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.
(05-18-2018, 06:53 PM)AlexE Wrote: Leopard hyena. Hyena almost attacked by leopard
Previously we showed a hyena pirating prey from a leopard. Though the leopard tried to stand its ground, the hyena boldly rushed in to grab the prey. Twice the leopard tried to fend off the thief but in the end the hyena triumphed and carried off the remains of the carcass.
But hyenas do not always walk away unscathed from interactions with leopards. There is one record of a leopard which not only knew the trick of keeping a hyena at bay, but also killed it and it did so not only once, but three times!
Hyenas and Leopards are evenly matched. Some fanatics on both sides will argue that one species are superior to the other, but that's a big lie. Even me as a cat fanatic will say this. After watching and reading about African cats as long as I can remember I have grown to respect the hyena massively they are though as tanks! And just like with different individual cats the hyenas will vary in aggression and courage based on sex and rank.
Male Leopards are powerful predators, but mostly even they will back away from a big aggressive hyena, because they cannot risk any injuries. Lower ranked hyenas are skittish and nervous and can be held back by a cheetah.
Hyenas also differ much in size across Africa with smaller hyenas in the East of Africa and Zambia being said to hold the biggest, I haven't heard anything about weights in Botswana, but I have seen some absolute monsters down there in the Okavango that will go one on with a lioness. So I would probably estimate them even bigger than the ones from Zambia in my personal opinion, Leopards in Africa are said to grow biggest in South Africa and Namibia (I think) and I have seen very impressive specimens from Congo.
So all I can say is that for a male leopard to kill an adult hyena it' would take a massive amount of effort (and risks) remember a hyena can take a ton of punishment from several lionesses and still get away relatively fine. So it would definitely not be easy task for a lone leopard to do what a group of lionesses often will fail at. Maybe a small low ranked male hyena, but a large matriarch would be a stupid thing for even the biggest of Leopards because he can just as easily end up dead himself.
But fantastic video and thank you so much for sharing :)
Real fight
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Previously we showed a hyena pirating prey from a leopard. Though the leopard tried to stand its ground, the hyena boldly rushed in to grab the prey. Twice the leopard tried to fend off the thief but in the end the hyena triumphed and carried off the remains of the carcass.
But hyenas do not always walk away unscathed from interactions with leopards. There is one record of a leopard which not only knew the trick of keeping a hyena at bay, but also killed it and it did so not only once, but three times!
But here there’s no call for aggression from either side here. The leopard has nothing, except for its peace and quiet, to defend. The hyena won’t attack because there is nothing to scavenge. For now the two adversaries will tolerate one another - next time ‘round, it might be an altogether different case.
Thursday, October 5, 1995
We are a subdued group driving back to camp. On the way, we see the carcass of a dead hyena wedged high in a tree. This is a suprise. Hyena are not often a meal for leopard.
Other carnivores are also fair game to leopards. While lions may invest a great deal of energy in killing fellow predators, their motivation seems more to eliminate competition than to acquire food, and they frequently leave such kills untouched. Leopards, however, have been recorded killing and eating everything from dwarf mongooses to adult spotted hyaenas. One well-observed Ngorongoro Crater leopard killed and ate 11 jackals in less than a month, which suggests that small canids may be preferred prey when abundant, and there is considerable truth in the belief that leopards are partial to dogs. Such unusual preferences may vary from region to region. In arid north-eastern Namibia, researcher Flip Stander discovered adult cheetahs were sometimes killed as prey by leopards, a remarkable occurrence also recently observed by tourists in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa. Yet in the comparitively lush bushveld of northern KwaZulu-Natal, I saw three cases of leopards killing cheetahs and leaving the carcasses untouched. Perhaps where the density of more 'typical' prey species is low - such as in desert regions - leopards cannot afford to be choosy and are more likely to eat the meat of other predators.
Paris, June 24.—In the St. Louis Hospital this morning Dr. Clement Roeland, a noted surgeon, sewed up the more than half severed tail of a monster leopard in the Neuilly menageries. The leopard had been in battle, with two hyenas, killing both, but the female hyena before the end came to her managed to bite through the leopard's tail in the centre.
The big cat was lied down on an operating table, securely muzzled and the operation was made without the use of anaesthetics. The tail was stitched with thin platinum wire, the bones co-related and the injured section then put in a plaster of Paris cast, beneath which, it is said, the bone and tissue eventually will unite.
Dr. Roeland, who has admiration for wild animals, has before this operated on a Nubian lion and has given curative electric treatment to a panther.
We left at 05h00 and after deciding who was going where we were off. I went along the cut line to check if there were any lion tracks. Before I got very far, Alistair called us to come and see what he had found.....When we got close all we heard was a massive noise, hyenas howling and leopards growling. When I finally moved into the sighting it was amazing; there were 3 hyenas that were being slapped around by a big male leopard, the one we call Sand River. The hyenas were trying to steal what we then thought was the leopard's kill, a small impala. They attacked from all sides and he was thrashing them one by one ......the one hyena had no ear and most of his nose was torn off. The others were also in pretty bad shape. In amongst all the fighting they finally got away with the kill. We thought it was all over when another big older male leopard arrived. He had heard all the commotion and came to inspect what was going on. Once realising he was not tough enough to fight all the hyenas he also ran off, leaving the original leopard to contemplate the loss of his impala.
