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Leopard
Leopard Predation Thread
Leopard Predation Thread
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Leopard Predation Thread
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Diamir2, post #173... Leopard owns Bear. Really, is that what you see? I doubt that this is a legitimate leopard predation event.
Photo and information credits: Dave Pusey Photography
Not the greatest photo but definitely one of my leopard sightings of the year, behaviour wise. A girl’s gotta have a starter and main course…Inkanye female leopard was busy feeding on the steenbok when she spotted the impala walking underneath her, she then launched out of the Marula and landed on the impala, killed it and then hoisted it up to join her steenbok stash. It was a very windy night and unfortunately for her the wind was too strong and the impala eventually fell down…and she almost fell too  *This image is copyright of its original author
Treehouse/Piva male, from Mala Mala Game Reserve. Credits to Paul Dankwerts.
"A large male leopard was hunting nyala in front of Main Camp before dinner- we didn't get a clear view but believe it was most likely the Treehouse male."  *This image is copyright of its original author
Photo and information credits: Wildlife Photography by Rick Beldegreen
"Leopard vs warthog; ambush & death grip- Botswana"  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Wildlife Mad Travellers Videos.
Dated around 2009. On our last game drive in Kanha Tiger Reserve, as we were driving towards the exit, our park guide spotted this Leopard. It walked down the road before climbing a tree after Langur Monkeys. The Leopard basically frightens the Langur to death giving it a heart attack! The Langur were very pleased to see us as the guides did put the Leopard off its hunt somewhat, at least we temporarily saved a life! Our guides were so excited we missed the park closure time and ended up having to pretend that the car had trouble starting!  
Credits to Catherine Williams.
Masai mara leopard.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Photo and information credits: Photowildsa
"The Ndzilo female leopard claiming her prize for the day at Kirkman's Kamp"  *This image is copyright of its original author
 
Leopard killing python
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Python being torn aparts by two leopards Unlucky python became the focus of an epic tug-of-war between two fearsome leopards. The six-and-a-half-foot African rock python became the unwilling "rope" in the game, after being captured by a female leopard in the long grass.  *This image is copyright of its original author But as she dragged it along behind her, she was ambushed by her over-zealous son who wanted to land the kill for himself. The young male snatched the end of the enormous snake in his powerful jaws, and tried to tug it away from his mother. The two big cats fought ferociously over their prey for half an hour, in front of stunned guests at the MalaMala game reserve in South Africa. The brutal battle was only ended when the female leopard gave up, retreating to a tree while her son tucked into his prize. But he only ate a morsel before deciding it was not to his taste, and discarding the snake's body in the long grass. The unusual scene was caught on camera by American photographer Josh Scheinert, who was staying at the MalaMala reserve. Antony Mulligan, 31, manager of the reserve, said: "It was a really incredible sight — it's very, very rare. "I've never seen anything like it before. Just to see two adult leopards together is rare, so to get them in a tug of war situation like this is amazing.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Londolozi Game Reserve, What’s in a Hoist? by James Souchon:
One of the most exciting things to witness out in the bush is the process of how a leopard gets its kill up into a tree. Most of us guides out here have been lucky enough to see what is termed a “hoist” at least once or twice, but although leopards are regularly taking their kills into trees, actually witnessing it is by no means a common occurrence. The stars have align for you, because first of all you have to find a leopard, then that leopard needs to have made a kill fairly recently, and the kill then has to be the right size for the leopard to carry. There also has to be a suitable tree for the leopard to hoist into, before the smell of the kill attracts the unwanted attention of any hyenas or lions. When all these factors come together, the leoaprd still needs to actually make the decision to hoist, and you need to still be there to see the event take place. So, as much as we praise the work and skill of our phenomenal trackers who help us find the leopard in the first place, sometimes a little bit of luck is needed to witness the actual hoist. What makes it so exciting to watch is the supreme strength on display as the leopard drags its kill across the ground before casting it’s eyes upwards, inspecting the climbing route and then leaping into the boughs of the tree with its meal in tow. However, this