A clever leopard had the last laugh when he snuck up on a hungry hyena and quickly stole his dinner right from under his nose.

The big cat spotted the beast tucking into an antelope carcass and picked his lucky moment to strike in undergrowth at the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The leopard calmly approached, unbeknown to the hyena, before going in for the kill - snatching the prey and racing up a nearby tree on November 3.

The tense moment was captured by honeymooning couple Talitha and Alex Jansen Van Rensburg, who laughed as the hyena was gazumped by the leopard.

Alex, 26, who works as a tour guide at the park, said: “The leopard definitely had the last laugh in this case. Even though hyenas are renowned for their laughing call.”

Former flight attendant Talitha, 27, added: “From experience we thought the chances of the leopard claiming the kill was extremely low.

“We thought it was waiting for an opportunity to take what was left of the kill.

“It felt like a sighting of a lifetime, it was unbelievable and very rare.”

Hyenas are renowned in folklore for their devilish giggle, and are beloved as the naughty scavengers in the Disney film "The Lion King".

But in reality, the curious creature’s high pitch vocalisation is only reserved for times when the hyena feels threatened or frustrated.

A clever leopard had the last laugh when he snuck up on a hungry hyena and quickly stole his dinner right from under his nose.

The big cat spotted the beast tucking into an antelope carcass and picked his lucky moment to strike in undergrowth at the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The leopard calmly approached, unbeknown to the hyena, before going in for the kill - snatching the prey and racing up a nearby tree.

The tense moment was captured by honeymooning couple Talitha and Alex Jansen Van Rensburg, who laughed as the hyena was gazumped by the leopard.

Alex, 26, who works as a tour guide at the park, said: “The leopard definitely had the last laugh in this case. Even though hyenas are renowned for their laughing call.”

Former flight attendant Talitha, 27, added: “From experience we thought the chances of the leopard claiming the kill was extremely low.

“We thought it was waiting for an opportunity to take what was left of the kill.

“It felt like a sighting of a lifetime, it was unbelievable and very rare.”

Hyenas are renowned in folklore for their devilish giggle, and are beloved as the naughty scavengers in Disney film ‘The Lion King’.

But in reality the curious creature’s high pitch vocalisation is only reserved for times when the hyena feels threatened or frustrated.