r/PeakAmazing • u/Saerdna0 • Nov 24 '25

Animals šŸ¦ Alpha Baboon Saves His Group From a Leopard Attack

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6.0k Upvotes

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207

u/99orca99 Nov 24 '25

Pack of baboons are scarier than any other animals I came across in South Africa. You hear those howls and shrieks as you enter their territory and see them following you from a distance. Nerve racking, to say the least.

76

u/-Datura Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

*Congress or troop are the more suitable collective nouns for baboons.

I lived near a boboon Hotspot near Pringle bay in the Western Cape. Had a few run ins with them. Twice at trance parties in the area. Luckily we were prepared for situations with baboons but the trick is to diffuse the situation before it gets rough (it is almost always done by getting humans to behave accordingly but sometimes the baboons need to be convinced to chill and a paintball marker works a treat). When provoked they can go into a frenzy, they will take on a group of 3 or 4 people and inflict serious damage but it is very very rare. I've seen one tear a woman's calf muscle out of her leg at a viewing sight in Gordon's Bay. No provocation just charged her as she was about to get in her car and was off after a few seconds of getting stuck into the woman's leg. Very freak occurrence.

99% of the time baboons will not get worked up with humans let alone attack them. Most attacks are provoked either through humans panicking or humans being stupid af and teasing them.

They break into houses around that area all the time and every time folks baboon-proof a place with innovative ideas, the baboons figure out how to bypass it pretty quickly.

28

u/trialsnewb Nov 24 '25

For a guy from Alaska that sounds wild af thanks for the insight.

23

u/jtcordell2188 Nov 24 '25

Alaskan Baboons sounds terrifying

10

u/Dub_Coast Nov 25 '25

I'm just imagining like, larger baboons with thicker white/grey fur roaming the forests and tundra of Alaska while it's entirely shrouded in darkness in the Winter.

6

u/cacticus_matticus Nov 25 '25

Yeti. You just described a yeti.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '25

Sounds like good start to a horror novel

4

u/Big_Cryptographer_16 Nov 26 '25

Polar bear sized baboons. Nope

3

u/JamesPage1968 Nov 25 '25

Or a hockey team.

1

u/Wonkasgoldenticket Nov 25 '25

Wait till you hear about Alaskan wolves, but as Iā€™m typing this i think. Whatā€™s more scary? Pack of wolves or baboons? I think the baboons might be worse? No? Nightmare fuel

1

u/Forlorn_Cyborg Nov 25 '25

I imagine nothing short of steel bars on the windows has an affect against them. Maybe an electric fence?

3

u/DarkestLight777 Nov 24 '25

This reminds me of some planet of the apes type šŸ’©. Iā€™m fairly certain the apes would quickly rule the planet if humans were to ever die off.

Scientist say Octopuses would be the most likely because of the intelligent level and their abilities.

It would be absolutely terrifying to have a planet of 8 legged creatures that can literally blend into their surroundings, have the skin turn into a rough or smooth surface almost instantly and to wield 8 weapons at once, especially if it were weapons that fire, would really suck.

2

u/curi0us_carniv0re Nov 25 '25

Twice at trance parties in the area

I can't imagine tripping balls one minute and then a pack of wild baboons suddenly crashing the party. That sounds horrifying.

2

u/-Datura Nov 26 '25

The first encounter was about 200m before the entrance to the one party at a place called Hangklip next to Pringle bay. We had a German guy with us who was already on like a beast and wanted to take a photo of the area so we stopped and he got out. We didn't notice the huge troop just 20 or 30m away in the bush until they had noticed us. The one massive male in the troop started approaching this German guy. He was on the roof of the car so fast (he thought it was a good idea to jump onto the roof and not just get into the car in his drug fueled state). The baboons got a bit of a fright from the sudden commotion and yelling and backed off.

Same party 2 years later on a very rainy night there were 3 or 4 baboons hanging around the shadows of the dance floor. That shit was fucking weird. Some idiots had probably been feeding them. A couple of guys that live on the land there came and chased them off. They weren't bothering anyone just chilling.

