Modern Weights and Measurements of Leopards

[Pckts]

I’m so Last week we reported on an interaction between two of our resident male leopards; Paka & Neo.  Neo, ~10 yrs old, is now the heaviest leopard in the reserve surpassing Mawenzi at last weigh-in.  Paka, ~6 yrs old, is a juvenile and one of the smallest males on the reserve and has yet to firmly establish his territory.  As you can see on the territory map he seems to wander quite a bit instead of holding one area for his own. 
Paka ventured into Neo’s territory last week and Neo was less than pleased.  AfriCat staff, vet students from UNAM and their professors were in the area when a fight broke out between the two.  Neo seemed to be the aggressor defending his area, and Paka was observed maintaining a somewhat submissive stance for most of the interaction.  After Neo moved off the group was able to evaluate Paka’s injuries and determined that some medical intervention was needed.  Paka was then immobilized and taken to the clinic for wound care and quite a few sutures.  He was released into a secure holding camp the next day to aid in his recovery.  Neo was evaluated the next day and had minimal injuries.  This type of interaction is not seen often on the reserve and has been thoroughly documented as part of our study of enclosed protected areas as conservation strategy.
@okonjima_nature_reserve 

Neo

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

This is a small, private reserve with fenced protection and no other major predators. Reply