There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Michele Bavassano:" "The predator"
At the first light of dawn a silhouette in a tree attracts my attention. It was an impala carcass in the leaves. A few hours later the "owner" arrived. A large male leopard. These animals are used to carrying their prey on trees to avoid being eaten by other predators such as lions or hyenas. "
Marlon du Toit: " I often look at the leopard as the ultimate animal. Here we have a predator so adaptable that one of its densest populations can be found around the outskirts of a massive city called Mumbai. Here we have a predator that gives new meaning to the term - adapt or die. Would every leopard prefer to sink its teeth into the hind quarters of an impala? Sure, no doubt! But many leopards occur in regions where this is no option & large prey species like impala are not available. So, what do they do?
They adapt & become smaller over time. They live on hares, hyrax, rodents & birds. They becomes shy, so elusive in fact that the only way to study them is by means of camera trap footage. They are ever opportunists. They’ll never shy away from a meal, they’ll never shy away from a challenge. They’ve been known to tackle prey up to the size of young buffalo, rhino & giraffe. There’s even records of them taking these large animals up trees. Consider what a ridiculous task that must be? My tracker saw a leopard kill an adult female giraffe. The giraffe walked underneath a tree the male leopard was resting within, & he jumped onto her head & throat & ended up killing it. We can learn a thing or 2 from leopards. We are all facing uncertain times. We are all about to step back into a world that’s forever changed. How we do business, how we socialize, how we travel & how we ultimately think & decide will be different than before. At the core of it, change will be inevitable. Those who adapt & take the challenge head on, will be the victors. Learn from the leopard. Be smart, be agile. Be adaptable. Don’t allow life to go back to normal. Create a version 2.0 of what used to be normal! "
04-02-2020, 01:03 AM( This post was last modified: 04-02-2020, 01:08 AM by Styx38 )
(04-01-2020, 11:25 PM)Spalea Wrote: Marlon du Toit: " I often look at the leopard as the ultimate animal. Here we have a predator so adaptable that one of its densest populations can be found around the outskirts of a massive city called Mumbai. Here we have a predator that gives new meaning to the term - adapt or die. Would every leopard prefer to sink its teeth into the hind quarters of an impala? Sure, no doubt! But many leopards occur in regions where this is no option & large prey species like impala are not available. So, what do they do?
They adapt & become smaller over time. They live on hares, hyrax, rodents & birds. They becomes shy, so elusive in fact that the only way to study them is by means of camera trap footage. They are ever opportunists. They’ll never shy away from a meal, they’ll never shy away from a challenge. They’ve been known to tackle prey up to the size of young buffalo, rhino & giraffe. There’s even records of them taking these large animals up trees. Consider what a ridiculous task that must be? My tracker saw a leopard kill an adult female giraffe. The giraffe walked underneath a tree the male leopard was resting within, & he jumped onto her head & throat & ended up killing it. We can learn a thing or 2 from leopards. We are all facing uncertain times. We are all about to step back into a world that’s forever changed. How we do business, how we socialize, how we travel & how we ultimately think & decide will be different than before. At the core of it, change will be inevitable. Those who adapt & take the challenge head on, will be the victors. Learn from the leopard. Be smart, be agile. Be adaptable. Don’t allow life to go back to normal. Create a version 2.0 of what used to be normal! "
1. Impala are not large.
They are medium sized animals. Heck the Deer that Leopards hunt in Asia, such as Axis Deer and Fallow Deer, are somewhat larger. Heck, there are other bigger Antelope like Lechwe, Ugandan Kob and Nyala.
2. A Leopard killed a full grown Giraffe?
Couldn't the tracker have posted some form of evidence of a feat considered too great even for male Lions? Was the Giraffe already near death? I don't believe bold claims without some form of concrete evidence.
