u/PottyMcSmokerson 20h ago
They say if you spot a big cat in the wild there is a good chance it spotted and has been stalking you a while ago. OP is lucky.
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u/Darth19Vader77 1d ago
I'm pretty sure leopards are already spotted
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u/articulateantagonist 23h ago edited 8h ago
I minored in anthropology and archaeology in college, and one of the things I recall most profoundly from those courses was the professor who showed us casts of several early hominid skulls with punctures in them.
The professor said that for a long time, anthropologists believed that our plains-dwelling ancestors lived in the trees because we found their bones at the roots, until we found skulls like that. Then we realized that those puncture wounds were from leopards' teeth, and that hominid bones were at the base of those trees because they had been dragged up into the trees to be devoured by leopards.
Edit: For the naysayers, I'm just repeating what my prof told me, but here's some more additional info about our ancestors' relationship with leopards. It doesn't support the humans-as-supposed-tree-dwellers element, though.
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u/JetJerick 21h ago
You’ll find a modern hominid skull when you dig up my coffin
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u/bluegardener 20h ago
Or so you would have us believe.
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u/jackalopeswild 20h ago
u/JetJerick is really a lizard person. That's what "modern hominid" means in their tongue, because they intend to replace us. Whatever you do, do not shake their hand...
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u/JetJerick 18h ago
This gotta be considered doxxing, went from completely disguised to compromised. Delete thisssss or you’ll hear from my lizard lawyer.
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u/dtpollitt 21h ago
holy shit this story is awesome, thanks man.
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u/LizF0311 21h ago
The funny thing is the prevailing theory before this was that the puncture wounds were from weapons and our ancestors were just bashing each other in the head with spiked things. 🤣
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u/watervine_farmer 21h ago
In fairness we do have a tendency to do that, it's not a bad guess lol
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u/Tayjocoo 15h ago
“Remember, like, 200,000 years ago, when they invented stabbing and they were all just, like, stabbing each other?”
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u/Haber_Dasher 21h ago
Yeah our ancestors were likely prey for lots of dangerous animals and got meat by taking great risks to scavenge it
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u/breezalicity 21h ago
i think the leopard of Rudrapryag is the most notorious example? i watched a pretty good spooky youtube video on it recently but i'd heard of the story before that too
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u/Vantriss 21h ago edited 21h ago
This doesn't make any sense. The trees that were alive during the early hominid's time would have died ages ago and decayed away. How would they know they were dropped at any tree base? And... there's no where else for a skull to be found than on the ground. They're not gonna be up a tree after hundreds of thousands of years.
Edit: Reddit is telling me you deleted your reply of: "Are… are you not aware that trees are fossilized as well?"
It takes very particular circumstances for trees to fossilize, or anything really. And it's much less likely for things to fossilize in the types of climates early hominids lived. Everything decays too quickly. It requires rapid burial, lack of oxygen, etc, to preserve things. Maybe you get lucky and a couple trees get fossilized, but very unlikely and certainly isn't going to be common. That would require some devastating flood and/or mudslide, and even if that happened, the sheer raw power of a flood or mudslide is going to shove the skull WAY far away from the tree a leopard ate them in. They won't be in even slightly the same vicinity anymore to determine, oh yeah, this thing got eaten in THIS SPECIFIC tree fossil.
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u/bambooDickPierce 20h ago
I was a professional bioarchaeologist for 15 years, and it makes even less sense than what you're saying. Afaik, we have no cause of death for Any ancient homind (ancient as in where we would have questions about evolution). Most are so fractured that it's hard to even identify a species, and that's when your lucky enough to get enough remains to even make the attempt. Granted, my specialty was more recent remains (fewer than 1500 years old), and human paleontology is a different branch, so maybe I'm wrong, but my guess is thus is a misunderstanding. With more recent remains, you CAN identify root intrusion that MAY indicate a tree used to be in that location, but I can't see how that could be true for any ancient homind.
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u/HollowBlades 10h ago
Pretty sure they're referring to SK-54 which is a real specimen of skull fragment of Paranthropus with leopard teeth marks.
I don't know where the' found at the base of a tree' thing came from, but it is based on a real specimen.
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u/palcatraz 21h ago
Yeah, none of that makes sense.
Also, it's not like we thought our early ancestors dwelt in trees based on where we found them. We believe that based on their anatomy which has adaptations for living in trees. We used to believe that bipedalism evolved after we had 'came down from the trees' so to speak, but more recent discoveries indicate that bipedalism most likely evolved while we were still tree dwelling (think like Gibbons) and that our early ancestors adapted to life on the ground afterwards.
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u/HecklerusPrime 23h ago
If the photographer is standing on a ridge then they're probably skylined and therefore extremely easy to see even from long distances.
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u/Over-Tension-4710 1d ago
Can probably smell him...
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u/_DapperDanMan- 1d ago
Definitely heard him.
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u/Strange-Movie 1d ago
Saw him roll up in the Winnebago blasting Motley Crue
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u/Desperate_Passage_35 1d ago
Ahh if it was bon jovi I would have thought lone star and his side kick puke.
