African Leopards

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African Leopards

Sanju

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Joined: Oct 2018

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#215

01-29-2019, 08:22 PM

(01-29-2019, 08:00 PM)Jimmy Wrote: Srilanka ones are big yes I understand that, but he mentioned things like more muscular, larger jaws etc which i don't see. it is fine, it's not so much bothersome but I felt sometimes the reporter or photographers says things just for the sake of saying. For eg sri lankan leopards might just be big and lanky or have the same relative proportions as mainland but larger overall, but I don't think they are noticeably with more bigger jaws and stuffs, they look very similar to a mainland one but of course bigger version. That is what I meant to say.

Thanks btw, I know about island dwarfism and stuffs but I was just pointing solely towards the BBC description of a srilankan leopard. Nothing serious just free thoughts on my part! ;

Agreed.

Quote: Nocturnal predator
Using a specially adapted vehicle with infrared technology, and wearing night vision goggles, we ventured into the park at night. Leopards prefer to hunt under the cover of darkness, using their incredible hearing and night vision that is seven times more powerful than a human’s.
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. I’ve filmed leopards elsewhere in the world, but this cat looked more like a jaguar – a more muscular, powerful animal with larger jaws.

*This image is copyright of its original author

A leopard seen with infrared technology at night (credit: BBC / Paul Williams)
We were quietly filming more than 50 meters away, but the leopard turned and looked straight in our direction. He slowly started to approach.
We were in an open-backed vehicle so we could get a clear view of the action. Little did we know at the time, but the tiny monitors that we were using to film leaked enough light to catch the leopard’s attention.

*This image is copyright of its original author

"We were never in any serious harm from the leopards..." (credit: BBC / Paul Williams)
He could clearly see us and it wasn’t long before he was well within leaping distance, less than five metres away. We couldn’t see him in the darkness, but we knew how close he was when Nick started to point the infrared camera down.
Quick reactions
Luckily we had an umbrella to hand. Nick flashed it open to startle the leopard, which retreated into the shadows.
It was an intimidating introduction to the leopards of Yala, but I don’t think we were ever in serious danger. The leopard was probably surprised to see humans in the park at night, especially when they were brightly illuminated, and simply decided to take a closer look.

The crew took a lesson from the encounter (credit: BBC / Paul Williams)
But we certainly took a lesson from the encounter, and the next day we provided more protection around the sides of the vehicle.
The crew’s close encounter will be shown at the end of episode four: The Drought, Wonders of The Monsoon.
Watch Wonders of the Monsoon on Sunday at 20:00hrs on BBC Two, or catch up on BBC iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141013-...ds-of-yala

See the video here: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141013-encounters-with-the-giant-leopards-of-yala

Quote:@Jimmy

Srilanka ones are big yes I understand that, but he mentioned things like more muscular, larger jaws etc which i don't see. it is fine, it's not so much bothersome but I felt sometimes the reporter or photographers says things just for the sake of saying. For eg sri lankan leopards might just be big and lanky or have the same relative proportions as mainland but larger overall, but I don't think they are noticeably with more bigger jaws and stuffs, they look very similar to a mainland one but of course bigger version. That is what I meant to say.

I think its slightly exaggerated and I agree with you about it but I felt they are "somewhat" muscular with bigger jaw muscles not as much as small female jaguar... See... ^watch the video in the above link