Rainforest Leopards

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(08-21-2019, 12:10 PM)Luipaard Wrote: Becouse as we know, larger leopards are more capable of taking on heavy prey which is why I bolded this part:

Quote:Ecologically, their are certainly the apex predator in our closed forest systems here, as you state, and commonly used prey species are large. Males predominantly killed red river hogs in my dense forest sites, while in forest-savanna mosaics like northern Lope young forest buffalo become an important prey item seasonally. Gorilla and chimp are also regularly taken at all sites.

I've used the skull measurements argument many times since they're a good indicator of an animal its size (rather than weighing a gorged animal) and he stated this:

Quote:We have 3 skulls of sub-adult males now (2 killed by poachers and one found dead), and the skulls are fairly large

Being the apex predator means that there are no limitations (e.g. being small and slender to avoid bigger predators by climbing trees) so this also results in an increase of size.

For now I have two Panthera researchers (with Philipp Henschel being the leading expert in West and Central-Africa, Jo Taylor being the other one) both admitting their bigger and more robust appearance and yet you're questioning my 'claim'? Not even talking about the skulls measurements where the larger ones originate from Central Africa.

So we have leopards in equatorial forests predominantly preying upon large as red river hogs and young forest buffalo, they're the apex predator and have larger skulls than any other leopard subspecies. Photographic evidence also show us impressive leopards with many males having the appearance of a jaguar, the so called 'leopard on steroids'.

You have every right to think otherwise but I think we can safely assume that they're bigger and more robust, based on skull measurements and their appearance on photos/videos. And of course Philipp Henschel's conclusion:

Quote:It certainly makes sense for them to become big, heavy ambush predators in this environment

Oh and for those wondering, this part was about a photos I shared where I forgot to credit Philipp

Quote:Yes, it was indeed one of the first I recorded in Gabon, and no worries at all. This just happens a lot

The leopard:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Maybe you could ask from Henschel, what he thinks. I mean he has for sure seen leopards elsewhere too, so he could be asked what is his opinion about sizes when comparing these leopards to other populations?
It would be always interesting to know, but when asking questions it is also about it, that asking right questions to get clear answers. So yes, they are big, but does Henschel think, that they are bigger than other leopard populations/subspecies in Africa? Now when you have contact, try to ask that question, then we would have at least his opinion, not different kind of speculations what something he say means. Reply