Pumas, like other large cats, are predacious animals that seek large prey capable of sustaining themselves and their cubs for extended periods. But sometimes, their large prey can be just a bit overwhelming for them.
In this video footage, we see a mother puma trying to capture a guanaco, a relative of the highly recognized camel. Guanacos stand nearly two meters tall and can be up to three times bigger than the puma attempting to hunt it. Given the circumstances, it may not come as much of a surprise that the puma struggles to get the upper hand.
Mommy puma, as cunning as she is, decides that she’ll go for the guanaco’s weak spot: its neck. The large cat chases after the guanaco as the latter calls out for help, alerting nearby guanacos to imminent danger. After the puma catches up with her prey, it bites the neck repeatedly, but the guanaco persistently snaps the puma away and tramples it like a bull in the process.
When all is said and done, it seems that the guanaco was able to get away without so much as a limp, but the mother puma sustained tremendous battle wounds from the encounter. It seems, at least for now, that the puma attempted to bite off more than it could chew. She and her cubs will go hungry as she waits for her wounds to heal.
