A rare mountain leopard that was spotted at a national park in Sri Lanka's Central Province, failed to hunt down a deer after having stalked it for a while.

The incident happened at the Horton Plains national park on July 27.

Visuals showed the big cat sitting within the bushes and stalking a Sambar deer that stood at a distance. A predator by nature, this leopard sat quietly within the bushes and looked all around him before stalking its prey.

The deer was then seen slowly treading towards the bushy area where this leopard was hiding. All seemed to go according to plan for the feline, who remained hidden before jumping out the bushes to capture the deer.

But the deer was up to the task as with the leopard emerging out the bushes, it ran away to escape the threat. Disheartened at having lost its prey, the leopard then was seen taking a walk away from the spot on to a higher area.