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Animal Strength Feats
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https://youtu.be/cHS-liEvEDw
Brown bear strength features video compilation. Made by me. Sources and links, are in the description of the YouTube video.
Leopards hoisting animals relatively bigger than themselves.
Leopard hoists up relatively large Buffalo Calf up tree.  *This image is copyright of its original author Quote:The unsuspecting duo approached the tree and a perfectly timed leap had the leopard taking the calf in a flash while the frantic mother tried in vain to break the leopard’s stranglehold. A minute later, the female leopard scrambled up the tree with the calf held in her jaws, displaying amazing hunting skills and the awesome strength of the big cat that is pound for pound the strongest and most cunning of them all. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100328/Plus/plus_12.html Leopard with Giraffe Calf  *This image is copyright of its original author Leopard hoists large Zebra Calf Leopard hoists relatively robust Rhino Calf up tree. Probably same weight or a bit smaller, but still impressive due to build. @Pckts Remember the Impala vs. Spotted/Chital Deer debate. According to GuateGojira's sources, Chital Deer have max weights of 93-97.5 kg.  *This image is copyright of its original author While Chital and and Impala are similar in size, the Chital has the higher recorded maximum. The mx. weight rivals most adult men in weight. This may be the reason why Leopards hoisting Impala are no longer so impressive. Leopards can hoist up fair sized Buffalo calf and similar sized (slightly larger) Deer up trees in India and Sri Lanka. If you search up 'Leopard hoist' the two highest viewed videos on youtube are the Leopard hoisting the Zebra foal and the Leopard hoisting the Rhino Calf. The funny part is that neither of these videos were promoted by a news station or a Game Lodge. Just random people. What this indicates is that seeing Leopards hoisting relatively small Impalas is somewhat mundane at this point of time, unless if it is hyped by a larger organization. This is my beef with Marlon du Toit. He'll hype up normal events or Impala to promote tourism. Since you are his fan, you'll buy into his sensationalism and bolster the Impala as a 'big animal' even though they are the average weight of a Leopard hoist. "Average prey weight cached in trees was 63.89 kg (SE= 8.15 kg)"(Swanepoel, 2008) "The scientists found that leopards tend to hoist prey that are between half and one-and-a-half times their own weight." http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170420-...0show%20up. Anyway, Marlon Du Toit is a good tour guide, but he won't know much compared to an expert (and probably has minimal/general knowledge on Leopard diet). Also, this could be one of the largest Leopard hoists (along with the Leopard that hoisted the female Waterbuck). "The maximum weight of a cached prey prey species was 135 kg, where an adult female cached a red hartebeest" (Swanepoel, 2008). The Hartebeest was partially eaten, but it was still impressive for a small female Leopard. 
Marlon du Toit is extremely knowledgeable, as someone who has spent years of his life tracking and observing big cats he has a level of insight into them, their morphology and behavior that few others (including certain biologists) might have.
You don't need pHD to observe the behavior and characteristics of animals and arrive to an accurate conclusion when you have a vast body of experience in first hand viewing of said animals. Thank God for the work that Marlon is able to do in portraying endangered wildlife to the public which helps to bring awareness to their conservation. Little "hyping" do I see in his actions, rather I see someone who is passionate about his work and his appreciation for these animals. Hoisting a 60-70 kg ungulate up a tree that might be heavier than the cat hoisting it is an impressive feat, Marlon was right about that. (11-07-2020, 06:17 AM)Balam Wrote: Marlon du Toit is extremely knowledgeable, as someone who has spent years of his life tracking and observing big cats he has a level of insight into them, their morphology and behavior that few others (including certain biologists) might have. 1. Plot twist. Marlon did not even track animals at that time. "Marlon and Themba, our tracker, (he looks for tracks and has extremely keen vision) found us the 'big five.'" https://www.themarthablog.com/2010/03/a-...frica.html He has knowledge on wildlife in Africa, but has general knowledge on Big Cats (like most safari guides). There are more qualified people for Leopards: e.g. Zoologists/Scientists/Ecologists, Regional Directors/Stakeowners who track Leopards, Field Guides who track and use trap cameras. Problem is he is over glorified in comparison to actual experts and trackers by Pckts. 2. That's good to bring attention to endangered animals. However, it's a guide's job to hype small animals and daily tasks for tourism (e.g. a Leopard dragging a 20 kg antelope), marlondutoit "The brute strength of a male leopard is something only truly appreciated in person. We watched this male leopard kill this duiker and then eventually watched in awe as he took the kill up a tree with total ease, after dragging it (still alive and kicking) for more than 500 meters to the suitable tree, in the rain, through wet & heavy grass. Simply sensational! Unbelievable!" ^ I am betting even a small Lynx can perform this feat. Anyway, a 30-40 kg Female Leopard hoisting a 50-70 kg Antelope is impressive. On the other hand, a 60-70 kg Leopard hoisting a 50-70 kg Antelope is mundane. Now, a 60-70 kg Leopard hoisting a 80-100 or any 100+ kg animal is pretty impressive. (11-07-2020, 08:04 AM)Styx38 Wrote:(11-07-2020, 06:17 AM)Balam Wrote: Marlon du Toit is extremely knowledgeable, as someone who has spent years of his life tracking and observing big cats he has a level of insight into them, their morphology and behavior that few others (including certain biologists) might have. 1. Plot twist, I didn't mention any timeline to suggest that Marlon tracked or didn't track animals at a specific time. But since you mentioned it, he has been doing so for years now in Sabi Sands, I'mm sure he's also gathered valuable experience by tracking in the Pantanal and India with the knowledge of the local guides