Leopard Predation Thread

[Styx38]

Here is a comparison of Leopard diets in Horton Plains National Park vs. Yala (Ruhana) National Park.


Horton Plains National Park



Sambar Deer tend to make up a high portion of Leopard diet in Horton Plains National Park and adjacent areas due to their abundance in these regions.


'In Agrapatana, Sambar was most frequently represented in scat samples (59.1%), consistent with probable prey availability, given that the study area is contiguous with Horton Plains National Park (HPNP) where sambar density is estimated to be 66.5/km² (Rajapakse 2003). '


'Previous scat analysis from HPNP found sambar in 75.8% of samples (N=22) (Ranawana et al. 1998). That fewer samples contained Sambar here than in HPNP, and more contained Black-naped Hare and Purple-faced Langurs (Table 3; 13.6% compared to 6.8% and 3.4% in HPNP, Ranawana et al. 1998) hints at variation in prey availability between the core of a protected area such as HPNP and an adjoining yet peripheral area such as Agrapatana.'


source: Kittle, Andrew M., et al. "Notes on the diet and habitat selection of the Sri Lankan Leopard Panthera pardus kotiya (Mammalia: Felidae) in the central highlands of Sri Lanka." Journal of Threatened Taxa 6.9 (2014): 6214-6221.


'Sambar appear to compose the largest proportion of leopard diet here with >75% of scat containing sambar remains (n > 30; Ranawana et al. 1998, Rajapakse 2003).'

source: Kittle, A. M., & Watson, A. C. (2018). "Density of leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Horton Plains National Park in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka." Mammalia, 82(2), 183-187.


Sambar Deer killed by Leopard.

*This image is copyright of its original author

source: https://www.facebook.com/HortonPlains/ph...093054154/



Yala National Park



Leopards kill Sambar stags

*This image is copyright of its original author

As can be seen from this study, there were three Sambar stags killed by a Leopard in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. Also, the occasional wild boar.


However, Sambar Deer made up a low part of the Leopard diet. 

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

This correlates with their relatively low abundance in Yala National Park.

*This image is copyright of its original author

source: Kittle, Andrew et. al. The ecology and behaviour of a protected area Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) population. Tropical Ecology 58(1):71-86  February 2017


As can be seen, Sambar Deer in Horton Plains National Park is  66.5/km² (Rajapakse 2003), with a more recent estimate of 178/km² in the Central grasslands (Kittle and Watson, 2018), while the Sambar Deer density in Yala is 0.8/km² (Kittle et. al. 2017).

This would mean that the Leopards kill Sambar Deer more frequently due to greater abundance in HPNP.

This leads to possibly larger or more robust Leopards in HPNP. Reply