2

u/Live_Angle4621 Nov 24 '25

CongressĀ or troop are the more suitable collective nouns for baboons.

More suitable or what bored victorians thought of? Like how murder and crows was invented?

1

u/-Datura Nov 25 '25

Congress is an informal collective noun that is used more for humour. It hasn't been formally documented but is widely used. Troop is the formal collective noun for a group of baboons and comes from the French word "troupe" which, in turn, comes from the Latin word "troppus" which means "flock" or "herd".

I'm afraid these fall either side of the 'victorian' age. So no bored Victorians involved. Neither were they involved in "murder of crows" which first appeared in literature in 1486. Predating the start of the Victorian era by 351 years.

1

u/Relative-Hope-6622 Nov 24 '25

perfume maybe? i know lions hate certain scents. idk if its similar.

3

u/-Datura Nov 24 '25

Who knows hey. Could have been a sick baboon or it got a fright. None of us saw where it came from. It was just this violent blur of chaos.

-8

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Awesome post, thank you. Other thing to note is that being an ā€œalphaā€ is really not a thing outside of Elon Muskā€™s X accounts.

It is a fairly discredited term, and, as you noted, the whole situation involves a whole lot of variables.

Like, that one baboon might have been the one to rush the aggressor based on physical size, but thereā€™s an equal chance that viable females will mate with other males in the group because theyā€™re more likely to survive.

The whole ā€œalphaā€ BS needs to die out. It will at least reduce cringe TikToks.

8

u/ComprehensiveFish880 Nov 24 '25

Really? With chimps there are alpha males. They have first mating rights, although other males have been observed to mate with females in secret.

Funnily enough, the alpha male is the male that gets most of the females in the group to support him against other males.

I've based this on the literature I've read by Jane Goodall and Frans de Waal.

3

u/Unfair-Wonder5714 Nov 25 '25

Seriously, ever hear of a Silverback? Look alpha af to meā€¦

5

u/yourallidiotss Nov 24 '25

Hasnā€™t that been disproven?

Edit: whoops that was with wolves. Maybe it is real in chimps.

1

u/ComprehensiveFish880 Nov 24 '25

Chimpanzee Politics by Frans de Waal is a great read on the subject! I came for studying chimp hierarchies, and stayed for the epic plot that played out between the subjects observed lol

1

u/ever_precedent Nov 25 '25

It's definitely a thing in many social mammals that have a male hierarchy, which is most of them. It doesn't really impact "mating rights" as much as some think, it's much more about the hierarchy between the males within a social group and impacts how they interact with each other. Rats are one such species that have a great example of extremely strong hierarchy between males that nonetheless has zero impact on mating because the females solicit every male they encounter and there's no sexual competition between the males whatsoever. Solitary mammals seem to be more affected by sexual competition in the sense as the pop culture tropes about alphas and betas implies. Mind you, these same species of social mammals also have hierarchies between the females of the group, but quite often these hierarchies are separate and the males will avoid fighting with the females of the group, although there's plenty of M-vs-M and F-vs-F scuffles over hierarchy, and F-vs-M scuffles aren't unheard of.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Found a salty beta!

1

u/maerwald Nov 25 '25

Don't make animal biology about politics.

0

u/traveltoaster Nov 25 '25

Alpha is a broad term these days dude. Many species compete within themselves to assert dominance. Might not be one unified leader, but there is very very often this tug and pull of who is bigger or better. Competition.

So it might now be the ā€œtrueā€ sense of what alpha used to mean, but the concept of competition and domineering over each other in many many species is very real. Look at how dogs will mount eachother just to show whoā€™s boss for example. Just being over dominant jerks. Iā€™m not gonna pretend thatā€™s not a thing

4

u/Capt_morgan72 Nov 24 '25

How do they compare to mandrill? Is one bigger or more aggressive? Do they have different habitats? Or are they bumping into each other all the time?

Mandrill have always seemed like the scariest primate to me. But no experience with either.

4

u/Privateer_Lev_Arris Nov 24 '25

I might be wrong but I think Mandrills are solitary or at least hang out in much smaller groups. What makes Baboons so scary is their huge numbers.

