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Leopard
Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
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Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
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 (08-16-2018, 07:48 PM)peter Wrote:(08-16-2018, 06:28 PM)eagleman Wrote:(12-06-2015, 09:29 PM)Sully Wrote: These cats are the largest leopards in the world, this is due to the fact that they are the biggest land predators in Sri Lanka therefore not having to compete with lions and tigers like some of their smaller cousins. Feel free to post pics, vids, data and everything else. Do you have any data regarding North African (Barbary) leopards? It's said that they're were the largest, like the size of a lion (which might be a exaggeration). Central African leopards are a tad bigger in skull sizes, averaging 255mm.  (04-15-2019, 01:05 PM)Luipaard Wrote:(08-16-2018, 07:48 PM)peter Wrote:(08-16-2018, 06:28 PM)eagleman Wrote:(12-06-2015, 09:29 PM)Sully Wrote: These cats are the largest leopards in the world, this is due to the fact that they are the biggest land predators in Sri Lanka therefore not having to compete with lions and tigers like some of their smaller cousins. Feel free to post pics, vids, data and everything else. 1 - Barbary lions and leopards Most natural history museums I visited have skulls of 'Barbary' lions, but I never saw a skull of a 'Barbary' leopard. As to the meaning of 'Barbary'. I found that all skulls of 'Barbary' lions belonged to lions born and bred in captivity. Most perished well after Barbary lions had become extinct. As I really don't know what to make of it, I decided to use a bit of salt every time I see 'Barbary' on labels. Same for articles. 2 - Leopard skulls The discussion about the size of leopards in some regions is a bit misleading in that it could result in a somewhat distorted view. I've seen many leopard skulls in natural history museums and private collections. Most skulls belonged to adult wild male leopards. Not one of them exceeded 250 mm. in greatest total length. Based on what I saw, one could conclude that skulls exceeding that mark are rare and be close. 3 - Jaguars and leopards compared While it's true that some exceptional leopards, weightwise, compare to an average male jaguar of a large subspecies, there is, skullwise, quite a difference between an adult male leopard and an adult male jaguar. Jaguar skulls with a greatest total skull length of 240-260 mm. from Surinam seem like small lion or tiger skulls. Compared to leopard skulls of similar length, they are more elevated at the orbit and more robust. Not seldom, they're almost twice the weight of a leopard skull with a similar length. A picture says more than a thousand words. When I was in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, poster Wanderfalke assisted. He made a picture showing a skull of a wild male jaguar from Peru and a skull of a wild male leopard from the Cape. I'll try to find it. 4 - The difference between Asian and African leopards Although I didn't see a lot of skulls from Sri Lanka, India, Iran and central parts of Africa, I did notice that skulls of males shot in central parts of Africa had a robust mandibula, large and robust teeth and a flattish profile. They also were (relatively) heavier than skulls from Asia. In skulls of African leopards, the profile is less vaulted than in many Asian leopards. My guess is African leopards could have relatively larger skulls, but I need more time to get to a conclusion. Based on the photographs I saw, reports about male leopards of 180-200 pounds (81,65-90,72 kg.) can't be dismissed out of hand. At that weight, males, and those in Africa in particular, often seem a bit over-skulled. It's a pity reliable information about large male leopards is lacking. The skulls I saw strongly suggest individual variation is well developed in leopards. More so than in lions and jaguars, so it seems. Same for sexual dimorphism. These conclusions hold for leopards of moderate size. In large subspecies, individual variation could be more pronounced. 5 - Administration The discussion on the maximum size of jaguars and leopards is interesting. I agree some photographs of leopards shot in northern Africa a century ago suggest they could have been larger than those seen occasionally in central parts of Africa or in Iran today, but the problem is a lack of reliable information. The info on jaguars is more extended. I found quite a bit on jaguars and pumas in Surinam in the former Zoological Museum of Amsterdam and in Naturalis (Leiden). Most of the info I have on size is in folders. When I had 5, indexes were made. Today, I have 25. The old indexes never were replaced, meaning I don't know what is where. This means I have no option but to go over everything I have. As we're talking about 10 000 pages, it will take time. When I'm done, I will post a few tables and scans of unknown articles on leopards and jaguars. 