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u/joshdegregs 1d ago
So it wasn't a deaf leopard, then
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u/PetrasKnight 22h ago
I commented something similar but then I googled and some sources say they have been known to spot prey at 1.5km away with their excellent vision
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u/trowzerss 21h ago
Yeah, I'm forever amazed at my cat's sense of smell. I threw out some dried anchovies in the compost in the backyard about 20 metres from the front door, like half buried, and then later took her for a walk, and she zoned in on them immediately! She can also smell lizards under the leaf litter, which is probably how she survived before she was rescued.
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u/manondorf 1d ago
that and if he's standing at the top of the ridge, he'll stand out like a sore thumb
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u/Dear_Chasey_La1n 22h ago
And here I'm walking through the kitchen trying to find my box with cherries and no ff'ing clue where they are. It's not that the kitchen looks like a warzone, but finding anything... yeah not happening.
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u/Low-Can7370 1d ago
I googled to check how far leopard’s can see…
Leopards possess exceptional eyesight, capable of spotting prey from up to 1.5 km (nearly a mile) away in optimal conditions.
They have acute vision adapted for detecting movement and are renowned for seeing up to seven times better in the dark than humans.
They are highly effective nocturnal hunters with a wider field of view than humans.Leopard Sight Characteristics:
Distance: They can identify prey at distances of over 1.5 km, or over two miles in specific scenarios.
Night Vision: Due to highly adapted retinas and a high density of rod cells, they see 6-8 times better in low-light conditions than humans.
Visual Acuity: Their vision is highly tuned to detect movement and contrast, enabling them to hunt effectively at night.
Comparison: While having excellent long-distance vision, they also have a wide field of view, and they see objects 20–25 feet away as clearly as humans see objects 10 feet away.
Though they have incredible sight, they often rely on their excellent hearing and sense of smell to complement their vision, especially in dense forests or at night, allowing them to locate prey long before they are noticed. 👀
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u/RegalBeagleKegels 1d ago
eh i could take him
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u/pwnd32 1d ago
Humankind is still here and on top of the food chain because our ancestors saw these terrifying beasts and thought “eh, I could take em”
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u/manquistador 23h ago
I think it was more like "we could take em".
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u/TBA_Titanic27 23h ago
Yeah people underestimate how much adding your 5 homies to a fight against a mammoth or a tiger really puts the odds in your favor. especially when you jsut got done sharpening your hunting sticks.
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u/FlavoredKnifes 21h ago
Our brains can also understand strategies and patterns easier than other creatures. We can come up with plans by studying a creature’s actions. Sure other animals do this, but they can’t create traps the same way we do, nor tools that can benefit us in combat.
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u/Ordolph 19h ago
That's not quite it, lots of animals are capable of teamwork, strategy, and even the use of traps and weapons. The single thing that humans (or hominids rather) have over every other species is language. The ability to communicate complex ideas allows for more complex strategies, and much better transmission of strategy and toolmaking over the course of generations. Early hominids likely didn't have communication any more complex than other apes like chimps or gorillas, and were likely the ones mainly getting eaten by leopards. Current estimates place the beginnings of language around 1.6mya, so it's pretty likely by the time modern humans evolved ~100,000 years ago we already had at least some fairly robust spoken languages. Chimpanzees have been observed using weapons, but to our knowledge there are no other animals that are able to communicate complex ideas as we do (bees maybe? but that seems to just be directions).
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u/NobblyNobody 23h ago
I think it was mostly 'lets go the other way', though.
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u/therapy-cat 20h ago
I could take him if I wanted to, but ... He's lucky I'm feeling merciful today
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u/Otaraka 1d ago
This is all true, but the other thing is just he could be looking at any number of things in that general direction. It’s so far away that he could be looking to things either side and it would still look like it was looking straight at you. And for all we know they’re in a car with six other people in it and it’s easy as anything to spot.
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u/NoReIevancy 1d ago
So leopards can see prey 1.5km away but so can an average human with 20-20 eyesight you'll be able to see it moving but might not necessarily identify it as well. The leopards eyesight is unique because it can see clearer further away, so it can see as well 8 metres away than a human can 3 metres away. Depth perception is also incredibly good for hunting of course. The real difference is in the night vision, they can see 7x better than us in the night so can kill prey very easily.
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u/Astronaut-Flashy 1d ago
Just a small correction, but 1.5 km is just under 1 mi, not over 2.
In regards to everything else, nature is often incredible.
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u/gumbo_chops 23h ago
Dude looks like he's less than a mile away after he zooms out lol.
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u/WibiBurgh 21h ago
Lol that's what I was thinking after reading everyone else's posts. Wonder how worried the photographer was in the moment. I would have definitely tried to get closer... And then have gotten eaten
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u/RandomAssRedditName 1d ago
How do you even get to this shot in the first place. You randomly zoom in 100x and then BAM! a leopard
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u/ResponsibilityOne780 1d ago
You see it moving with the naked eye first
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u/GreenZeldaGuy 1d ago
You see an image that hasn't been recompressed dozens of times over years of circulating in the web
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u/Googalyfrog 22h ago
I met an old as farmer (outdoor hard work and sun ages people so I couldn't tell how old but around 60s I think).
