There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
^^ that was pretty well explained. No one of course is trying to make 90+ kg leopards look more frequent than they truly are as everybody agrees that a 90-96 kg (estimating also 100+ kg males) leopard is going to be as freak as a 270+ kg Lion/Tiger, 150+ kg Jaguar and so on,therefore being rare.
The only initial statement was estimating the body size of those enormous northern males and to me when comparing their build to the so called 90-100+ cougars of Patagonia they look perfectly comparable, not to mention how massive and bulky they look at least visually when compared to a 80+ kg pusher male (Mawenzi) . So to me (and a lot of others from other platforms including Mammalia server, which is also filled with researchers and qualified people) estimating these animals to be between 90-100 kg is fair.
Estimating them to be average is overrating how average leopards look like, truly. It would be like saying Waghdoh, Umarpani or Kingfisher are average sized Bengal tigers, or that Balam /Edno Jaguars are average Pantanal males (would love them to be average tho).
We should also remember that the largest "reliably" leopard recorded is just 3.5 kg far from the 100 kg barrer, and it comes from a population that averages definitely less than Northern males in an era where leopards are endangered, considering that their numbers in some parts of Namibia are in a big decline because poaching and hunting is still barbarically legal there. So if we are still able to record 90+males from an endangered population well then imagine when their numbers were at top.
You're all telling me that during the whole leopard historical reign, with the billions of individuals that have existed when their numbers were very high and not affected by human invasive impact no leopard was ever able to be at least 3+ kg heavier than that Namibian male? Considering there are subspecies that average much higher than Namibian leopards and that we have literally nothing about Aberdare leopards but only two records of two males that already push over 90 kgs?
When looking at the material I guess anyone doubting the existence of 100+ kg leopard is rather uneducated or lacks commonsense logic.
As much as people that doubt 160+ kg Pantanal Jaguars to have existed through their historical reign or even now but haven't been captured yet