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Leopard Predation Thread
Leopard Predation Thread
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Leopard Predation Thread
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  *This image is copyright of its original author Source: Farming with Predators - An agroecological approach to human-wildlife conflict on Namibian farmlands
A big Sri Lankan male leopard with a cow kill:
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Yala Safari Kamesh 
A young Leopard managed to hoist a sub-adult Wild Boar up a tree.
 *This image is copyright of its original author source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/avium03/phot...e_internal 
A Gaur killed by Leopard.
 *This image is copyright of its original author "Even production landscapes of tea and coffee, if close to forest patches and with low hunting pressures, can support quite a bit of wildlife. Here a leopard feeds on a gaur kill, inside a tea estate." http://kalyanvarma.net/gallery/freedom/13/ (08-31-2021, 04:06 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @ 1. The main guy, Kalyan Varma, referenced the kill again on this site. "Once used only by wildlife researchers, camera traps are being used effectively by photographers to get intimate views into the lives of secretive animals. Here a leopard feeds on a gaur kill, inside a tea estate in the Western Ghats. Photo Courtesy: Kalyan Varma" https://sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/ar...-intransit 2. There are photos of Leopards killing other big ungulates (e.g. Sambar Deer and Kudu) in Tiger and Lion dominated habitats. They also can hunt large prey if there is a relatively low density of those dominant predators, which could be the possibility of these tea estates. 3. The Gaur looks to be a sub-adult. Leopards are documented to predate on sub-adults of Wild Cattle throughout parts of Africa and Asia. There was even a case of a Leopard caching a 166 kg Cape Buffalo Calf in a Lion dominated habitat (Balme et. al. 2017) .
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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. (08-31-2021, 06:50 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @ Ok, you may be right. However, the author should have specified that the Leopard was either eating a dead carcass, or eating a Tiger's kill instead of just stating the Leopard was feeding on a Gaur kill as if the Leopard killed the Bovine. (08-31-2021, 06:50 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @ 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
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. (09-06-2021, 11:48 AM)WILD BRAWL Wrote:(08-31-2021, 06:50 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @ 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.
In the scat study, the banteng comprised 62 % of the scat of male leopards, while it comprised only about
20 % of the female leopard. In females, we can conclude that it is probably scavenging and predation on calves. On the other hand, it is not possible for a male leopard to scavenge 62 % of its diet. Also, it is wrong to conclude that banteng calves comprise that 62%. So, it is more likely that these male leopards hunt young, sick, or small female bantengs. Also, from the news i shared, it is clear that a leopard can kill a female gaur. The cape buffaloes are just too much for a leopard due to thier extreme aggression and better coordinated herd behaviour.
Leopard killing a Bull Kudu.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Figure 22. Adult leopard killing a male greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), Kruger National Park, South Africa. Greater kudu males can weigh 190–270 kg, similar in size to an adult male gorilla. Courtesy of Derek Haines. source: McRae, Ryan, and Gary P. Aronsen. "Inventory and Assessment of the Gorilla gorilla (Savage, 1847) Skeletal Collection Housed at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History." Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 59.2 (2018): 199-247.
Here is the case of a an adult male Gorilla that was suspected to have been killed by a Leopard.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Figure 4. YPM MAM 006794 perimortem facial trauma. A. Microfractures and maxilla damage to right side of face. B. Details of orbital fractures. C. Mandible fractures and reconstruction. See text for details. Scale bars equal 1 cm.  *This image is copyright of its original author Figure 5. YPM MAM 006794 perimortem postcranial trauma. A. Crushing and splintering of C6-C7 vertebral spinous processes. B. Superior view of right rib showing splintering at distal end. C. Detail of same rib. See text for details. Scale bars equal 1 cm.  *This image is copyright of its original author Figure 6. YPM MAM 006794 postcranial trauma. A. Right innominate with puncture trauma at inferior aspect. B. Detail of anterior aspect illustrating puncture wounds (N 3) and gnawing at ischial tuberosity. C. Detail of crushing trauma associated with largest puncture wound. D. Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus, YPM MAM 008918) maxillary canine of same over largest puncture. E. Superimposition of leopard mandible (Panthera pardus pardus, YPM MAM 008918) over most lateral puncture wounds. See text for details. Scale bars equal 1 cm 'T2 has damage on the centrum appearing to result from a crushing force as well as two tooth marks on the right transverse process, one anteriorly and one inferiorly, both 2–5 mm in diameter. Multiple ribs present perimortem trauma including damage and splintering to the sternal ends in an internal to external pattern consistent with carnivore biting (Figure 5).' 'In toto, these trauma indicators (aside from maceration markers) are consistent with a single lethal perimortem predation event. The agent is most likely a leopard, Panthera pardus pardus (Figure 6)' 'Evidence of carnivore gnawing is present, indicating further cadaver/element disturbance. The right femur also has multiple shallow sharp force cuts/scrapes but they are too numerous and varied to be attributed to any one cause.' source: McRae, Ryan, and Gary P. Aronsen. "Inventory and Assessment of the Gorilla gorilla (Savage, 1847) Skeletal Collection Housed at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History." Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 59.2 (2018): 199-247. |
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