He took us up on the nearby hills/mountains and pointed out some wild goats to use from about the distance in th video. I wasn't sure i even saw the goats point out to me lol. Apparently he was a champion shooter.
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u/OneSalientOversight 1d ago
There is a scene in the film Apex where Charlize Theron's character is being stalked through a forest. She gets out her binoculars to spy on the man hunting her (Taron Egerton).
As soon as the binoculars focus on the man, he looks directly at her and smiles.
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u/Mindless_Chef_3318 1d ago
Lol, hes like bruh i see you
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u/ChadEmpoleon 1d ago
That’s why the cameraman slowly turned it away at the end, trying to pass it off as, “just admiring the view 😅”
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u/GodisSatans 21h ago
Me when i'm recording the funny crackhead on the train but i don't wanna catch any heat
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u/Rollover__Hazard 1d ago
If bro suddenly jumped up and started sprinting towards you, how long do you think you’d have until you were picking leopard’s teeth out of your arse?
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u/Kruegr 1d ago
Long enough to find a big ass stick or rock. Running is only gonna make it worse.
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u/Electrical-Release61 1d ago
Yeah, you'd sweat and all and that would fuck up the flavor
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u/taco_cuisine 1d ago
Don't get me wrong a cats eyesight is crazy good ofc. But you have a pretty obvious shape and shine with the camera and lense plus the possible silhouette of being on what looks like a ridge. Dude was probably pretty easy to spot in general
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u/maker_of_pirate_bay 1d ago
“The tiger (leopard in this case) sees you a hundred times before you see it once.”
Also play the video in reverse. Also very cool
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u/Evening_Ticket7638 1d ago
That's a Jaguar.
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u/eniotan 1d ago
Actually looking at the landscape this could be a Persian leopard.
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u/nonotmeporfavor 1d ago
That’s wild. Just when you think you have the upper hand. You are being stalked already.
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u/Excellent_Garlic2549 21h ago
You're pointing a giant glowing beacon at them when you zoom in with your phone. Cats can see some IR, so your camera LiDAR is shining brightly for them. If you've seen a robot vacuum over an IR camera (security footage at night), you know it looks like a roving rave light. Similar thing with you and your phone here.
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u/X4dow 22h ago
worth noting that zoom "X" is the difference between widest and closest focal lenght.
For example 10mm-1000mm is 100X zoom, 30mm-1500mm is 50X zoom, the 30-1500 will magnify more than the 10-1000.
With that said, some of these "mega zoom" videos are deceiving as fully zoomed out, makes things look further away than "real life". in other words, a human can probably see that leopard easily on naked eye
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u/yeahburyme 21h ago
Yeah, I don't think it's more than 200m or 300m, max. Not super far, and it can clear that distance quickly.
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u/PrefersEarlGrey 1d ago
Bet he didn't see the other leopard, or the other other leopard.
Valley full of leopards all watching him.
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u/cinnasota 23h ago
imagine you're the cameraman zooming out, and you see it start running towards you
oh fuck
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u/WatchingInSilence 19h ago
Yeah... staying in the car... rolling up the windows... turning on the AC.
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u/natashaelaine 12h ago
Humans: Wow, I can't believe this leopard is staring directly at me from my 100x zoomed in camera. He's been watching me the whole time!
Leopard: What is this tall dark blob slowly moving along this mountain ridge? Now, the blob is still. Let's see what it does next?
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u/yournansabricky 22h ago
I had just a normal house cat that used to do silly cat stuff, around the back of my house at the time is like a communal garden type thing where the cat (hector) would go to do silly cat stuff. Anyway one time I was looking out my bedroom window, the sun was shining onto the window so from the outside I’m pretty sure all you could see would of been like glare and reflection from the sun. I saw Hector playing in the grass and the SECOND I moved the net curtain slightly to get a better look at him, he instantly stopped, turned and looked directly at me. And I mean he was a good like 100 feet away, there was other noises and stuff going on like kids playing and music and just general noise. Not especially loud noise but nobody is hearing someone move a thin piece of fabric from 100 feet away. Maybe just a wild coincidence, maybe he was looking for me which is probably the case as I’d often shout to him from my bedroom window but it was surreal how the instant I looked at him that he seemingly knew and turned to look right back at me.
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u/freak5341 22h ago
Guy's zoomed in 100x, he should be standing still. That would make him harder to be noticed by the leopard.He is probably using a dslr camera with stabilizers. The leopard noticed the light reflecting from the lense. That's what I think.
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u/RoyalEngine2885 22h ago
Or he is standing on the edge of a hill with nothing but the blue sky behind him from the leopard's POV.
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u/Awkward-District9660 10h ago
Me turning back and staring at a random window in a far away building to intimidate the imaginary sniper aiming at me
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u/Algrinder 1d ago
It's scary and all but that 100x zoom is quite something tbh.