This swift and merciless hunt was captured in a series of amazing close-up shots by wildlife photographer Jeffrey Wu, 52, from Toronto, Canada, in the Maasai Mara national park in Kenya.
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Wu said that he had followed the same leopard for four years in the park, and that she is known as "Pretty Girl" locally. She currently has two cubs, Wu continues, one being 15 months old, and the other four months old.
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The leopard pounces at lightning speed towards the unsuspecting gazelle before sinking its claws in and dragging it to the ground; its desperate attempt to outrun the leopard's outstretched claws rendered useless.
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Jeffrey says that he was surprised to see Pretty Girl hunt during the day since predators like her usually hunt for prey at night.
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"[The leopard] waited patiently," Jeffrey explains, "and when the smallest (gazelle) was about three metres away from her hiding place, she launched out of bushes and in three steps she overpowered the gazelles.
"After the kill she took the prey up to a tree to prevent other carnivores from stealing the food and went calling to her cubs to have dinner.
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"I shot 19 frames, that means it took only two seconds for her to catch and kill the gazelle."
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted a man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, court officials said.
Ryuji Kimura, 25, was found guilty of attempted murder in the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama, as well as four other crimes including violations of laws on explosives and other weapons.
At stake was whether Kimura intended to commit murder.
The Wakayama District Court said in the ruling that Kimura was aware of the potential for a fatality in his attack, according to the Kyodo News agency. The ruling said the attack at an election campaign event was a serious challenge to democracy and posed a significant danger to many people, Kyodo said.
Kimura, at an opening session of the trial in early February, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, saying he didn’t intend to kill Kishida. He said he was dissatisfied with Japan’s election system and that he only wanted to get public attention by targeting a famous politician.
The then-prime minister was unhurt, but two people sustained minor injuries. Kimura was arrested on the spot.
The attack came about a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.
Prosecutors said Kimura had a murder intent, noting that the bomb Kimura threw at Kishida was potentially lethal, and demanded a 15-year prison term.
Gun-related crime is rare in Japan because of strict gun control laws, but there has been a series of high-profile knifings and other attacks using homemade guns and explosives.
A vehicle believed to be carrying Ryuji Kimura, who threw a homemade pipe bomb at former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, arrives at Wakayama District Court in Wakayama, western Japan Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Shohei Miyano/Kyodo News via AP)
Ryuji Kimura, center, is caught by police after he threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a campaign event at a fishing port in Wakayama, western Japan, on April 15, 2023. (Kyodo News via AP)
People queue up to get a ticket for a seat to observe a court's ruling on an attempted murder trial for Ryuji Kimura, who threw a homemade pipe bomb at former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, outside Wakayama District Court in Wakayama, western Japan Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Shohei Miyano/Kyodo News via AP)