Watch: Tiger Climbs Tree to Hunt Monkey, Netizens Laud the Primate's Wits

While the big cats in the forests rule the jungle grounds, they don’t have much authority over life in the trees. These belong to arboreal creatures like birds and monkeys. To prove that even a meek monkey can defeat the mighty tiger, an old video now shared by Indian Forest Service Officer Praveen Angusamy is all the evidence one might need.

In the short clip, one can see a tiger perched atop a medium-height tree. Just below the tiger, a monkey is hanging on a branch and holding on for dear life. Though tigers generally hunt for boar, and other land animals, it is not unheard of for the feline giants to go after monkeys as well.

Though the monkey may seem in peril, let’s remember the popular Hindi saying, “ghar ka sher” (lion at home). The tree is the monkey’s turf and he knows the rules better than the tiger who is merely a guest. The monkey goads the tiger a little forward so that the big cat is diagonally facing down. As the tiger prepares to lurch forward, the monkey sneakily slides backwards, leading the tiger to fall. He holds on to the branch for a while, hanging his legs in the air, then falls flat on the ground.

The tiger immediately looks around and acts nonchalant.

Angusamy shared this video with the caption: “Don’t push your weaknesses, always know & play with your strengths.” This is actually a quote by pop-singer Jennifer Lopez.

Here is how people reacted to the rare footage:

The video with over 10K views is not new. It is from four years back and went viral in 2016. The incident had been reported from Jim Corbett Park.