6 - Exceptional individuals I assume you heard about 'The Indian Forester' and the 'Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'? Both magazins have good info on the size of leopards shot in India before, say, 1950. Apart from that, there is the book of the Maharajah of Cooch Behar published in 1908. You can read 'Thirty-seven years of shooting in Cooch Behar, the Duars, and Assam - a rough diary' online. Most leopards shot in Cooch Behar, the Duars and Assam between 1871-1907 were measured 'over curves', but some were measured both 'over curves' and 'between pegs'. The difference between both methods in male leopards was 4,5-5,5 inches (11,54-13,97 cm.). The longest shot was 8.4 in total length measured 'over curves' (254,00 cm.). The heaviest weighed in Cooch Behar, the Duars and Assam was 150 pounds (68,04 kg.), but not one of the five 8-footers (all measured 'over curves') was weighed. Two of them were described as 'very heavy'. In total, 311 leopards were shot between 1871-1907. The book has info on the length of 35 males and 2 females only (11,90%). The longest male was 8.4 (254,00 cm.) in total length measured 'over curves', whereas the shortest measured in this way was 7.1 (215,90 cm.). My guess is all other males shot were shorter. The two longest females were 7.1 (215,90 cm.) and 6.9 (205,74 cm.) in total length. Both were measured 'over curves'. The 7.1 female was 115 pounds (52,16 kg.). The 6.9 female was 92 pounds (41,73 kg.). In June 1978, 'The phantom killer of Dogadda' (S.P. Bari and M.M. Pant) appeared in'The Indian Forester' (pages 435-437). It's an interesting article about a leopard with one canine only. As a result of this problem, he hunted humans every now and then. In total, he mauled and killed 28 people. Although many were after him, he wasn't shot. One day, he walked into a trap. They were sure he was the one they wanted because of his canine. The leopard, a full-grown male in his prime, was moved to the Lucknow Zoological Gardens. Measured 'over curves', the 'Phantom killer of Dogadda' was 255 cm. (a bit over 8.4). His weight was 188 pounds (85 kg.). Some years ago, I bought 'Call of the tiger' (M.M. Ismael, 1964). One of the stories is about a very unusual alliance between an old male tiger and a very big male leopard ('The old tiger and the big leopard of Magarder'). Ismael shot the leopard: " ... I have never seen a leopard of that size and built. Later when I measured him he was 7 feet 10 inches between pegs, which is almost as big as a tigress. He had a massive head and a heavy and powerfully built body ... " (pp. 136). The info I have suggests there's little to choose between leopards in Sri Lanka and India. A century ago, an average male, depending on region, was 6.7-7.1 (200,66-215,90 cm.) in total length (measured 'between pegs') and about 50 kg. (111 pounds). 7 - Java and Tanzania According to Sody ('Notes on some primates, carnivora, and the babirusa from the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Australian regions', Buitenzorg, 1949, pp. 170-173), the longest male leopard shot in Java was 206 cm. (a bit over 6.9) in total length (most probably measured 'between pegs'). Skulls of adult male leopards ranged between 178-231 mm. in greatest total length. The male with the longest skull (231,0 mm.) had a head and body length of 118,0 cm. and a tail of 80,0 cm. (total length 198,0 cm. or about 6.6). The widest skull was 150,9 mm. Three quite old males were 27 kg. (61 pounds), 29 kg. (65 pounds) and 39 kg. (87 pounds) and two adult females were 17,5 kg. (39 pounds) and 19 kg. (43 pounds). Skulls of male leopards shot in what used to be German East Africa (now Tanzania) in the same period (about a century ago) were a trifle longer, but narrower. Individual variation was more pronounced in skulls from Java, but skulls from Tanzania were a bit heavier. Individual variation more pronounced on an island? Yes. It is a bit strange, but there is an explanation. A century ago, Java, although densely populated, still had a few wild regions. The western part was one. In that part of Java, tigers were on their way out. Eastern Java also had leopards, but they had to compete with tigers. Most large leopards were shot in the western part of Java.
