Rainforest Leopards

[Luipaard]

According to Pocock a well reputed expert on leopards and other cats the largest leopards in Africa were from Algeria, Upper Congo/Southern Sudan, and the coastal forests of West Africa. This was primarily based on skull measurements and while I don't know of any measurements for the Algerian leopard those from coastal West Africa and Upper Congo are indeed very impressive approaching the Pantanal jaguars in skull length. 

The average skull length of 7 mature male leopards from North Eastern Congo (DRC) was 261mm including two at 279mm and 282mm. Even more impressive a sample of 3 male leopard skulls from the coast of Gabon had an average length of 274mm with the largest at 282mm. While the Gabon sample is small and thus may not be reflective of the true average it is impressive nonetheless that such large skulls are present despite a very limited sample. For comparison the average skull length of 17 adult male jaguars from Venezuela was 282.2mm and 12 from the Mato Grasso area of Brazil averaged 282mm. On the other hand, the East African plains leopard or the Southern African leopard which we are used to seeing have an average skull length of about 230mm and only exceptional males reach 260mm.

Leopards from the Atlantic equatorial forests of Africa are probably very large based on skull measurements (near jaguar sized skulls). The Loango NP region of Gabon is said to be a pristine area with undisturbed wildlife and is home to a large population of this type of leopard. People suspect male leopards from this region to be around 70kgs on average. Thus leopards in parts of equatorial Africa reach skull lengths of around 280mm with some regularity which is about the same as an average male jaguar of the largest types. It is not at all farfetched to hypothesize that such large skulled leopards will weigh 200lbs or more given that a jaguar with an equal skull length weighs around 220lbs. This is further substantiated by the fact that these forest leopards have particularly stocky, jaguar-like builds based on the few available photographs.

Leopards from parts of equatorial Africa can obtain based on the above data it would be perfectly sound to suggest he weighed around 200lb. Although large skulls may not necessary reflect a correspondingly large body size, skull size is considered a reliable indicator of size by scientists. The reason why these equatorial forest leopards are so large is probably due to the absence or scarcity of lions in the region combined with the abundance of prey. Keep in mind however that not the entire Congo rainforest has such large leopards but specifically the north eastern part and certain coastal parts where the forest supports more prey. The leopards from the central Congo rainforest have an average skull length intermediate between the large forest leopard types and those from the East and Southern African bush.


All data comes from Pocock’s The Leopards of Africa (1932) & J.A. Allen’s “Carnivora Collected by American Museum Congo Expedition” (leopard) and Notes on the biology and status of the jaguar in Venezuela” by Mondolfi and Hoogesteijn 1986. Reply