A cocky big cat in Zambia was caught gambling one of its nine lives to free a piece of meat dangling from the mouth of a conked-out crocodile.

Video captured at South Luangwa National Park shows the hungry leopard creeping toward the big-toothed reptile to ascertain its level of consciousness.

The fearless feline then paws at the raw flesh — from a dead antelope — before dipping its head at the tip of the croc’s scary snout and snatching a steak right out of its mouth.

Bolstered by previous success, the leopard returns and yanks one whole leg free from the giant’s sleepy grip. Then, the wily crocodile opens its eyes and, in an apparent show of mercy, seems to allow the leopard to scamper away with its dinner.

The thrilling footage was filmed next to a river near Mfuwe Lodge by 29-year-old Nicole Dangoor.

“I was a bit scared for the leopard, but that’s nature — they know what they’re doing,” said the London-based wildlife filmmaker, who sat for hours overnight watching the animals squabble over their meal.

It’s every predator for itself out there, according to Dangoor, who told Kennedy News that she again saw crocodiles and leopards squabbling over spare meat that same night: “It shows how brutal nature is and how they can all fend for themselves.”

“We were driving back to the lodge, and we saw a leopard near one of the smaller rivers where the crocs rest,” she explained. “We saw the end of the tail, then all of a sudden, two crocs came and stole the meat off the leopard, then the leopard was following the croc trying to grab its meat.”

She added, “Crocodiles keep the meat in their mouth because the leopard is more scared of the crocodile — it takes the risk to eat.”