(04-01-2020, 11:25 PM)Spalea Wrote: Marlon du Toit: " I often look at the leopard as the ultimate animal. Here we have a predator so adaptable that one of its densest populations can be found around the outskirts of a massive city called Mumbai. Here we have a predator that gives new meaning to the term - adapt or die. Would every leopard prefer to sink its teeth into the hind quarters of an impala? Sure, no doubt! But many leopards occur in regions where this is no option & large prey species like impala are not available. So, what do they do?
They adapt & become smaller over time. They live on hares, hyrax, rodents & birds. They becomes shy, so elusive in fact that the only way to study them is by means of camera trap footage. They are ever opportunists. They’ll never shy away from a meal, they’ll never shy away from a challenge. They’ve been known to tackle prey up to the size of young buffalo, rhino & giraffe. There’s even records of them taking these large animals up trees. Consider what a ridiculous task that must be? My tracker saw a leopard kill an adult female giraffe. The giraffe walked underneath a tree the male leopard was resting within, & he jumped onto her head & throat & ended up killing it. We can learn a thing or 2 from leopards. We are all facing uncertain times. We are all about to step back into a world that’s forever changed. How we do business, how we socialize, how we travel & how we ultimately think & decide will be different than before. At the core of it, change will be inevitable. Those who adapt & take the challenge head on, will be the victors. Learn from the leopard. Be smart, be agile. Be adaptable. Don’t allow life to go back to normal. Create a version 2.0 of what used to be normal! "
1. Impala are not large.
They are medium sized animals. Heck the Deer that Leopards hunt in Asia, such as Axis Deer and Fallow Deer, are somewhat larger. Heck, there are other bigger Antelope like Lechwe, Ugandan Kob and Nyala.
2. A Leopard killed a full grown Giraffe?
Couldn't the tracker have posted some form of evidence of a feat considered too great even for male Lions? Was the Giraffe already near death? I don't believe bold claims without some form of concrete evidence.
(04-01-2020, 11:25 PM)Spalea Wrote: Marlon du Toit: " I often look at the leopard as the ultimate animal. Here we have a predator so adaptable that one of its densest populations can be found around the outskirts of a massive city called Mumbai. Here we have a predator that gives new meaning to the term - adapt or die. Would every leopard prefer to sink its teeth into the hind quarters of an impala? Sure, no doubt! But many leopards occur in regions where this is no option & large prey species like impala are not available. So, what do they do?
They adapt & become smaller over time. They live on hares, hyrax, rodents & birds. They becomes shy, so elusive in fact that the only way to study them is by means of camera trap footage. They are ever opportunists. They’ll never shy away from a meal, they’ll never shy away from a challenge. They’ve been known to tackle prey up to the size of young buffalo, rhino & giraffe. There’s even records of them taking these large animals up trees. Consider what a ridiculous task that must be? My tracker saw a leopard kill an adult female giraffe. The giraffe walked underneath a tree the male leopard was resting within, & he jumped onto her head & throat & ended up killing it. We can learn a thing or 2 from leopards. We are all facing uncertain times. We are all about to step back into a world that’s forever changed. How we do business, how we socialize, how we travel & how we ultimately think & decide will be different than before. At the core of it, change will be inevitable. Those who adapt & take the challenge head on, will be the victors. Learn from the leopard. Be smart, be agile. Be adaptable. Don’t allow life to go back to normal. Create a version 2.0 of what used to be normal! "
1. Impala are not large.
They are medium sized animals. Heck the Deer that Leopards hunt in Asia, such as Axis Deer and Fallow Deer, are somewhat larger. Heck, there are other bigger Antelope like Lechwe, Ugandan Kob and Nyala.
2. A Leopard killed a full grown Giraffe?
Couldn't the tracker have posted some form of evidence of a feat considered too great even for male Lions? Was the Giraffe already near death? I don't believe bold claims without some form of concrete evidence.
When some words are written in italics, I just report the sentence(s) used on the site, the instagram site (here The Marlon du Toit's one). And these sentences aren't mine, just here to be reported because it's a photographer's account. If you're not agree, contact the photographer... IMO, it seems impossible that a lone leopard is able to kill an adult giraffe, but the trackers know the fauna much more better than us, I could check it when I was in Africa. And the circumstances were exceptionnal as concerns this leopard's feat.