Yes as I said the leopard is capable of killing a hyena even adults, but smaller ones, a big hyena would most likely kill a smaller leopard if it was a fight to death. You can't say it's a solid fact based on a incident or two with some individuals specializing on doing things others wouldn't.
Hyenas are tough and can take an astonishing amount of punishment from other carnivores and other hyenas. A leopard would need to use a ton of valuable energy and even more risk to attack an equally sized hyena. One bite in a foot from the hyena And the leopard would be in serious trouble.
I can say that the leopard can kill elephant. But this is not true. These are just words.
05-23-2018, 12:04 AM( This post was last modified: 05-23-2018, 12:13 AM by AlexE )
(05-22-2018, 11:11 PM)Pantherinae Wrote: @AlexE here is videos of smaller/younger male leopards against massive female hyenas. If it so was a was a fight to death, I think it would be stupid to not put you're money on the larger hyena. if it was a larger leopard it would be way more difficult to predict.
That's what I'm trying to say, when animals are so evenly matched that it comes down to individuals. The two species ar 50/50 in my book. Leopards are tough and hyenas are tough.
Do you mean smaller/younger male leopards. Even a adult lynx can beat a very young kitty leopard.
LClaimed to be first time ever caught on camera in Europe. A wild wolverine fighting a lynx in the northern parts of Norway.
Incredible footage, you usually hear the that the wolverines will dominate the Lynx and stealing their kills, but this large male Lynx and no plans of letting the happen and gave the wolverine a good beating. Incredible footage!!!!!!!!!
05-23-2018, 06:45 AM( This post was last modified: 05-23-2018, 06:47 AM by Rishi )
(05-22-2018, 11:11 PM)Pantherinae Wrote: @AlexE here is videos of smaller/younger male leopards against massive female hyenas. If it so was a was a fight to death, I think it would be stupid to not put you're money on the larger hyena. if it was a larger leopard it would be way more difficult to predict.
That's what I'm trying to say, when animals are so evenly matched that it comes down to individuals. The two species ar 50/50 in my book. Leopards are tough and hyenas are tough.
Very big female spotted hyena reaches some 70kg. Her leopard counterpart would be a 100kg male!
Physically, hyenas might be hardier, but still i wouldn't call them "evenly matched".
While they regularly bully smaller leopards i don't suppose we have any records of her being that foolish to even pick-on a big male without backup, let alone turning it into a death duel & winning it. Although an old/sick male leopard shouldn't be too difficult for them to handle...
(05-22-2018, 11:11 PM)Pantherinae Wrote: @AlexE here is videos of smaller/younger male leopards against massive female hyenas. If it so was a was a fight to death, I think it would be stupid to not put you're money on the larger hyena. if it was a larger leopard it would be way more difficult to predict.
That's what I'm trying to say, when animals are so evenly matched that it comes down to individuals. The two species ar 50/50 in my book. Leopards are tough and hyenas are tough.
Very big female spotted hyena reaches some 70kg. Her leopard counterpart would be a 100kg male!
Physically, hyenas might be hardier, but still i wouldn't call them "evenly matched".
While they regularly bully smaller leopards i don't suppose we have any records of her being that foolish to even pick-on a big male without backup, let alone turning it into a death duel & winning it. Although an old/sick male leopard shouldn't be too difficult for them to handle...
A big spotted hyena can be around 90 kg. A big male leopard 90 kg.. some even bigger individuals I'm sure exists of both species.
Female hyenas in Zambia will average at around 70 kg. They are criminally underrated in size and high ranked individuals can be extremely aggressive.
A big hyena will have no problem go head to head with even the biggest male leopard. As single spotted hyenas have gone head to head with lionesses and won.
05-23-2018, 07:05 AM( This post was last modified: 05-23-2018, 07:05 AM by Pantherinae )
@Rishi Here is a single hyena fighting off a lone lioness. Again these are the Okavango hyenas. She looks as big as the lioness. I have no doubt hyenas here can reach weights around 100 kg's. You think this one would avoid a leopard?
I can't see any leopard kill a hyena like this. I'm not biased at all, but hyenas are just made of steel and when they grow this big they are a tough opponent even for a lioness.
05-23-2018, 07:14 AM( This post was last modified: 05-23-2018, 07:27 AM by Rishi )
@Pantherinae Nice!
And thanks. I didn't know that much about their size.
Leopards have been known in multiple cases to have survived onslaught of multiple lionesses too. I guess the prime specimens of both species would be evenly matched indeed.
Still, it's the "universal law of bullying" that you go after softer individuals & not the ones that would fight back with equal ferocity!
