African Leopards

[Sanju]

Massive and Huge male became victim to trophy Hunting

*This image is copyright of its original author

Male african leopards average 60 kg (130 lb) with 100+ kg (201 lb) being the maximum weight attained by a male. Huge freaks can be seen in Srilanka’s Yala, Congo rain forest and Persian leopard.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

According to a BBC article, the Sri Lankan leopard an endangered cat has evolved to become a rather large leopard subspecies with very large males reaching almost 220 lb (100 kg), due to the fact that it is an apex predator without competition by other large wild cat species in the country. The leopard is sympatric with the Sri Lankan Sloth Bear. On the island of Sri Lanka, leopards are the reigning top predator and, with no other big cat to compete with, they have become super-sized – the biggest leopards in the world besides Central African Congo leopards and Persian leopards.

*This image is copyright of its original author

“'Ivan' is reputedly the biggest leopard in the world (credit: BBC / Paul Williams)”

Elsewhere they are elusive predators, but here they have little to fear and can be seen proudly sauntering along the roads of Yala, the country’s most famous national park.Boasting the highest density of leopards anywhere in the world, Yala is also home to the biggest of them all. Weighing in at almost 100kg, Ivan the one-eyed leopard enjoys a notoriety in these parts. It wasn’t long before we detected the heat signature of a large male as it appeared from behind a bush. I was startled by how big it was. Leopards filmed elsewhere in the world, but this cat looked more like a Jaguar – a more muscular, powerful animal with larger jaws.
 http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141013-...ds-of-yala Reply