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African Leopards
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I posted this on the old Carnivora forum a few years ago and I've seen it circulating around the internet since. I thought I'd share it here in my own words so there is some clarity. The info and photo I received directly from Robin Anthony Hurt.
The following is a photo of a forest leopard hunted in north eastern DR Congo in 1984 (then Zaire). It was the only leopard ever taken in the Congo by experienced professional hunter Robin Anthony Hurt and it turned out to be his biggest. According to Hurt the skull was over 11 inches long and he estimated the weight to be around 220lbs – he said it looked nearly as big as a lioness. His opinion after decades of professional hunting is that the biggest leopards in Africa are those from the forests of Central Africa and also the mountain forests of East Africa. He is currently based in Namibia where he says some leopards can also get pretty huge but those are more exceptional. Peter Turnbull-Kemp who also had experience with leopards as a game warden throughout Africa (Nigeria/Cameroon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Africa) also reached the same conclusion – they can get big anywhere but the biggest tend to be from the equatorial forests – the biggest he ever saw was in Cameroon. There are at least 7 leopard skulls in museum collections from DR Congo (former Belgian Congo) which are over 270mm. Unfortunately we don’t know what those huge leopards would’ve looked like but this huge specimen killed in the same general area gives us some idea. It could easily be placed among the photos of male Pantanal jaguars hunted by Tony Almeida and not look out of place. Big forest leopard hunted by client of Robin Anthony Hurt in DR Congo, 1984.  *This image is copyright of its original author Trophy hunting was closed in DR Congo since but poaching has been rampant in this very unstable and war torn part of Africa. 
Massive lake nakuru leopard
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Credits: https://tiktogram.com/media/1989693521669745422_8095814675
Leopard with kill in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo
 *This image is copyright of its original author *This image is copyright of its original author http://www.mammalwatching.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MD-Garamba-Mammal-Report-2017.pdf Anyways, this is a forest-savanna mosiac (though more savanna based) with animals from both areas. For example savanna elephants and forest elephants are found here along with the possibility of their hybrids. Not sure if this Leopard is more adapted to the plains or the jungles. On one hand , the area is mainly open vegetation. On the other hand, the Leopard looks fairly robust and confidently sitting on a massive prize. This individual might potentially rival the Sabi Sands males in mass. 
Large looking Leopard, Location and Picture Credit Unknown.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Mr Anderson - Simbambili Game Lodge - Posted 3 Sept 2019 Date Taken Not Specified Images by Sabre Rayne Meeser - Male leopard Anderson after stealing male Hukumuris kill a little while ago..  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Anderson from 2018  *This image is copyright of its original author Mr. Anderson - Sabi Sands Image by Sandeep_annam 8 Dec 2017  *This image is copyright of its original author With a Female 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author Taking his Warthog Kill Remains up a tree  *This image is copyright of its original author
Are the Zanzibari (formerly Panthera pardus adersi, possibly extant) and mainland African leopards (including the Barbary leopard (formerly Panthera pardus panthera) of the Maghreb (Northwest Africa)) of the same subspecies (Panthera pardus pardus)? Details here:
https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-genetic...8#pid90838 
Leopard in Lake Mburo National park, Uganda
 *This image is copyright of its original author http://mburosafarilodge.com/wildlife-mburo-national-park/ (09-14-2019, 01:01 AM)Styx38 Wrote: Leopard in Lake Mburo National park, Uganda Beautiful male @  |
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