And for a leopard, a male adult impala becomes a big prey.
04-02-2020, 12:14 PM( This post was last modified: 04-02-2020, 12:15 PM by Styx38 )
(04-02-2020, 02:08 AM)Spalea Wrote:
(04-02-2020, 01:03 AM)Styx38 Wrote:
(04-01-2020, 11:25 PM)Spalea Wrote: Marlon du Toit: " I often look at the leopard as the ultimate animal. Here we have a predator so adaptable that one of its densest populations can be found around the outskirts of a massive city called Mumbai. Here we have a predator that gives new meaning to the term - adapt or die. Would every leopard prefer to sink its teeth into the hind quarters of an impala? Sure, no doubt! But many leopards occur in regions where this is no option & large prey species like impala are not available. So, what do they do?
They adapt & become smaller over time. They live on hares, hyrax, rodents & birds. They becomes shy, so elusive in fact that the only way to study them is by means of camera trap footage. They are ever opportunists. They’ll never shy away from a meal, they’ll never shy away from a challenge. They’ve been known to tackle prey up to the size of young buffalo, rhino & giraffe. There’s even records of them taking these large animals up trees. Consider what a ridiculous task that must be? My tracker saw a leopard kill an adult female giraffe. The giraffe walked underneath a tree the male leopard was resting within, & he jumped onto her head & throat & ended up killing it. We can learn a thing or 2 from leopards. We are all facing uncertain times. We are all about to step back into a world that’s forever changed. How we do business, how we socialize, how we travel & how we ultimately think & decide will be different than before. At the core of it, change will be inevitable. Those who adapt & take the challenge head on, will be the victors. Learn from the leopard. Be smart, be agile. Be adaptable. Don’t allow life to go back to normal. Create a version 2.0 of what used to be normal! "
1. Impala are not large.
They are medium sized animals. Heck the Deer that Leopards hunt in Asia, such as Axis Deer and Fallow Deer, are somewhat larger. Heck, there are other bigger Antelope like Lechwe, Ugandan Kob and Nyala.
2. A Leopard killed a full grown Giraffe?
Couldn't the tracker have posted some form of evidence of a feat considered too great even for male Lions? Was the Giraffe already near death? I don't believe bold claims without some form of concrete evidence.
When some words are written in italics, I just report the sentence(s) used on the site, the instagram site (here The Marlon du Toit's one). And these sentences aren't mine, just here to be reported because it's a photographer's account. If you're not agree, contact the photographer... IMO, it seems impossible that a lone leopard is able to kill an adult giraffe, but the trackers know the fauna much more better than us, I could check it when I was in Africa. And the circumstances were exceptionnal as concerns this leopard's feat.
And for a leopard, a male adult impala becomes a big prey.
Never mind, this was posted on April Fools Day in Africa. Honestly, it would have been great to see a Leopard take down a full grown Giraffe, but it seems to be an obvious joke that I missed.
Also, Impala is relatively larger compared to the hares and rodents that Leopards kill at times. However, it is still a medium sized animal in the Savanna, and compared to other ecosystems with Leopards. Marlon should have clarified that part.
Howard Cleland:" Staying cool above the ground heat. I Managed to get a few pics through the leaves. Shot this a while back in Phinda in Zululand. Enjoying the live online coverage as the rangers show us latest sightings. Appreciate it. "
Marlon du Toit:" Now I’ll be the first to admit that I absolutely love using my big lenses to get close! Real close. Nothing wrong with that, right?
But, if it’s the ONLY thing you do, well then you’re likely to fall into a trap where every image is of a animals head & chest & you never get a sense of place. I love including the environment. I love showing you where these animals live. I love showing you their environment. It’s not always easy photographically as you can easily include too much & completely lose your subject in a messy frame. I want to challenge you to think a little wider next time. Look at the beauty of the bigger picture. You’ll be amazed at the end result, more often than not. "
