Of the millions of beetle species on Earth, dung beetles stand out not for how they look, but for what they do. These industrious insects are famous for collecting animal dung, shaping it into balls and rolling it away to serve as food for themselves and their offspring — a survival strategy that has fascinated scientists for generations.
And it turns out humans aren’t the only ones intrigued by their work.
While on safari in South Africa’s Mala Mala Game Reserve, wildlife photographer Nick Kleer witnessed a moment he never expected. A lone dung beetle was steadily rolling its prized cargo across a dirt road, completely focused on the task at hand.
But the beetle had picked up an audience.
Nearby, a leopard noticed the movement and paused, clearly captivated. Ignoring everything else around her — including Kleer — the big cat slowly approached, lowering her head to investigate the tiny creature with the same curiosity seen in household cats.
Kleer managed to capture the interaction on video: a powerful predator mesmerized by one of nature’s smallest workers.
Luckily for the beetle, the leopard quickly decided that neither the insect nor its unusual cargo was worth sampling, and the encounter ended peacefully.
Moments like this are exactly what Kleer hopes to share through his photography — intimate glimpses of Africa’s wildlife behaving naturally in their environment.
Leopards, in particular, face increasing threats from habitat loss, declining prey populations, illegal wildlife trade and poorly managed trophy hunting, according to the World Land Trust.
Protected areas like Mala Mala allow animals of all sizes — from mighty leopards to hardworking dung beetles — to coexist and carry on their lives undisturbed, creating rare and magical moments for those lucky enough to witness them.