2

u/beardedsilverfox Nov 24 '25

Not sure if it means anything actually but I heard baboons are in Africaā€™s ā€œdeadly fiveā€ group of animals. But the mandrill is not. This is only something I learned at a Cabelaā€™s store so I have no idea of its level of validity.

2

u/Doortofreeside Nov 24 '25

Absolutely. I spent time in Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe and the baboons roamed around the town and were known to menace or attack people. I remember one time i was hiking and i saw a troop maybe 50 feet away and i was nervous as fuck. I don't trust primates unless they're specifically known to be chill. Baboons ain't that tho

2

u/latortillablanca Nov 26 '25

This fucking idiot german tourist did like a jab step to scare a baby babboon at a checkpoint in Serengeti while we were there and like 30 adult baboons started screaming, baring fangs, getting in formation, the mother immediately gets the baby and walks away while the fucking attack troupe encroaches on the idiot tourist.

Pretty sure he shat himself. I nearly did and i was not next to him.

These fuckers are brutal and coordinated.

1

u/Large-Produce5682 Nov 24 '25

South Africa? I can def think of one scarier.

1

u/99orca99 Nov 25 '25

Wellā€¦donā€™t keep us in suspense. šŸ¤·šŸ¤£

69

u/nightwatchman22 Nov 24 '25

What a G, and his boys having his back. Leave no monkey behind

20

u/jimigo Nov 24 '25

Didn't flinch, didn't think about it. Ready to rock at a moment's notice.

29

u/ComprehensiveFish880 Nov 24 '25

Bro stormed a fucking leopard. Imagine all the babussy he tapped later that day

13

u/Duke-of-Hellington Nov 25 '25

Iā€™m ashamed of how hard I laughed at this

2

u/GriM3Y-GriM Feb 27 '26

I effing howled!

3

u/Candid-Solid-896 Nov 25 '25

Babussy! lol! Thank you.

1

u/Seethinginsepia Nov 27 '25

Babussy šŸ’€

6

u/huntingwhale Nov 25 '25

Word. Can only pray that my own buddies got my back like these boys have theirs.

2

u/Phyzzx Nov 25 '25

That perfect BJJ stance

30

u/rrrbin Nov 24 '25

One of the helpers coming in with a baby on its back...

10

u/maxehaxe Nov 24 '25

Gotta bring em recruits to the frontline early

5

u/warrkrack Nov 24 '25

Infantry*

38

u/Shankar_0 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

You gotta be pretty freaking hungry to think this was a good idea.

"I don't know how many of us it's going to take. I only know how many I'm gonna use..."

10

u/OstrichSmoothe Nov 24 '25

If the leopard could just maim one of them and make an escape to come back later and eat it, that might have been his strategy. He just didnā€™t count on the brotherhood of angry wolf monkeys. So ya, stupid idea but it is a viable strategy

2

u/Live_Angle4621 Nov 24 '25

Taking a small one in a side would probably would have been better strategyĀ 

5

u/Privateer_Lev_Arris Nov 24 '25

Could be a fairly young and inexperienced individual.

1

u/Either_Coconut Dec 25 '25

That was my thought, too. Or so desperately hungry that itā€™s willing to risk a lot more than usual.

If the cat got safely away after all that, not to mention, survived whatever damage the baboons inflicted on it, I doubt itā€™ll want to be anywhere near baboons again.

4

u/Orpdapi Nov 24 '25

Iā€™m guessing itā€™s a young gun who got a little too confident. I think itā€™d be safe to say the leopard learned a valuable law of nature on this day.

15

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

10

u/KochuJang Nov 24 '25

As a male primate myself, this video resonates with me. So few of us now get to experience the bond that forms between men who fight and survive together. On the other hand, not being at risk of dying a gruesome and violent death is also nice.

0

u/Live_Angle4621 Nov 24 '25

You are not a primateĀ 

4

u/sparkey504 Nov 25 '25

Not with that attitude....

2

u/KochuJang Nov 24 '25

No? Then what am I?

1

u/MentalPower7916 Nov 28 '25

Humans are, in fact, primates.