Guess that's why it's so rare that we're even discussing it right now. Or else there'd be enough cases to present & immediately put an end to this debate. (That lioness thing was clearly a weird exception... Both were too desperately hungry to bother about each other?)
(05-23-2018, 07:14 AM)Rishi Wrote: @Pantherinae Nice!
And thanks. I didn't know that much about their size.
Leopards have been known in multiple cases to have survived onslaught of multiple lionesses too. I guess the prime specimens of both species would be evenly matched indeed.
Still, it's the "universal law of bullying" that you go after softer individuals & not the ones that would fight back with equal ferocity!
Guess that's why it's so rare that we're even discussing it right now. Or else there'd be enough cases to present & immediately put an end to this debate. (That lioness thing was clearly a weird exception... Both were too desperately hungry to bother about each other?)
Yes Leopards are ferocious animals and I have seen them put on impressive displays of defense against lionesses. Lions have tendency of not killing leopards when they corner them.. even male lions sometimes let's the leopard live, it's strange (I think a tiger would kill a leopard 100 out of a 100 times). The reason I used lioness mauling as an example for the toughness of the hyena is that unlike a lightning fast leopard that can lay on his back with four sets of claws and a jaw full of long sharp teeth, the hyena only has their jaws. So you can see several lionesses bite and claw on the hyena and still the hyena will often walk away relatively fine, it proves how much punishment a hyena is capable of taking, so for a leopard killing one would be a very hard task.
Trust me the leopard is a much bigger personal favorite of mine than the spotted hyena (I even prefer the striped hyena). But I've learned to look at it more fair over the years and started to appreciate things for how they are. I could be a fanatic myself, but let's face it sometimes you are dead wrong. I was certain that a lone lion would beat a tiger (basically because I wanted too), but now I think it's more a 50/50 and if I had to give an edge I would for sure give it to the tiger, I was also sure a leopard would smash a hyena, my whole school book was covered with drawings of leopards killing hyenas, but again now I lean towards 50/50 and I actually believe I would slightly favor a big hyena over a big leopard if I had too.
I mean why should the world work just like you would want it to work. Some things you like might not always be as great as another thing you like a little less, but that doesn't mean it's bad. And it saddens me when I see people talk trash about beautiful animals just so that they can prove their favorite animal is superior.. it's pathetic! All species that are mainly discussed here on this forum are immensely powerful predators, that are amazing in their own way, and all should be protected from the threat our species pose for them.
And the last part I fully agree with! It's correct they (big individuals) will certainly avoid each other, they don't care for putting on a show for all of us on all different forum, to end our debates, they fight to survive and they will at all costs avoid a fight with a deadly foe! :)
05-23-2018, 09:24 AM( This post was last modified: 05-24-2018, 04:11 AM by Rishi )
(05-23-2018, 08:15 AM)Pantherinae Wrote: Yes Leopards are ferocious animals and I have seen them put on impressive displays of defense against lionesses. Lions have tendency of not killing leopards when they corner them.. even male lions sometimes let's the leopard live, it's strange (I think a tiger would kill a leopard 100 out of a 100 times).
Not much is known about leopards & tigers.
We have tons of footage of leopard taking a refugee on trees, but only two cases of what happens when they fail to do so in time... Once is where Sariska tigress kills what seems like a young male leopard. Another is this old one (At the very end, from 8:50):
The male seemed cautious.
Just because leopards prefer to run for their dear lives, people seem to underestimate the extent can they go to hold on to said dear lives when cornered! That's probably the reason...
(05-23-2018, 11:58 PM)sanjay Wrote: A lioness trying to overpower a leopard
Incredible encounter! I absolutely love interactions between these two apex predators. Leopards are one of the few animals that can fend off lion attacks.
If any of you have more footage of these kind of encounters, feel free to share them with me.
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(05-23-2018, 07:05 AM)Pantherinae Wrote: @Rishi Here is a single hyena fighting off a lone lioness. Again these are the Okavango hyenas. She looks as big as the lioness. I have no doubt hyenas here can reach weights around 100 kg's. You think this one would avoid a leopard?
I can't see any leopard kill a hyena like this. I'm not biased at all, but hyenas are just made of steel and when they grow this big they are a tough opponent even for a lioness.
Looks like an impala carcass too me, and it looks big compared to the lioness, which would mean the lioness is not adult or is bellow average.
100 kg hyenas? What makes you so sure when 86 kg is the heaviest reliable weight?
(05-24-2018, 02:27 PM)Shir Babr Wrote: 100 kg hyenas? What makes you so sure when 86 kg is the heaviest reliable weight?
Well, they are very stout & do grow almost as large as the largest leopard.
Although not confirmed, there is a possibility that such specimens exist...
The odds that humans have some how managed to find the largest specimen of any living species and weighed them are extremely slim. There are thousands of them yet we’ve managed to find the largest with the 100 individuals or so that have been measured?
Those odds aren’t very likely, It’s not easy to track any wild animal let alone sedate and measure the biggest to ever live.
Felids Interactions - Interspecific Conflicts
