Animal Strength Feats

[Luipaard]

(03-29-2021, 03:50 PM)Balam Wrote:

Quote:Well yes it is a fact that it's the smallest of the big cats and it is a fact that none of the other three have dragged prey 2-3 times its own bodyweight vertically up a tree.

They don't because they don't have to, they aren't subordinates to other larger carnivores across their range. It's called being an apex predator.

Quote:Male leopards are everything but gracile hence why they're able to take down tough and robust prey such as wild boar, warthog and red river hog. And for some leopards this on a regular basis

Robusticity index studies that show empirical data and numbers speak for themselves. Killing suids has no correlation whatsoever with being a robust cat. It's an undeniably fact that the P. pardus is the most gracile of the pantherines. This makes sense as an adaptation for an animal that is arboreal and needs to have a lighter build for flexibility and agility. You can become a master in something without compromising in other areas, and leopards compromised in the robustness/size department (hence why you don't see 100+ kg leopards).

Quote:And how are they least impressive when they possess the most extreme sexual dimorphism among the big cats? The males constantly dwarf the females because they have a different build. Take a look at their broad heads or massive bulking neck. That's a real eye test

No they don't, Llanos jaguars posses a more drastic weight difference between the sexes than Persian leopards, for example. But nonetheless, the drastic sexual dimorphism has nothing to do with the overall morphology of the species. Another bizarre statement backed up by personal interpretations rather than solid scientific data.

Quote:They don't because they don't have to, they aren't subordinates to other larger carnivores across their range. It's called being an apex predator.

Guess what? There's plenty of leopard populations who are an apex predator and they still now and then drag prey up a tree;

Sri Lankan leopard with water buffalo calf:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Quote:Robusticity index studies that show empirical data and numbers speak for themselves. It's an undeniably fact that the P. pardus is the most gracile of the pantherines.

Yet male leopards are comparable to the other pantherines at equal size. Female leopards if another story but as explained before; because sexual dimorphism.

Quote:Killing suids has no correlation whatsoever with being a robust cat.

Yes it does; killing suids requires brute strength because of their robustness and temperament. This is why the most robust leopard populations are the ones who frequently tackle suids (i.e. Central African leopards and red river hogs, Persian leopards and wild boar).

Quote:This makes sense as an adaptation for an animal that is arboreal and needs to have a lighter build for flexibility and agility.

Again, Central African and Persian leopards don't live an arboreal life hence why they're the biggest in the world and the most robust with also the biggest skulls. It's because they're the apex predator and frequently tackle large and tough prey. 
According to Phillip Henschel, Central African (Gabonese ones in this case) live a life comparable to Pantanal jaguars as they heavily predate upon reptilians:

Quote:leopards in Gabon are also known to prey on crocodiles, feed on marine turtles, crack open forest tortoises, and prey on giant pangolin.

It's no coincidence that these leopards have skulls at extremes that approach the dimensions of Pantanal male jaguars who weigh 100kg or is it now 110kg?

Quote:leopards compromised in the robustness/size department (hence why you don't see 100+ kg leopards).

That's a 'bizarre statement backed up by personal interpretations rather than solid scientific data' isn't it. According to you Central American jaguars are not robust compared to most South American jaguars as they don't weigh more than 100kg. But looking at camera trap footage of Belizean, Mexican and Costa Rican jaguars, I still notice very robust jaguars but just not well fed with cattle like the Pantanal jaguars. 

Leopards do not have to weigh more than 100kg in order to be robust or comparable to jaguars, lions or tigers. If you scale them to the same size (e.g. same size of a leopard) they will be very similar in dimensions and the difference will be marginal. Each and every cat will dominate a particular department such as the neck department for leopards, skull department for jaguars and limb department for lions/tigers.

Quote:No they don't, Llanos jaguars posses a more drastic weight difference between the sexes than Persian leopards, for example.

Comparing Llanos jaguars and Persian leopards with each other is comparing two specific populations with each other. Overall the leopard possesses the most sexual dimorphism. I already proved it via skull data.

Quote:But nonetheless, the drastic sexual dimorphism has nothing to do with the overall morphology of the species.

Yes it does; female leopards are powerful but gracile. Adapted to tackle light and nimble prey whereas the males are built to tackle large and tough prey which results in a much, much heavier build. The best and most extreme example will be Gabonese leopards who live a different life; the females are still lightweight but not arboreal and they target the duikers in the area or rodents whereas the males primarily go for red river hog and in some sites even young adult forest buffalo.

The difference couldn't be more pronounced, even you have to agree:

*This image is copyright of its original author

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