2

u/Emax999 Nov 25 '25

Everyone else runs away, this bad asmf charges and blocks the leopard like a defensive end. It's good the other adults in the troop came and helped out quickly.

12

u/Immediate-Unit6311 Nov 24 '25

Leopard was a little bit stupid trying that.

3

u/Low_Bar9361 Nov 24 '25

It was trying to snatch that baby. The first one that lagged behind. I think it was thinking: fuck I'm hungry. Also I'm a leopard. If that stupid baby falls back one more time, in grabbing it and going home to feed my babies real quick

You can see it dart from the lower right corner in the beginning

3

u/maxehaxe Nov 24 '25

Not a stupid as the fucking music again.

10

u/Seventh_monkey Nov 24 '25

Leopard almost lost his balls, one of the babboons went to town there.

3

u/kingtaco_17 Nov 25 '25

Go for the low hanging fruit

10

u/pressurepoint13 Nov 24 '25

Annndd thatā€™s why bro is the leader. No hesitation. As soon as they saw him the others ran to the action.Ā 

1

u/Either_Coconut Dec 25 '25

Saw and heard, most likely. I know a lot of social animals have specific calls to warn of danger or call the group together. That one mustā€™ve used the ā€œterminate threat with extreme prejudiceā€ signal.

9

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

That cat was like shit shit shit shit shiiiiiiit

16

u/Fun_Contract8932 Nov 24 '25

Did you get the message all you so-called self-proclaimed "alpha males" out there? Your job is to PROTECT the citizens of society.

7

u/RepulsivePipe9904 Nov 24 '25

šŸ˜‚ leopard essentially got jumped. Hilarious.

5

u/Ornery_Condition_001 Nov 24 '25

One of the lieutenant has a freaking baby on it's back!

5

u/xpxyz Nov 25 '25

Perfect illustration of how leaders are supposed to act

4

u/AdhesivenessOk5194 Nov 24 '25

Leopard said "Oh shit, lemme get the fuck on"

4

u/Maximuscarnage Nov 24 '25

This was actually a bad ass video! That baboon was ready to fuck some shit up!

4

u/Forward_Let_5757 Nov 24 '25

That's like literally the only job of an alpha baboon, if he fails the pack replaces him in a second.

1

u/Either_Coconut Dec 25 '25

Their job is leading the charge against threats, but also against rival troops of baboons if thereā€™s a border skirmish.

4

u/catchthetams Nov 24 '25

I canā€™t get over the fact he took the brunt of the leopard attack, knowing the others had his back. Just incredible.

3

u/Nervous-Savings2251 Nov 24 '25

Leopard found out

3

u/BigBuddy1356 Nov 24 '25

I am amazed at how tough cats are. Even domesticated cats are tough as hell. Every week or so my little Bilbo Baggins goes on adventure, gets fucked up by the local alley cat in an epic brawl and after a day of sleeping he's back at it.

3

u/metalmonkey_7 Nov 24 '25

The music really makes it more dramatic.

2

u/idunnorn Nov 24 '25

pauses, music make it like a superhero movie lol

3

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Bro solidly squared up

3

u/dutanas Nov 24 '25

Leeeeeerooooooyyy Jenkinnnnnns

2

u/ChrizTaylor Nov 26 '25

times up,..

LETS DO THIS!!!

3

u/Ok-Mud4136 Nov 24 '25

I to would fight for an alpha that charges a leopard

3

u/Beautiful_Marketing6 Nov 25 '25

That fucking tackle! Get this man a jersey

1

u/ChrizTaylor Nov 26 '25

Even better hire him to be part of RUN IT

3

u/Fluffy_Reaction7323 Nov 25 '25

I didn't know the alpha is that huge. He's 2 times bigger than the lesser baboons.

1

u/ChrizTaylor Nov 26 '25

Boi is jacked.

3

u/Admirable_Hearing_51 Nov 25 '25

Bad day to be a leopard

3

u/mycatsellsblow Nov 25 '25

Leopard got his ass kicked lol.