he could have learned from the locals in those areas. Your quote also does not negate his involvement in tracking, it doesn't state that he does not track animals, it simply mentions another person involved in the tracking (Thumba could have been more knowledgable in this area, but we don't know to which extent Marlo also assisted in the tracking). To jump to a conclusion such as that with a vague statement with no much context does not help your case. 2. When we talk about knowledge of big cats we need to be clear about what type of knowledge we are referring to. With biologists depending on the years of experience and the type of work that they perform (field, laboratory, theoretical), they're going to be versed in different areas. Many biologists spend their time collecting data with second-hand sources to publish papers or build a collection of content for a specific species they may be studying. Others are more hand-in their work and gather data from fieldwork that involves their involvement in having direct contact with the animal. Depending on the level and the area of expertise a tracker like Marlon may be more qualified to give his opinion on superficial aspects of an animal's morphology or behavior than someone who has a degree in that animal but doesn't have anywhere near as much experience observing said animal in real life as the tracker does. People like Marlon won't be as versed in the nomenclature to describe or needy-greedy of the animal's biologists as someone who studies them from a theoretical point of view, but he will have valuable subjective opinions of the animal gathered through direct observation. 3. I don't see the problem with that claim from Marlon, a duiker could weight easily 25 kg and a leopard being able to hoist it with its mouth up a tree while the antelope is still alive and applying pressure downwards by kicking is very impressive, especially considering that a duiker that size is about 34-40% the size of an average male leopard from that area. Marlon isn't saying that that is the most impressive feat a male leopard can hoist up, he is simply saying that it was impressive and a show of clear display of strength on the part of the leopard.
@Balam
1. Plot twist! That was in Singita Game Reserve, the place where he worked as a ranger. Since he needed an actual tracker, that indicates he was better at spotting than tracking. This means he was not as versed on Leopards, since the ones who are actually have to track them, locate kill sites, use telemetry/trap cams/other equipment and etc. He probably works with animals less now since he is a safari guide, who are more focused on organizing itineraries for the tourists. 2. Yes, they compare older sources with their own established data. Marlon relays basic knowledge from this data. All the other tour guides have to do that, along with identifying various individuals in the area, and that is about it. So there is always a hierarchy in knowledge of particular species to having some rudimentary fact of all the wildlife in the area. 3. I'll give credit that dragging a live animal is more difficult. I am just not sure if it is as great as Marlon is hyping it considering this was a small Duiker. (11-08-2020, 02:30 AM)Styx38 Wrote: @Balam A tracker will have more knowledge on how to locate leopards, that doesn't negate Marlon's level of knowledge concerning the animals he has constant access to (i.e. their day-to-day behavior or morphology). I also have never heard Marlon make any claims where he positions himself as an expert on leopards above biologists who study them, all this talk concerning his knowledge on them is odd to me. Bottom line is that he has an extensive track record of observations of leopards and other wildlife and can give valuable opinions on said observations. And yes, he will know more about certain aspects of this animal than someone who doesn't have an inch of the experience Marlon has in the viewing them in their natural habitat. (11-08-2020, 04:15 AM)Balam Wrote: I also have never heard Marlon make any claims where he positions himself as an expert on leopards above biologists who study them, all this talk concerning his knowledge on them is odd to me. So in other words, you admit to over glorifying a tour guide. LOL (11-09-2020, 01:32 AM)Styx38 Wrote:(11-08-2020, 04:15 AM)Balam Wrote: I also have never heard Marlon make any claims where he positions himself as an expert on leopards above biologists who study them, all this talk concerning his knowledge on them is odd to me. Not once did I allude to over glorifying him, on the contrary, I'm glad to emphasize Marlon's track records as someone who has had direct contact with multiple cats around the world and is more than qualified to give opinions on them and those opinions will hold more value than someone who hasn't had a tenth of his experience observing these animals. I'm guessing all this rant to try to discredit him is coming from his opinion on female jaguars and male leopards. Newsflash, not only is his opinion accurate but it is also supported by data. You can either continue throwing temper tantrums about it by trying to diminish his experience, or you can move on, either way it doesn't alter the facts.
@Balam
Ok, Iet's cut to the chase. He is a Safari/tour guide who has seen a lot of Leopards and Lions. A lot of tour guides have seen their fair portion of Big Cats, since it is their job to help tourists spot the animal. They will have good knowledge about their park(s), but will have basic info on each animal that was already established by researchers. They are obviously not going to have the detailed info on ecology or measurements found in peer reviewed reports since they just need a bit to entertain their clients. My question is what necessarily makes Marlon a serious expert on Leopards compared to the other tour guides and actual researchers? Is it because he is more famous? He has promoted his company on famous American talk shows like Martha Stewart and the Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon. However, this is mainly for tourism or his photography rather than his expertise on animals. If he does provide info on animals, it seems like something very basic at best. (11-09-2020, 07:15 AM)Styx38 Wrote: @Balam We're going in circles now. Let's just agree to disagree. |
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