Some photographs of Ivan, probably the most famous Sri Lankan leopard
Sure looks like the size of lioness  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author And if you think Ivan is impressive, check out THIS guy  *This image is copyright of its original author Another male, camera trapped in another part of Sri Lanka, the Sinharaja rainforest.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Are you sure that last one's not a Jaguar?! Incredibly robust animal, the skull is ridiculous
(05-11-2019, 03:34 PM)Sully Wrote: Are you sure that last one's not a Jaguar?! Incredibly robust animal, the skull is ridiculous Nope, definitely a leopard. Sri Lankan leopards from Yala and Central highlands are very large in particular. Here are some more robust Sri Lankan leopards:  *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 one is from the central highlands in Sri Lanka:  *This image is copyright of its original author
Hasantha Lokugamage
Y junction female( thanks Danula Jayasinghe for ID help) between Darshanawewa junction and Thalgasmankada junction (crossed the road and went towards Modaragala) 15th April 2019 She looks lactating (pls have close look on her belly ) and should have cub/s somewhere. I heard some people have seen new cub around Sathmaga and Premadasa wala area. This can be her cub??? Pls share if someone else has more info or pics.  *This image is copyright of its original author Milinda Wattegedara Successfully raised her cubs 2016/2017 up to adulthood. Both females cubs are staying inside the block 1 Hasantha Lokugamage I found one of female near Warahana bungalow about month back (should be able to find image and will share). She seems like established her territory beyond the Warahana bridge (block 1). Hennwewa male a.k.a. "SATAN" near Heenwewa  *This image is copyright of its original author YM 37 - Will  *This image is copyright of its original author YM 16-Lucas  *This image is copyright of its original author Number - YM 21 Sex - Male Nick Name - J Territory - Block 1 Modaragala, Karuwala Bokkuwa, Talgasmankada, Dharshana wewa, Warahana, pemdaswila, Komawewa madapara, akasachithya para. One of the biggest male Leopard in Yala Block 1. known as J. Established large territory in Northern side block 1.  *This image is copyright of its original author YM 33- Carlos at Sath Maga , near Sath wila on 28/03/19  *This image is copyright of its original author
Veteran
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Dominant male  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
"He had killed the buffalo late the previous night. The dark was his friend. Thanks to the reflectors in his eyes, he could see as clearly in starlight as we can see in bright daylight. If he could have read a book, he would have, reclining on a massive tree branch overhanging a pathway. As the light faded and night set in, he was on his favorite perch, only his tail hanging over the side, announcing his location. He had climbed the tree earlier in the evening to give the Langur sentinels and their friends, the Axis (Cheetal) deer to sound their alarm calls and eventually tire of it when they couldn’t see him any longer in the gathering darkness. The sun goes down rapidly in the tropics and Yala National Park, where he lives is in the far south of Sri Lanka. He is a leopard (Panthera Pardus kotiya). A big male, full grown and at the peak of his powers. The Sri Lankan Leopard is a subspecies native to Sri Lanka that was first described in 1956 by the Sri Lankan zoologist Deraniyagala. In 2008, the Sri Lankan Leopard was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
But he didn’t know all this. All he knew is that he was the top predator in the forest and, so he could roam where he wished and take whatever suited his fancy, at will. There are no larger predators in Sri Lanka unlike India and Africa where leopards live in fear of tigers and lions. In Yala and other national parks of Sri Lanka, the leopard is king, and this shows in their behavior. Yala is the only place where I have seen leopards stalking along a road in broad daylight. And wonder of wonders, I saw a full grown young male lying under a bush, with several jeeps full of tourists ogling at him from just a few feet away. He made no sign of leaving nor did he show even the slightest nervousness. The only cat which does that in India is the tiger and in Africa, the lion. Though the African leopard (Panthera Pardus Pardus) is a larger animal, it is very secretive and almost totally nocturnal. He is far too fearful of lions and rightly so. So also, the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), is wary of the tiger which would kill it if it could. Sri Lankan leopards grow bigger than their Indian cousins because of their top predator status and because there is abundant game in Yala. Not only are there huge herds of Axis deer (Cheetal) but feral water buffalo and wild boar. In addition, it appears that villagers are permitted to graze their buffalos in Yala and I saw a great many of them as well, quite at peace with those that appeared to be wild. I think this is a very bad idea as invariably this invites man-animal conflict and the loser is always the animal. In this case, the already endangered leopard. To return to our story he made his kill as the buffalo, a fully grown but young female was returning to her herd. As she passed under his tree, he landed on her back and bit into the back of her neck, severing her spine. The buffalo bellowed in pain and fear, took a few lurching steps forward trying to dislodge him from her back but in vain. By then the massive jaws with their powerful bite did their work and the canines sank through skin and gristle and severed the spine. The buffalo collapsed in its tracks and the leopard, lithely leaped off and immediately grabbed her throat in the classic killing stance of the leopard, cutting off air and possibly severing the carotids. In this case, this was not necessary as the buffalo’s spine had been severed and so it was going nowhere. It is interesting to speculate on the killing technique which is like that of the tiger when it tackles Gaur; the massive wild ox of India. Tigers also leap on to the backs of Gaur, preferring younger bulls or cows and bite into the back of the neck to sever the spine. That way they incapacitate an animal that is otherwise more than able to kill the tiger, being far heavier and having a pair of lethal horns. After killing his prey, the leopard fed on it until he was full and then dragged it behind a large Lantana bush to hide it from Jackals. There are no vultures in Sri Lanka. Neither are there any Hyena or Wolves. So, Jackals are the only ones likely to try to steal a bit of meat from the kills. Other leopards are a threat but in this case, he was so massive and powerful that he didn’t really expect another of his species to take any chances with him. Leaving the kill behind the bush, he climbed an old Banyan (Ficus Religiosa) nearby and stretched out on his favorite branch to sleep off his meal. Early the next morning, just as the sun was starting to show on the horizon and the Sri Lankan Jungle Fowl with its splash of bright yellow on its comb, started calling, to be answered by the Peafowl roosting on the topmost branch of a dead tree with its feet in the flood waters of the river, he walked down the trunk and leaped down the last few feet to return to his kill to take some more mouthfuls of the, by now, reeking meat." https://countercurrents.org/2017/12/yala-leopard-paradise
How come you didn't bold this part?
