Leopard Predation Thread

[Styx38]

Leopard with a Feral Dog kill.

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 Plate 1 Leopard Panthera pardus fusca preying on a domestic dog that strayed into the boundaries of Jhalana Reserve Forest. Photo: Devam Shah.


The Feral Dogs make up a high number of the animals in Jhalana Reserve Forest, so they are the most abundant prey items for Leopards.


'Domestic animals comprised the majority of the leopards' prey (89.5% frequency of occurrence): dogs Canis lupus familiaris (44%), cats Felis catus (13%), goats Capra aegagrus hircus (16%) and cattle Bos taurus (15%).'



'Forest sustains the c. 25 known leopards. We conclude that these leopards, by preying on feral dogs in an urban environment, could be considered as suppliers of a service to the human population amongst whom they thrive, although this potentially exposes the leopards to the canine distemper virus.'


'Goats and the calves of cattle are available as leopard prey along with domestic dogs, cats and pigs. An estimated population of 36,580 domestic dogs was documented in a 2011 survey in Jaipur (Hiby et al., 2011). This is a sizeable source of potential prey for the leopards.'


'The differences between our results and other studies are a consequence of the high number of dogs and cats in our study area. The total dog and cat populations in the area are estimated to be c. 32,500 and 7,500 individuals, respectively (J. Reece, pers. comm., 2019); these species are thus widely available. Cattle and goats are relatively less abundant (31%) because these animals are herded during the day and protected in enclosures at night.'


'The fact that leopards prey on the most easily available species (the most numerous), has already been demonstrated (Schaller, 1967; Seidensticker, 1983; Kshettry et al. 2018).'


source: Kumbhojkar, Swapnil, Reuven Yosef, Jakub Z. Kosicki, PATRYCJA K. Kwiatkowska, and Piotr Tryjanowski. "Dependence of the leopard Panthera pardus fusca in Jaipur, India, on domestic animals." Oryx 55, no. 5 (2021): 692-698. Reply