Leopard Predation Thread

[Styx38]

(09-06-2021, 11:48 AM)WILD BRAWL Wrote:

(08-31-2021, 06:50 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @Styx38, as Kalyan Varma says, the leopard is “feeding” on the gaur. Doesn’t mean it killed it. All carnivores scavenge from time to time. And, this is a predation thread.

As for your 3rd point, this is not a subadult gaur. The coloration is too dark. It’s a young adult male. These estates are in the Western Ghats where tigers kill gaur regularly and are residents in some of these estates.

There was an another news in which leopard killed a pregnant gaur and the leopard was later killed by the herd. Both these cases happened within last few years and took place in tea estates. These tea estates are perfect ambush place for leopards. Leopards and gaurs are the two animals that frequently visit these tea estates. So, if a young or small female gaur got isolated from the herd, a large male leopard may try to ambush it. It attacks on the back of the neck. Also, remember leopards main prey item in cambodia are banteng bulls. They are almost the same size of a small gaur. According to the forest officials, the reason leopard killed the female gaur is due to the lack of smaller preys. So, there is a chance to see such predation attempts in the future.
Here is that news
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coi...322531.ece

I am not sure whether Leopards attack adult Wild cattle, but they do attack sub-adults (including ones that are nearly full grown). 

They could possibly go for a younger/smaller female

For example, a Leopard killed a young female African Forest Buffalo in Bai Hokou area, Central African Republic.

*This image is copyright of its original author

source: Fay, J.M., Carroll, R., Kerbis Perterhans, J.C. & Harris, D. (1995) Leopard attack on and consumption of gorillas in the Central African Republic. J. Hum. Evol. 29, 93–99



Leopards also predate on juvenile and sub-adult Water Buffalo in Sri Lanka.

*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



A leopard killed a near-adult Water Buffalo. 

*This image is copyright of its original author

source: For the Leopard: A Tribute to the Sri Lankan Leopard  (2002) by Rukshan Jayewardene



Also, there is no mention of Banteng Bulls being killed.

It was just that Banteng were found to be great part of the Leopard diet. 

However, they could not determine the age of the Bantengs predated on since scat is not always a clear indication as opposed to kills.


'Dietary analysis of 73 DNA confirmed scats showed leopard consumed 13 prey species, although ungulates comprised 87% of the biomass consumed (BC). The overall main prey (42% BC) was banteng (Bos javanicus),'


'For ungulates greater than 30 kg (i.e. banteng and wild pig) we used half the weight given for adult females, assuming leopard killed both adult females and young.'


source: Rostro-García, Susana, et al. "An adaptable but threatened big cat: density, diet and prey selection of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia." Royal Society open science 5.2 (2018): 171187.



Here is a case of Leopard that hoisted a 166 kg Cape Buffalo calf up a tree.

"The largest kill hoisted by a leopard in our study was a juvenile African buffalo Syncerus caffer (≈166 kg)"

source: Balme, Guy A., et al. "Caching reduces kleptoparasitism in a solitary, large felid." Journal of Animal Ecology 86.3 (2017): 634-644.



I guess a Leopard can take down a small female or a big sub-adult on a few occasions. Reply