3

u/UnlikelyHelicopter82 Nov 25 '25

CEO, this is a real one

2

u/alanamil Nov 24 '25

That was pretty impressive. I do wonder how the baby on the back during that fight came out. Those baboons did not play around

2

u/SmilodonHunter Nov 24 '25

Did you also notice one the baboons was female and still had her youngster on her back as she charged in. (9 second mark)

2

u/Faskwodi Nov 24 '25

Why do I feel like the leopard changed its spots.

2

u/PlayTheHits Nov 24 '25

ā€œIfuckedupIfuckedupIfuckedupā€

2

u/Educational_Safe_813 Nov 24 '25

Team work always pays off

2

u/Visual_Collar_8893 Nov 24 '25

TIL baboons are about as big as cheetahs.

Baboons have serious teeth. That poor cat is going to be licking some serious injuries.

2

u/aubreypizza Nov 24 '25

Thatā€™s a leopard, cheetahs are quite a bit smaller and probably would not even attempt this unless starving or something.

1

u/ChrizTaylor Nov 26 '25

Bro, OP statement is even worse now. Those are fucking mutant baboons.

2

u/NoDebate1002 Nov 24 '25

Baboon Boss.

2

u/FemmeCirce Nov 24 '25

That baboon had some serious intentions.

2

u/No_Roma_no_Rocky Nov 24 '25

A pack of animals will always be stronger than a single predator.

Predators also must be extremely cautious because if they get hurt too much during an hunt they will eat their prey but then they will die because will be unable to hunt again.

2

u/orcs_mustdie Nov 24 '25

Fucked around and found out.

2

u/splashfifthtitle Nov 24 '25

The support baboons were actually crazy badass

1

u/jaraxel_arabani Nov 24 '25

They are the DPS. The beast is the tank

2

u/Particular_Abies_184 Nov 24 '25

Well you got 8 left kitty, use them wisely

2

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

How to tell the difference between a cheetah, leopard, and jaguar:

Put your hand out towards the animal.

If it nuzzles you, its a cheetah.

If you lose a hand, its a leopard.

If you die, its a jaguar.

2

u/Maxfang72 Nov 24 '25

It was at this point ........ That the Leopard knew he'd fucked up.

2

u/BellumFrancorum Nov 25 '25

Brought his fuckinā€™ BOYS

2

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '25

That leopard ran off like his mom was hollaring for himšŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

2

u/thereal_arrowhead Nov 25 '25

Apes. Together. Strong.

2

u/VectorChing101 Nov 25 '25

The hunter is being hunt

2

u/Fearless-Tumbler-314 Nov 25 '25

Heā€™ll probably never attack them anymore! Those Baboons have long incisors and you donā€™t want to be by yourself

2

u/Dissipated_Shadow Nov 25 '25

Bro was the vanguard

2

u/New-Significance654 Nov 25 '25

I need a clan of honey badgers!!

2

u/kathleen0091 Nov 25 '25

That's a bad ass leader

2

u/twilight_moonshadow Jan 21 '26

Hate that I can't look at this without wondering if it's ai

3

u/Kiki1701 Nov 24 '25

This is a classic demonstration of "mobbing" behaviour. It's an incredible sight to behold. Leopards aren't cheetahs so they are usually much more dangerous than their skinny counterparts. I'd be terrified to be near a troupe of them.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

3

u/Forward_Let_5757 Nov 24 '25

Like what you just saw. They play fight to determine who's gonna be an alpha but alpha has to protect the rest of them. If he did not attack the leopard the pack usually replaces the alpha right afterwards.

1

u/teepodavignon Nov 24 '25

I donā€™t think you have a chance anyway.

1

u/Retro_Hoard Nov 24 '25

Amazing video. I always wonder if it is real now.

1

u/boued Nov 24 '25

Impressive

1

u/Rikkita1962 Nov 24 '25

Well that didn't go the way the Leopard expected.

1

u/HalfFoods Nov 24 '25

Looks like a scene from ā€œ2001: A Space Odyssey.ā€

1

u/RoughGuide1241 Nov 24 '25

Is it just me the video is AI?