doesn’t always go according to plan as Shaun D’araujo witnessed when the Anderson Male attempted to hoist a fully grown impala into a Marula tree only to fail in spectacular fashion and come tumbling down. This may happen sometimes when a leopard is feeling rushed to get its kill into the safety of a tree due to the threat of a rival predator, and doesn’t choose the correct route up a tree or chooses a tree that is less than adequate for its needs. We have often seen kills that have been hoisted up into trees which may have not been the first choice of a leopard but necessity and lack of time meant that they had no other option in that moment. Guests often ask how much a leopard can actually carry up into a tree and at what point does it make the decision to hoist? These questions have stimulated a lot of interesting discussions amongst the guides as different people recounted their experiences and observations. A leopard will usually be able to hoist slightly more than its own body weight. This is an incredible feat of strength when you think that that weight is being carried in the mouth with the carcass hanging between its legs, as it digs only it’s claws into the bark of a vertical tree trunk! The Mashaba Female hoists a fully grown female impala up a vertical tree trunk. Her cub seems determined to hamper her efforts in the process. Photograph by Lucien Beaumont  *This image is copyright of its original author One example that leaps to mind was when the Anderson male hoisted a giraffe calf into a tree in 2015. No one was there to actually witness the hoist but he was discovered in the morning feeding on the giraffe that would have weighed over 100kg! The Anderson Male just after he was discovered with the baby giraffe he presumably killed. A Giraffe of that size would have weighed close to three times the weight of the Anderson Male himself. Photograph by Sean Cresswell  *This image is copyright of its original author Leopards don’t always hoist their kills though and we have countless examples of where we have seen them feeding on their kills on the ground. Even though they are more than capable of hoisting that weight into a tree, sometimes the situation is such that it is not necessary in their eyes. They may deem at that moment that their energy is better spent on feeding as opposed to dragging and hoisting the kill. It could be that the kill is so small that it is only a matter of minutes before it is finished off and it would be a waste of time to hoist it. It may also be the case that the habitat in which it made the kill is dense and inaccessible and the kill is relatively safe on the ground. But certainly the main driving factor that causes a leopard to hoist it’s kill is the presence of opportunistic predators such as lions and hyenas. If the kill is small enough sometimes a leopard may just drag it to the relatively safety of a thicket where it could feed on it on the ground.Photograph by James Tyrrell  *This image is copyright of its original author Sometimes a kill doesn’t have to big for it to be taken up into a tree. Here the Mashaba female repositions a common duiker that she caught. When leopards have cubs their propensity to hoist their kills is also a lot higher as they may need to stash their kill somewhere safe as they head off to find their cub. Photograph by James Tyrrell  *This image is copyright of its original author It was noted that during the time when the Majingilane Male lions were dominant on the majority of Londolozi that the Hyena population decreased as they moved away from the massive threat that the lion coalition posed. This meant that their was now less chance of a leopard’s kill being stolen by hyenas and the leopards seemed to adjust their behaviour accordingly; choosing to feed on their kills on the ground instead of up in a tree. This behaviour also occurs in other parts of South Africa where lion and hyena populations are not as high as they are in the Sabi Sands. Once the Majingilane coalition moved off Londolozi the hyena numbers began to increase again and soon the leopards responded by hoisting their kills once more. An opportunistic hyena jumps and grabs part of an Impala kill that wasn’t taken high enough up the tree. Photograph by James Tyrrell.  *This image is copyright of its original author Being able to hoist the weight that they do and in the manner in which they do it makes leopards arguably, pound-for-pound, the strongest of all the big cats in the world which gives us even more cause to celebrate and admire them more. Whenever I am lucky enough to find a leopard with a kill on the ground my heart rate quickens just a little bit as I scan the area, picturing which tree they are hopefully going to take it up into. It doesn’t always work out but when it does it really is quite something to behold. For some exciting videos showing leopards hoisting their kills into trees here at Londolozi click on the links below. Camp Pan Male hoists an Impala Kill A Quintessential Leopard Hoist Male Leopard hoists and Leaps with Impala |
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