Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Luipaard]

(04-04-2022, 10:50 PM)Tr1x24 Wrote:

(04-04-2022, 09:11 PM)Luipaard Wrote: I too heard reports of a male leopard in the area. Probably ambushed.

Why would male leopard attack her in that way? I mean she doesnt have cubs currently to defend. 

Isnt a lion attack more likely?

Lions are possible as well I don't see why not. All I heard is that there was a male leopard as well in the area so the male is in my opinion no.1 suspect. Male leopards are a threat to both female leopard and her cub(s) unless it's the father/dominant male.

Abstracts from the study Intraspecific killing among Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Iran (Mammalia: Felidae):

Quote:In Africa, intraspecific strife among adult and sub-adult leopards is common. It is the predominant documented cause of mortality among female leopards in protected areas of southern Africa (43% of  cause-specific records; Swanepoel et al., 2015). The main causes of aggression between female Leopards appear to be competition for food resources (Balme & Hunter, 2004) and increased rates of encounter between unfamiliar individuals due to high turnover and thus immigration (Balme et al., 2009).

Quote:Steyn and Funston (2009) noted an adult male leopard reportedly killing and consuming three adult female leopards in Botswana’s Tuli block. Similarly, a male leopard killed a subadult female in Londolozi Private Game Reserve, South Africa (Hes, 1991). A female leopard was also killed by an adult male leopard on South Africa’s Phinda private game reserve in 2012 (A. Braczkowski, pers. comm.).

Last thing I want is human involvement as the cause of her death like you mentioned. Obviously you want a natural death but if that isn't the case, at least let it be part of nature unlike Hukumuri's death for example. Reply