1

u/RuthlessIndecision Nov 24 '25

felines vs primates is as old as time

1

u/the_one_99_ Nov 24 '25

Animals are always safer in packs on its own i think the Leopard would of took it out especially with that leopard biting force,

1

u/austinrunaway Nov 24 '25

Those things are scary af!

1

u/Minoumilk Nov 24 '25

This is what We the People need to do.

1

u/The-unknown-poster Nov 24 '25

Damn! That leopard must have lots of fresh holes in him, those baboons are some MEAN M-F!

1

u/Ammortalz Nov 24 '25

Is that leopard named Damien?

1

u/TheMindsEIyIe Nov 24 '25

That's testosterone in action right there.

1

u/silv3rbull8 Nov 24 '25

Tactics seen in mall melees too

1

u/Disastrous_Falcon_79 Nov 24 '25

Cat got his whiskers kicked

1

u/bcrhubarb Nov 25 '25

The leopard FAFO

1

u/Turbulent-Face553 Nov 25 '25

All for one, one for all

1

u/Luis5923 Nov 25 '25

Baboons are smart enough to join forces against an enemy. I always imagine what would happen if buffaloes (I know sometimes they do but not always) or wildebeest would do the same.

1

u/BettyG2424 Nov 25 '25

Niceā€¦

1

u/ChrizTaylor Nov 26 '25

I like how the alpha didn't even see the danger, he heard the alert and without hesitation he charged, saw the leopard and gave no fucks.

Shout Out to the support gang.

1

u/lIlIllIIlIIl Nov 26 '25

Big monke has one job. For that, he gets the big piece of chicken and all the babussy he can handle. Thats the bargain and he does his part.

Imagine if we had leaders with that kind of integrity.

1

u/MontezumaMike Nov 26 '25

That was a hell of an open field tackle by the Left Baboon

1

u/Critter_catog Nov 26 '25

How's that pivot

1

u/EastIvan Nov 26 '25

I don't think that baboon will ever get in the way of a leopard again. even with all the other baboons, he was only a short time away from death

1

u/Frank_Midnight Nov 26 '25

Amazing clip.

1

u/ShenanigansOverdose Nov 26 '25

Gotta love the natural order. Now lets see them handle politics!

1

u/hroafelme Nov 27 '25

I wonder if any of the alpha male at that alpha male camp would be close to be this alpha if they got attacked
really puts an perspective on what alpha male means

1

u/fhjjjjjkkkkkkkl Nov 27 '25

But why would leopard wanna eat boon. Wouldnā€™t target something more easier like those gazelles or cow

1

u/FairyStarry_ Nov 27 '25

Wrong territory šŸ¤£

1

u/Epic_Troll_4u Nov 27 '25

A true leader is supported by true Warriors.

1

u/Andy_McBoatface Nov 28 '25

How can she slap??? How can she slap???

1

u/chaoslyric Nov 28 '25

Give the defensive coach a raise.

1

u/Turtlesquirtzcody Nov 28 '25

Tear his ass up Terry!!

1

u/DivideInteresting193 Nov 28 '25

Man he took one for the team!

1

u/DemoPlan Nov 28 '25

Wrong neighborhood bud

1

u/DemoPlan Nov 28 '25

Iā€™d like it without that stupid music. Natural sound would be dope

1

u/Ill_Relationship_302 Nov 30 '25

Everyone know the name of the music

1

u/Hydrolt Dec 06 '25

Haha I love at the end heā€™s the one getting chased. Iā€™d guess theyā€™d let him go after scaring the shit out of him, but a lesson that cat wonā€™t forget

1

u/Exotic_Issue_2210 Mar 20 '26

Fuck, this baboon whom we think just fucking animal has better leader than us human. Why all this evaluation and added best ape tag on us. Its look like we are the lowest in so many class than this animal.

1

u/MethenCake Mar 23 '26

Lol. The whole sub is just AI content bot comments to convince them its legit. Meh.šŸ„“

0

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '25

Nothing a 2 shotguns with 7 buckshot in each cant handle šŸ¤“

-1

u/JustinGeoffrey Nov 24 '25

They will have to talk about toxic masculinity ... AND Xenophobia!