Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor)

[Ngala]

From Project Future4Leopards, 16 Jan. 2017:  A leopard killed by a leopard

*This image is copyright of its original author

Does that sound strange and odd? But it is a common behavior among big cats, especially the leopards. Just a few days ago, in mid-January 2017, a young female leopard was killed by a larger leopard in Dorfak No Hunting Area, northern Iran. The leopard, suffocated based on canine signs, was almost two years, according to tooth characteristics. She was found by local people in the area who reported to our colleagues in Gilan Department of Environment. Part of the animal body, from arm to chest, was consumed by another animal. In case that she was eaten by the killer leopard, it is the first confirmed case of cannibalism in the Middle East.

Surprisingly, this young female was killed just one year after one of our collared leopards, a three years old female in Tandoureh, who was killed by a larger specimen in early February 2016. Intra-species strife is commonly considered to occur between males, but evidences show that females are probably more targeted than perceived before. A recent study has shown than more than 40% of female leopard mortalities in southern Africa are mediated by other leopards, i.e. they are killed by larger ones. However, such a behavior was not known from Asian leopards, until last year when the project Future4Leopards reported for the first time occurrence of a female mortality mediated by another leopard. Nonetheless, the notion must be borne in mind when translocation programs are implemented by conservation agencies to avoid risk of killing young females by the leopard leopards.

*This image is copyright of its original author

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