Felids Interactions - Interspecific Conflicts

[Luipaard]

My favourite encounter; male leopard vs five lionesses. They just couldn't bring this big guy down!

Account:
The sighting of the month from Mara Plains was when Kali, the huge resident male leopard on the Olare River, was found having a bit of a fling with a leopardess, but the five lionesses and sub-adults of the Double-Crossing pride heard the chorus of growls. The lionesses stalked in and charged, the two leopards split and scattered, the leopardess headed upstream but the lions wanted Kali. They chased him into a small gully, where they surrounded him before jumping in on top of him. Huge snarls and roars followed before seconds later Kali literally popped out of the gully like a cork from a bottle. He took off down the river with the lionesses RIGHT behind him. The first refuge he came to was a slight overhang in the riverbank with a couple of roots across its access. He jumped into this spot and the lionesses tried to get at him but he let rip with the most fearsome combinations of teeth and claws from all four feet as he lay on his back, keeping his spine firmly against the riverbank. The lionesses backed off, keeping him pinned down, their faces bloody and covered in mud, unsure what to do next. Over the next half an hour the lions went at him twice more and we thought after the second attempt that he was finished. He had five lionesses ON TOP of him, all biting and clawing, but amazingly, despite the onslaught, Kali beat the lionesses off one at a time until they stood back, looking around through battered faces with what seemed like the realization that there is perhaps nothing more vicious than a cornered huge male leopard. 

After this, the lionesses began to call for back up, roaring and marking the area around where Kali was crouched, snarling like a demon. They were calling the pride males. Kali obviously worked this out too and in the short time it took for the lionesses to be preoccupied calling for the males he crept out of the river overhang, but he did not run. He quietly, and without showing any limps or weakness, climbed the riverbank. At the top, rather than bolting for the nearest tree, he stopped, turned and looked back with blue rage in his eyes that we will never forget. Then, as the male lions finally came trotting through the bush, Kali took off. The lionesses heard him go and gave chase, but too late. He went up a Euclea tree like nothing had happened, leaving the lionesses furious at the bottom. What happened next was like a scene from one of those angry couples talk shows – the lionesses went at the male lions, unleashing their rage in a full attack, obviously full of pent-up anger at their quarry getting away. “Where the hell have you been you lazy (bleep bleep bleep bleep)!!!”. The male lions took the attack, stunned by the female’s aggression, before fighting back in full force, causing the unruly lionesses to split and run in all directions. This incredible sequence ended with the ‘lazy, slow and overfed’ Double Crossing males stalking around marking every bush and stick they saw in attempts to reassure themselves and the lionesses of their dominance and prowess. Reply