"Though the African leopard (Panthera Pardus Pardus) is a larger animal, it is very secretive and almost totally nocturnal. He is far too fearful of lions and rightly so." This account reads more like a fairy tale than fact unfortunately. He should of left the speculation out if the kill happened late in the night. Also, a buffalo is going to be too large to drag for a leopard, even after feeding on it that night. A calf or sub adult may be possible to drag and I'd assume that's what this was. (06-15-2019, 05:07 PM)Pckts Wrote: How come you didn't bold this part? I didn't bold it becouse it is irrelevant and it's partly true. The problem with leopards is that there's so much diversity; you have savannah leopards (e.g. South Africa), cape leopards (Cape Province), mountain leopards (Aberdare, Kenya) and rainforest leopards (Central Africa). They all have a different built/appearance. For example, the highest mean weight for adult males is 68kg in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa (from Applicability of Age-Based Hunting Regulations for African Leopards). As I've mentioned before, the average weight of adult male leopards in the Tuli Predator Project (Botswana) was 70.3kg. The site is unavailable but here's a screenshot via Webarchive:  *This image is copyright of its original author As we've discussed before, Central African leopards have the largest skulls of all leopard subspecies, reaching the size of Amazon and Pantanal jaguars. The only weight chart we have for Sri Lankan leoapards, is an old one where Sri Lankans averaged 56kg, the heaviest weighing 77kg:  *This image is copyright of its original author In the book For the Leopard: A Tribute to the Sri Lankan Leopard (by Rukshan Jayewardene), a leopard which was captured in the Gal Oya National Park in southern Sri Lanka was weighed at 81kg. In the book Big Cats: Kingdom of Might (by Tom Brakesfield), it is stated that 90kg Sri Lankan leopards have been recorded:  *This image is copyright of its original author So the part that I didn't bold is only partly true. I would say that Sri Lankan leopards are bigger than African leopards, with the exception of Central African leopards and a few populations like in Aberdare, Kenya.
For the tuli project, 3 adult Male leopards is hardly enough of a sample size to come to any conclusions.
I'm not even going to get into skull size and body size of Leopards and Jaguars as there is nothing more that needs to be said in that department. In the book, Big Cats: A weight range 25kg-90kg without a source is most likely an estimate and since there is no data or sources for the 90kg claim, it's hardly conclusive A weight range for Sri Lankan leopards of 25kg-90kg would put the Sei Lankan Leopard in the exact same weight range as Indias, Africans and Persians. And if you use just the 81kg sources weight and added it to the other 11m's that have been weighed, your average maybe increases to 60kg? Again, exactly where most other leopard sub species range. Considering the fact that people who've actually seen both say that African Leopards are larger than Sri Lankans, their body weight is less than Africans and their numbers are extremely small compared to Africans and there prey biomass is much less than Africans. The odds of them being larger than Africans would be extremely slim.
Meanwhile I can come up with a comparison of a large South African male (Mvula) and a Sri Lankan one. What notices me is the less developed head of Mvula and smaller skull (ears relative to skull). Last time your excuse was the different angle, but I don't think that will change much. The difference is very noticeable.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
(06-17-2019, 03:42 PM)Luipaard Wrote: Meanwhile I can come up with a comparison of a large South African male (Mvula) and a Sri Lankan one. What notices me is the less developed head of Mvula and smaller skull (ears relative to skull). Last time your excuse was the different angle, but I don't think that will change much. The difference is very noticeable.Making an assumption based off ear size is hardly scientific. Like all other animals, ears are an individual characteristic and come in many shapes and sizes. Again, one is looking forward and another is turned off to the side as well. Lastly is that you have no idea the camera used, setting used, distance or angle of the shots taken. When we cherry pick images to compare it's easy to find examples that back our point. For instance, if ear size were the means of determining cat size, you'd have to tell people this African is the largest leopard on earth.  *This image is copyright of its original author
I found this tidbit on Sri Lankan Leopards.
"Even adult buffalos are said to be tackled by leopards occasionally. The weight of an adult buffalo is at least 300 kg. This extraordinarily large size of prey may also be due to the Sri Lanka leopard's unique position at the top of the food chain, without rivalling and superseding tigers or lions. On the other hand, Sri Lanka leopards also feed on much smaller mammals such as porcupines and hares and on reptiles and even birds." http://www.lanka-excursions-holidays.com/leopards.html |
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