Animal Strength Feats

[Balam]

(11-07-2020, 08:04 AM)Styx38 Wrote:

(11-07-2020, 06:17 AM)Balam Wrote: Marlon du Toit is extremely knowledgeable, as someone who has spent years of his life tracking and observing big cats he has a level of insight into them, their morphology and behavior that few others (including certain biologists) might have.

You don't need pHD to observe the behavior and characteristics of animals and arrive to an accurate conclusion when you have a vast body of experience in first hand viewing of said animals. 

Thank God for the work that Marlon is able to do in portraying endangered wildlife to the public which helps to bring awareness to their conservation. Little "hyping" do I see in his actions, rather I see someone who is passionate about his work and his appreciation for these animals. Hoisting a 60-70 kg ungulate up a tree that might be heavier than the cat hoisting it is an impressive feat, Marlon was right about that.

1. Plot twist.

Marlon did not even track animals at that time.

"Marlon and Themba, our tracker, (he looks for tracks and has extremely keen vision) found us the 'big five.'"

https://www.themarthablog.com/2010/03/a-...frica.html

He  has knowledge on wildlife in Africa, but has general knowledge on Big Cats (like most safari guides).

There are more qualified people for Leopards: e.g. Zoologists/Scientists/Ecologists, Regional Directors/Stakeowners who track Leopards, Field Guides who track and use trap cameras.

Problem is he is over glorified in comparison to actual experts and trackers by Pckts.


2. That's good to bring attention to endangered animals.

However, it's a guide's job to hype small animals and daily tasks for tourism (e.g. a Leopard dragging a 20 kg antelope),


marlondutoit

"The brute strength of a male leopard is something only truly appreciated in person. We watched this male leopard kill this duiker and then eventually watched in awe as he took the kill up a tree with total ease, after dragging it (still alive and kicking) for more than 500 meters to the suitable tree, in the rain, through wet & heavy grass. Simply sensational! Unbelievable!"

^ I am betting even a small Lynx can perform this feat.


Anyway, a 30-40 kg Female Leopard hoisting a 50-70 kg Antelope is impressive.

On the other hand, a 60-70 kg Leopard hoisting a 50-70 kg Antelope is mundane.

Now, a 60-70 kg Leopard hoisting a 80-100 or any 100+ kg animal is pretty impressive.

1. Plot twist, I didn't mention any timeline to suggest that Marlon tracked or didn't track animals at a specific time. But since you mentioned it, he has been doing so for years now in Sabi Sands, I'mm sure he's also gathered valuable experience by tracking in the Pantanal and India with the knowledge of the local guides he could have learned from the locals in those areas. Your quote also does not negate his involvement in tracking, it doesn't state that he does not track animals, it simply mentions another person involved in the tracking (Thumba could have been more knowledgable in this area, but we don't know to which extent Marlo also assisted in the tracking). To jump to a conclusion such as that with a vague statement with no much context does not help your case.

2. When we talk about knowledge of big cats we need to be clear about what type of knowledge we are referring to. With biologists depending on the years of experience and the type of work that they perform (field, laboratory, theoretical), they're going to be versed in different areas. Many biologists spend their time collecting data with second-hand sources to publish papers or build a collection of content for a specific species they may be studying. Others are more hand-in their work and gather data from fieldwork that involves their involvement in having direct contact with the animal. 
Depending on the level and the area of expertise a tracker like Marlon may be more qualified to give his opinion on superficial aspects of an animal's morphology or behavior than someone who has a degree in that animal but doesn't have anywhere near as much experience observing said animal in real life as the tracker does. People like Marlon won't be as versed in the nomenclature to describe or needy-greedy of the animal's biologists as someone who studies them from a theoretical point of view, but he will have valuable subjective opinions of the animal gathered through direct observation.

3. I don't see the problem with that claim from Marlon, a duiker could weight easily 25 kg and a leopard being able to hoist it with its mouth up a tree while the antelope is still alive and applying pressure downwards by kicking is very impressive, especially considering that a duiker that size is about 34-40% the size of an average male leopard from that area. Marlon isn't saying that that is the most impressive feat a male leopard can hoist up, he is simply saying that it was impressive and a show of clear display of strength on the part of the leopard. Reply