An ambitious leopard bit off more than it could chew when trying to attack a newborn hippo, leaving its massive mum to fight back.

Peter Geraerdts, 53, was leading a tour when he spotted a hippo leading her calf – believed to only be a few days old – through South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

Dramatic footage shows the pair closely followed by an opportunistic predator, with a leopard lunging at the legs of the baby hippo despite it only being metres behind its mother.

Aware of her baby’s distress, the mum turns back and chases the leopard away once before having to defend her young from a second attack just seconds later before they managed to escape.

Geraerdts said: “This was a wow sighting, something I will probably never be lucky to witness again.

“Leopards attacking hippos is very rare to see. They don’t usually do it unless there is a specific opportunity, like a young animal like this.

“We saw the mother and baby hippo walking out of the bush. This was surprising as the baby was still so small and they should be in the water around that time of the day.

“Very soon after, the leopard popped up and attacked the calf’s legs. The mum seemed to be tired but she was quick to defend her baby.

“Eventually they both managed to make it to the water and away from the leopard.”

An ambitious leopard bit off more than it could chew when trying to attack a newborn hippo, leaving its massive mum to fight back.

Peter Geraerdts, 53, was leading a tour when he spotted a hippo leading her calf – believed to only be a few days old – through South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

Dramatic footage shows the pair closely followed by an opportunistic predator, with a leopard lunging at the legs of the baby hippo despite it only being metres behind its mother.

Aware of her baby’s distress, the mum turns back and chases the leopard away once before having to defend her young from a second attack just seconds later before they managed to escape.

Peter said: “This was a wow sighting, something I will probably never be lucky to witness again.

“Leopards attacking hippos is very rare to see. They don’t usually do it unless there is a specific opportunity, like a young animal like this.

“We saw the mother and baby hippo walking out of the bush. This was surprising as the baby was still so small and they should be in the water around that time of the day.

“Very soon after, the leopard popped up and attacked the calf’s legs. The mum seemed to be tired but she was quick to defend her baby.

“Eventually they both managed to make it to the water and away from the leopard.”